Case 3 differs considerably from cases 1 and 2. It remains the same that each team plays n-1 games. Each team furthermore cannot play on its own packet, as in case 1. However, in addition to the above constraints, there is a 3rd: one team cannot play on its own packet, and teams must play matches in pairs; therefore, in most rounds there will be two bye teams. Because each team receives one bye on its own packet and another bye not on its own packet, it is clear that in the round robin each team will receive two byes. Because each team must play n-1 games and receive two bye rounds, in a submission tournament where n is even, a round robin requires n+1 rounds. Because only n rounds will be submitted, the n+1st round needs to be obtained by the hosting organization and be blind to all teams. However, only on this round will all teams play at once, and therefore only on this round will n/2 rooms be in operation. At all other points during the round robin, only (n/2)-1 rooms are required. Case 4 varies the most greatly from those outlined above. Every team still plays n-1 games. However, teams are blind to all packets, and with an even number of teams, all teams can play in pairs. Therefore, in a blind tournament where n is even, a round robin requires n-1 rounds. Assumptions and requirements For a fair round robin, certain requirements must be met. The first, as discussed above, is that all teams must be blind to every round on which they play. An assumption of the round robin is that the results of each test be comparable to the results of each other test, i.e. that each match be comparable to each other match. At the outset of the round robin, furthermore, each match (all else being equal) is of equal importance. This implies that two conditions should be met: 1. All rounds should be of equal distribution and difficulty. Although in a submission tournament some variation is inevitable, the editors of a tournament should do their best to make sure that the rounds are of nearly equal difficulty and distribution throughout. In central-source tournaments, this is somewhat easier. 2. All teams approach each game under essentially equal conditions. This condition is impossible to thoroughly ensure; as the round robin progresses, individual matches will take on unpredictably variable importance. However, another factor in teams preparedness for games is fatigue. This factor can be contained by keeping the time spent playing the round robin below a certain figure, generally taken to be eight hours of play. In the event that a tournaments overall field is large, multiple divisions or, in exceptionally large cases, Swiss pairs or other formats may be considered in favor of round robins. -- That's the end of the first half. Feel free to send comments along to ers_at_...
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