Lowbie Competition

There are often tournaments played out on KGS for stronger players, but none (that I know of) for new Go players. This is something that I would really like to fix by starting a semi regular (based on interest, of course) competition of the newer players.

This will be simply for fun, and there will be no prizes yet and as such there is no entry fee. This may change in the future if I decide to make a $1 entrance fee which will go towards buying membership for the top player(s). The basic layout for the tournament is relatively simple and will play out like this:

All players play one match. The winner of the match goes into group 1, the loser in group 2. All the players in group 2 play another match against another group 2 player. The winner then moves into group 1 whilst the loser is out of the competition. After this it’s single game elimination until the winner is decided.

The rank bracket I have chosen for this competition is the 15-20kyu range. I think this is an ideal range because, whilst being new, we’re starting to get a feel for the game. However, this bracket also causes a few problems. Gains in strength can be quit rapid (or so I’m told!), so the duration of this tournament needs to be kept as short as possible to ensure that the stronger players of the group don’t quickly out grow the bracket. Because of this, I have decided to place a fairly strict time limit on the competition. Each round will go for only *3* days.

I am very aware that the people playing on KGS are all over the world. This can make timing a match tricky, so when you sign up (The process is described below) I ask that you give me your time zone in the form of GMT+10 (or whatever it may be) and when you most often play so I can pair you with people who have similar playing times. To find your time zone, please visit http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/ to find out.

Please be aware there are some rules to this tournament outside of the usual.

Firstly, and most importantly, this is simply for fun. You are to act, at all times, in a manner that is appropriate. But, of course, everyone already does this. Secondly, and I think this is very important, only players who have played on KGS for one week or more, having played 20 games, may join. This is a preventative measure to stop stronger players from joining. I can’t see it happening, but it is a possibility.

There are to be no undo’s at all. When you click your mouse button, ensure that it is on the spot you mean to play at!

Any escaping from a game will result in a forfeit unless it is for a reason beyond your control (Power outage, electrical storm, wife going into labour, etc) and you must email me immediately to arrange a solution.

The allowed time for the game is yet to be decided. Most likely it will be 30-60 minutes main time, with 5 byo-yomi periods of 40 seconds each (I would appreciate your input on this! tell me what you think the times should be in the email you send me!)

For further information, or to join the competition, please send an email to maveric.urt@gmail.com with the message title as “Lowbie Go competition” with the follow information contained in the email: KGS username

Time zone

When you play

Current rank

How long you’ve played go for

Gotten some interest from one mid kyu (9kyu, iirc) who can do reviews for some of the games. If you're confident to review some games, and would like to do so, please send me an email on the above address