[panja]

Hi,

I am wondering if there would be sufficient interest for a regular pairs event (robots + human as a pair unit) only for Experts/ADV online players. Here are some details - (open to changes later) to start with.

Entry : Free to play. No entry fee.
Starting time : 3PM UTC (currently 4PM British Time, 5 PM EU time, 11 PM Eastern US time).
Day of the Week : Wednesday. (Could be any suitable day, one or more per week ok, too)
Number of Boards : 18 to 27 boards.
Session Time : about 90 minutes or so.
Eligibility criteria : Zenith daylong event, say an average of a certain % or more over 15 games in a month.

Please indicate your interest in the poll and in the comments.

[pescetom]

As one data point: I would be happy to participate if I could, but not at that time of day, maybe 4 hours later same day.

I do not meet your eligibility criteria (never played a Zenith daylong event, or against robot pairs for that matter) and am not convinced that it is relevant or necessary.
There are other criteria available to exclude time wasters and you can easily exclude those who are not making the cut after a month.

[hrothgar]

thanks for running these.

Sadly, this is in the middle of the work day for me, but I do appreciate your stepping up

[jillybean]

I have never played with robots but it may be fun.
Is this a BBO Sponsored event and I assume Experts/Advanced is a BBO self rating?

[panja]

pescetom, on 2025-April-06, 15:23, said:

As one data point: I would be happy to participate if I could, but not at that time of day, maybe 4 hours later same day.

I do not meet your eligibility criteria (never played a Zenith daylong event, or against robot pairs for that matter) and am not convinced that it is relevant or necessary.
There are other criteria available to exclude time wasters and you can easily exclude those who are not making the cut after a month.

Thanks for the reply. Zenith was just one example of a measure of calibre. Zenith events are available every day and they produce a single number (% score) that forms a good basis of comparison. I have looked at the records of Zenith Daylong events. I have downloaded records for all the March events. That would be the easiest for me to check.

In March 2025, about 3000 players played - that is, each one played at least one daily event - the Zenith daylong. Out of those, 204 scored 53% or better over 15+ tournaments; about 106 scored 54% or better; 53 scored 55% or better; and just 16 scored 56% or better. The top 16 definitely are experts. If we give a liberal benefit of doubt, those who scored an average over 53% could also be categorised as experts.

I am sure other criteria are available. We should be clear that some criterion is absolutely necessary. It should be simple, non-cumulative, and easily verifiable. Do please mention any you are aware of. We can definitely include a few other such criteria and include any one who passes ANY of those criteria.