Main Event

95% Return in all side pools

Open Championship

Entry Fee
$400, 90% Return
Side Pool
$200
Match Points
All rounds are 9 points
Format
This event will use the "More Swiss" format

Intermediate

Entry Fee
$200, 85% Return
Side Pool
$100
Match Points
All rounds are 9 points
Format
This event will use the "More Swiss" format

Novice

Entry Fee
$50, 100% Return
Match Points
All rounds are 3 points
Format
This event will use the "More Swiss" format

More Swiss Format

Tournament Format

  1. Players will be eliminated when they lose their forth match.
  2. Byes will be treated as wins.
  3. Players with 3 losses are still eligible to cash, but can no longer win the tournament.
  4. ​​​​When the tournament starts, we will identify the maximum number of places that we are willing to pay.
    • Open Division: We will pay 15% of the field rounded up. (i.e. if we have 32 players, we will pay up to 5 places)
    • Intermediate Division: We will pay 20% of the field rounded up. (i.e. if we have 32 players, we will pay up to 7 places)
  5. We will develop several payout structures and post them as soon as practical. For example, if are willing to pay up to 9 places, we will develop payout structures for 7, 8, and 9 finishers.
  6. If at the end of any round, the number of players with fewer than four losses is less than or equal to the number of places we are willing to pay, we will transition to the "playoff rules"
  7. Under the playoff rules:
    • Everyone remaining will cash and continue playing. Payouts will be determined by the appropriate payout structure.
    • All players eliminated with the same record will receive the same prize money.
    • There will be more rounds of Swiss until there is a clear winner. i.e. one player left with two or fewer losses.
    • If we reach a point where only three players remain eligible to win the tournament and they have equal records we will transition to the USBGF 3-player playoff format listed below
    • If we reach the point of a championship match or a 3-player playoff, three loss players will be eliminated and will share 3rd or 4th places respectively.
    • Excluding the times we have reached a 3-player playoff, if we reach a point where only two players remain eligible to win the tournament and both players are eliminated from contention with another loss, those two players will play a championship match and will finish the tournament in 1st and 2nd places alone.
    • At the appropriate time the Director will gather the remaining players before posting the next round pairings to explain all the possible scenarios.

Pairing Rules

  1. No player can receive a second bye until all remaining players have had at least one bye.
  2. Byes are awarded to a player with the worst possible record.
  3. Players will be paired against players with as similar a record as possible.
  4. Players will be paired against players they have not played in previous rounds.
  5. If a player has played a previous round against an opponent with a better record, they will not be paired against a player with a better record again, if possible.
  6. If a player has played a previous round against an opponent with a worse record, they will not be paired against a player with a worse record again, if possible.

*As the number of remaining players decreases, the pairing rules become harder to enforce and we will relax them from the bottom up.

Handling 3-Way Ties

Some tournament formats may play down to a 3-way tie. That tie must be broken to determine a tournament winner, as well as second and third places. A round-robin playoff is undesirable because it requires 4 matches on average. A standard elimination playoff is undesirable because the late bye awards a very large equity bump to one player at the expense of the others.

The following “contingent bye” playoff format requires only two matches, but drastically reduces the equity swing produced by the late random draw to a level of only 1.3% for the ~5:3:2 payouts typical of Swiss, or 2.4% for the 4:2:1 payouts typical of Elimination.

All 3-way ties that occur at ABT tournaments must be resolved using the following playoff format:

  • Label the three tied players A, B, C.
  • A contingent bye is awarded to one player randomly chosen from among those who received the fewest byes previously in the event. Suppose A is chosen.
  • B plays C. Suppose B wins.
  • B plays A.
  • If A wins, then A has earned the bye. Player A places first; B places second and C places third.
  • However, if A loses, then the bye is given to player C instead of player A. The A vs. B match is recorded as the semi-final, and the B vs. C match is recorded as the final. B places first; C places second and A places third.


Unlucky Dice Last Chance

  • The Chicago Open "MoreSwiss" tournament (Open and Intermediate divisions) lasts 3 days and some players are eliminated on the 1st day.
  • Many players travel far and spend a significant amount of money to attend backgammon tournaments.
  • For players eliminated from the Main Event on Saturday, The Director has decided to provide some added value and a reason to return for the 2nd day of the tournament as a sign of appreciation to his unlucky attendees.

Format

  • This is a side event. If you cash in the UDLC you do not receive ABT points.
  • All players in the Open and Intermediate that lose 4 matches Saturday (end of round 5) will get a "Free Roll" into the UDLC.
  • Single elimination bracket played Sunday.
  • All matches are 5 points.
  • Anytime an Intermediate player faces an Open Player, they will start with a 1-0 lead.

Prizes

  • 1st Place receives a custom FM Gammon Board.
  • 2nd Place receives $300.