'Ranking Tournaments'?

I've heard a lot of references to 'Ranking Tournaments', but they were before my time here.

Can anyone give me in a nutshell what they are and how they worked? And why most people speak of them like a love lost? Why they are gone?

Small groups of similarly-ranked players, so that you could avoid bunny-bashing.

I forget the reasons why they were stopped. It might have been due to them being abusable by sock-puppets (one id could cream points off a whole load of middle-ranking real players, and repeatedly feed them up to another id, for example).

Given the choice between UTs and no RTs, or RTs and no UTs, I'd vote for the UTs.

RoRoRo really liked RTs.

Yes exactly, normally the group size was 4 and the 'leagues' were 1200-1400, 1400-1600 and so on. I think they were removed at the same time when the rated waiting room came. You can indeed get the same kind of games like if you would play a rating tournament, but it's just not the same :)

so what keeps us from making UTs with the same groupings? Aside from it being more effort, but well, only once a month or so?

First: they were called "Rating Tournaments" and not "Ranking Tournaments".

Second: they in fact DID disapeared due to sock-puppeting, specially by the "Egiptian Chess Gang".

Third: this disapearence occured way before rated waiting room came into place.

Fourth: as much as I REALLY do miss RTs, if it was a matter of UTs (non-mathematical excludent) or RTs, then UTs always.

Fifth: @Aganju - As Brazilian youth would say: " Demorô!" (meaning: let's start it already!).

you need to tell me a bit more details, but I'm willing to set something like that up. Maybe.

Which game would be best for this ( not chess)?what ranges are useful? 200 points per group? Starting at what and going where?

Everybody, tell which game (singular for now!) you would be most interested and participating! I don't want to go through that and end with 5 people registered into 9 groups.

I will consider (what I like to play most right now):

- 4 in a row

- Reversi

- Go

- Mini-Shogi

Have to say they were the most enjoyable of the tournements because for those of us lower ranking players, we were able to play people at our own level and enjoy a few wins here and there, no evidence for this but I would say they helped the retention rate of players here, be good to bring them back, as for ratings cheats, I don't have a problem with people who inflate there ratings, if it amuses them let them do it.

Personally, I would be interested to play in any (but chess, for now) of the games I play regularly here in LG (OSKI, Shogi, 4iR, Gomoku, C6, SS, D&B, Breakthrough and EWN). Actually, I've been playing a few Amazons and DVONN lately but won't consider them regular games yet.

As for which game would be best suited for RTs, I believe that, ideally the game should have the following (in order of preference): a great number of active players; an active community (ideally with frequent forum activity). That being said and limiting myself to your games of preference, I'd recommend that you start a trial RT series in 4iR or Go.

If you would decide to start if go, then I'd say that you do so in 9x9, so that you can measure your results faster. I'd even consider taking part of that (although I really suck at go)

As for rating range within each group, I'd definitely go for 200 points. If you start with 4ir I'd start with the following groups: U1400, 1400-1599, 1600-1799, 1800-1999, 2000+. For Go, I don't remember how dans and kyus translate into rating.

Suppose you do start a trial RT series, I'd suggest: a- try to promote it as wide as you can; b- make it monthly or bi-monthly; c- don't start another game before the first cycle of the first game is finished (so that you have a minimum data); d- don't get happy with your results before you've seen, at least, 3 complete cycles, and e- don't get sad with your results before you've seen, at least, 6 complete cycles. Obs.: reduce the number of cicles in d and e to 2 and 4 if you devide to start with regular 19x19 board go.