Sheffield & District Chess Association Established 1883 |
Notices |
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06/09/2023 Number of Games Generated by Successive Seasons’ League Structures
The reduction of boards in the Davy Trophy (Division 1) from 8 to 6 in itself reduces the number of games scheduled to be played in the League overall. On the other hand, the increase in the total number of teams in the league increases that number of games. So, what is the overall effect of the outcomes of the Fixture Meeting in terms of the resultant number of games scheduled to be played? That calculation is clouded by the potentially variable number of boards per team in Athenaeum Cup matches, but working on 4 boards for the purposes of calculation, the conclusion is an increase in games (not necessarily players) from 1,212 to 1,448, which is an increase of c. 19.47%, or 20% as near as makes no odds. Of course, a probable increase in matches being played for double points will cut that back a smidgeon, probably to about 18%.
Of course, we have been emerging from the rubble of Covid, so a comparison with the last pre-Covid league structure would be appropriate, and by an enigmatic collaboration between fate and arithmetic, the 2023-24 structure theoretically yields exactly the same number of games as the Covid-terminated 2019-20 season!
Going back further, in 2018-19 the numbers of teams in divisions were 8 + 8 + 8 + 12 (total 36) theoretically generating 1,536 games (88 more than in 2019-20).
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