[CClarNYC]

Maybe this topic has come up before. Back when the tournaments had 3 boards per round, there were often 5, 6 - even 7 minutes left after completing a round. This left time to chat with the opponents - often in foreign countries - or to chat with your partner about what you did wrong. It was a nice, social game. There was also time for a bathroom break, or to grab a cup of coffee.

Since the switch to 2 boards per round, and I believe fewer minutes per board, it has become much less friendly, and more like a forced march.

There is absolutely no time to talk with the opponents, and there is never enough time for a bathroom break. Given how many bridge players are elderly, this is probably a big problem for many.

I'm not sure what the motivation was for the changes, but you have taken the great service you were providing and made it a lot less enjoyable.

[smerriman]

Which tournament are you talking about? BBO lets each tournament director specify their own rules about the number of boards + time limit per board; some have 2 per round, some have 3 per round, etc. So you may be directing your question to the wrong place.

[CClarNYC]

 smerriman, on 2023-June-25, 16:06, said:

Which tournament are you talking about? BBO lets each tournament director specify their own rules about the number of boards + time limit per board; some have 2 per round, some have 3 per round, etc. So you may be directing your question to the wrong place.

I am talking about the ACBL Open-Pairs Games that start at 10 minutes after each hour.

[barmar]

 CClarNYC, on 2023-June-25, 18:13, said:

I am talking about the ACBL Open-Pairs Games that start at 10 minutes after each hour.

The speedballs have 14 minutes for 3 boards, or about 4.5 minutes/board.

The open pairs have 12 minutes for 2 boards, or about 6 minutes/board. Some people refer to them as "slowballs", to distinguish them from speedballs.

Note that in both cases, the round changes immediately if all the tables in a section have completed all the boards of that round. So even if it says there are a couple of minutes left in the round, it might change sooner if one of the boards is quick for all pairs (e.g. an early claim). With fewer boards per round, I suspect this is more likely. This may be why it seems like things go faster in the 2-board movements. The round time is a hard limit, not an exact timer.

This isn't a "switch". Both formats are still available. 12-board speedballs (finish in under an hour) and 18-board open (almost 2 hours).

[stelios_t]

 barmar, on 2023-June-26, 09:27, said:

The speedballs have 14 minutes for 3 boards, or about 4.5 minutes/board.

The open pairs have 12 minutes for 2 boards, or about 6 minutes/board. Some people refer to them as "slowballs", to distinguish them from speedballs.

Note that in both cases, the round changes immediately if all the tables in a section have completed all the boards of that round. So even if it says there are a couple of minutes left in the round, it might change sooner if one of the boards is quick for all pairs (e.g. an early claim). With fewer boards per round, I suspect this is more likely. This may be why it seems like things go faster in the 2-board movements. The round time is a hard limit, not an exact timer.

This isn't a "switch". Both formats are still available. 12-board speedballs (finish in under an hour) and 18-board open (almost 2 hours).

Surely you are aware that the *regular* open (NOT speedball) tournaments used to be 6 3-board rounds? Total time was the same, but with 3-board rounds, fairly frequently there will be one claim board, which leaves a bit more time for the others.

I did sort of prefer the 3-board rounds myself, and wonder why the change was made.

[ehhh]

For me, being a terrible typist, there is never enuff time to call the director, type an issue, and type a follow-up response to the TD'd ruling. So any infractions I feel go unchallenged

[barmar]

 stelios_t, on 2023-June-26, 11:53, said:

Surely you are aware that the *regular* open (NOT speedball) tournaments used to be 6 3-board rounds? Total time was the same, but with 3-board rounds, fairly frequently there will be one claim board, which leaves a bit more time for the others.

I did sort of prefer the 3-board rounds myself, and wonder why the change was made.

If I was, I've forgotten it. I don't think I played them much before the change.

In general, playing against more opponents is usually preferable. I think 9x2 is better than 6x3. Most f2f tournaments use 2-board rounds; 3-board rounds tend to be used more in small club games.