Pittsburgh Go Club
Go Tournament
23 January, 1993

Tournament Director's Notes


The purpose of the tournament is to enjoy playing go.  All players will get the excitement and intensity of tournament play and some will win prizes.

Rank:  A player's declared entry rank may not be lower than is appropriate for his or her current AGA rating.  If a player's rank is unknown, the director will assign one in consultation with the registrar and interested bystanders.  The director may adjust ranks after the first or second round.

Schedule:  Three rounds will be played.  You are responsible for arriving on time for your games;  if not, your game may be rescheduled or your clock may be started in your absence.  If you cannot play in a round, please inform the director and you will be given a voluntary bye; this ensures that other players will get the best possible pairings.

Rules:  This tournament is being conducted under the official AGA rules.  These rules are designed so games have the same outcome whether the score is counted by territory ("Japanese") or area ("Chinese"); although it is generally expected that territory counting will be used.  To ensure the equivalence, when a player passes he or she must give a "pass stone" as a prisoner to the opponent.  At the very end, the white player must make the last pass; thus if white passed and then black, white must pass again for the final end of the game.  (Players may agree to use area counting, but should consult first with the director.)  The AGA rules also mandate the "super-ko" rule: no board postion may be repeated.  This resolves triple kos and other situations by requiring a ko threat whenever a board repetition would otherwise occur.

Handicaps: When necessary, games are played with handicap stones as determined by the Accelerated Pairing System program.  Komi stones are exchanged prior to beginning play.  Reverse komi of five points means that the white player compensates the black player with five white prisoners.

Recording results:  It is the responsibility of both players to post the results in the log book.  Both players must sign.  Both player numbers must appear.  Please be sure to record the handicap or komi you used in the game.

Timing.  We are using "Ing" clocks.  
    To set the clock: open the top and press ON.  Press SET.  Press BT.  Observe the display; if it is "phasing" or digits are missing, ask to have the batteries replaced.  Press the black bar so the displays read 1:00 (one hour for each player).  Press RS.  Press the black bar three times and hold down the white bar until the display reads 3:15.  (Byoyomi is 4 periods of 15 seconds.  If you play before completing a period, it restarts for your next turn.)  Press the RUN button.
    To start timing: Press the white bar.  It will now be black's turn to start placing stones.
    To suspend timing:  (First note carefully the times remaining for both players.)  Open the top and press SET.  To resume, press RUN and then press the bar of the opponent of the player who is about to move.

Winners.  Players will be placed in "bands" by strength and will compete for prizes against others in their band.  The winner is the player with the most number of wins;  in case of ties, the tie breakers are sum-of-opponent's-scores, sum-of-defeated-opponent's-scores, and head-to-head.

Byes:  A voluntary bye is taken either the polite way--by informing the tournament director--or the boorish way--by not showing up.  A voluntary bye counts as a loss and the player is ineligible for a prize.  An involuntary bye is awarded if your opponent fails to show up.  If there are an odd number of players, one will be assigned an involuntary bye.  Involuntary byes count as a win.

Disputes.  In case of disputes, the director will issue a binding ruling or may, at his option, appoint a committee to adjudicate the situation.