Addendum  7   Grand Prix Calculation and reports

 

The USCF runs a promotional event called the USCF Grand Prix. This is an ongoing year long program that awards players for achievement during a calendar year based on their winning specified events. All GP events must have a TLA where they are advertised as GP Events.

The module will use information from the TLA module, the Event Tracking module, and the Rating module to identify GP events, calculate winners and provide necessary reports. It must also provide sufficient information to be able to verify and answer questions from participants.

The description of the GP requirements can be found in Chess Life. The following describes the points available for each level of qualified prizes and how the points are awarded.

 

 

Enhanced Grand Prix

 

An Enhanced GP event is one in which the organizer promises to donate $1.00 for every player in the event. An Enhanced GP will have the GP points awarded moved up one step on the chart below from that that the prize fund would normally entitle the event. For example, an event with a $350 Top prize fund would normally award 6 GP points. If it is an enhanced GP it would award 10 GP points.

 

Find Total GP points based on the qualifying prize fund from the charts "Total" Column

If event is enhanced GP step up one level on chart. (Level = level + 1)

 

Chart

 

Level

< Prize

Prize>

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Total

1

300

499

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

2

500

749

8

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10

3

750

999

10

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15

4

1000

1499

12

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

5

1500

1999

14

10

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30

6

2000

2499

16

12

8

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

40

7

2500

2999

18

14

10

6

2

 

 

 

 

 

50

8

3000

3999

20

16

12

8

4

 

 

 

 

 

60

9

4000

4999

22

18

15

12

8

5

 

 

 

 

80

10

5000

5999

24

20

17

14

11

8

6

 

 

 

100

11

6000

9999

26

22

19

16

13

10

8

6

 

 

120

12

10000

29999

30

26

23

20

16

13

10

8

4

 

150

13

30000

& up

36

32

29

26

21

18

14

12

8

4

200

14

Enhanced

 

54

48

44

39

31

27

21

18

12

6

300

           

 

Awarding GP Points to tournament winners.

 

To be eligible to collect GP points, a player must be have a valid paid USCF membership. Our current practice is to award points if the membership is current on the date that the GP awards for that specific event are calculated. The actual regulations require that they be members at the end of the event but we provide a little extra time. This means that only membership types of E, J, L, R, S, U, V, W, or Z with a current expiration will be eligible for receiving GP Points. To simplify computerized recalculation, the definition of a current membership will include any player whose membership was either current on the ending date of the event or at the ending date + 30 days.

 

The procedure for calculating and tracking GP points is as follows.

 

1.       GP events will be identified through the TLA Module. Only one section of any event is eligible for the GP points.

2.       When the update GP standings module is run, the operator will be given the option of just updating from events rated since the last time the module was run or recalculate events for the entire year. If recalculate is selected, the current standings file will be saved as a backup, a new standings file created, and the ability to analyze changes should be provided.

3.       When update is selected, the computer will select the proper tournaments based on the last time the report was run, the date rated for the GP events. For all events with more then one section, the operator will be allowed to review the section information to verify and designate the proper section. This is necessary as not all organizers will submit a report with the highest section as section 1. As the events are reviewed, the GP points to be awarded will be retrieved from the TLA file or input/edited by the operator. This section verification process and GP point update/edit only needs to occur on events not already verified if the recalculate entire year option is selected.

4.       Once the list of events is selected, the points for each winner will be calculated and posted to the standings log.

 

 

Calculating awarded points

Points will be calculated and tracked to 2 decimal places with truncation. For example, a 3 way tie for 20 points would result in each player receiving 6.66 points, not 6.67

The points awarded will be based on the chart above and follow the following rules.

Tied players will have the points for each of the place awards summed and divided by the number of ties. For example, in a 6 round event awarding GP points for 1st through 3rd, one player finishes a clear first with 6 points and 4 others finish at 5.5.  The player with 6 wins 14 GP points. The 4 players finishing at 5.5 share the 2nd place award of 10 and 3rd place award of 6 divided 4 ways. This would give each of them 16/4 = 4 points each.

 

If a player is not eligible for a GP award due to membership, they are totally ignored and excluded. In the above example. If one of the players tied for 2-5 was not eligible, the 16 available points would be divided by 3 rather then 4

 

 

Standings log.

 

The purpose of the standings log is both to keep track of the points won and to allow verification. For verification purposes, it is necessary to make an entry for a player who would have won points but did not because membership type / expiration date was not valid. The log should provide the following. Please note that much of this information is requested based on the limitations of our current system. If the UA program keep track of this requested information, it does not have to be included in the log.

 

Member ID number

Event ID

Membership type

Membership expiration

Event score (event score, not GP)

Place

# tied

GP awarded.

 

The above information will allow a report for either an individual or for an event.

 

Corrections - It should be very rare but the program needs to be able to handle designation of specific players to exclude in the event that membership records cannot be modified as needed. Additionally, the program should provide the capability to designate an event to be recalculated. This might be necessary for an event that was corrected because the wrong player was accidentally listed who was a winner.

 

 

Reports

 

Chess Life Update. A monthly report will be run for Chess Life this will provide the following files. A sample of the printed update from the Oct. 99 Chess Life has been included.

 

Events not rated - a list of events not rated as of a specified date. This report will provide the following.  Event name, Ending date, State, date received, GP points to be awarded. The date received will be left blank if it has not been received.

 

Events included - a list of the events whose results have been included since the last update was published. This may need the addition of a date field to keep track of the necessary information.

 

Standings - a file listing unrestricted standings as of the date generated. Two additional lists for leaders whose rating was 2200 to 2399 and 100 to 2199 based on the previous December's supplement. Finally, an age based list that will include anyone who was under the age of 16 at any point during the year of competition.