Handling late changes |
  
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Handling late changes |
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Changes to the draw in a Swiss pairs event
A situation may arise where an event is set up with all the entries, the pair numbers assigned and seating published. Then some pairs do not arrive.
Normally the director simply moves pairs from the last table(s) and seats them in the missing pair's spots. Also the pairs moved will usually keep their originally assigned numbers. This keeps things simple "on the floor". There are a few ways to handle this in the ASE scorer.
To help understand the management of pairs let us look at the LISTS of pairs. In any event that has outright results (ie multi-session or multi-round events) there are three lists of pairs to consider.
1. The pairs before the movement is known. This is a raw list with no pair numbers assigned even though you can place the pairs in tables and seats and reorganise as needed.
2. The session field. This is the list of pairs in the session (ie initially session 1) and is setup for any event be they single or multi-session events. This is the list of pairs playing in the session and may differ from the outright list of pairs because of substitutes in any given session. The pairs have been allocated their SEATING, their pair numbers for the SESSION and their OUTRIGHT numbers.
SEATING: the seating can include section, table and direction. For example a pair sits in section 2, table 3 as EW.
SESSION: the pair number for the session often reflects the seat the pair is in and is based on the movement in use. In the example immediately above, if the movement was a Mitchell, the session pair number could be simply 3 (EW). "The pairs use their table number as their pair number on the score sheet". In a Swiss pairs event that would not be the case as all pairs would have a unique number, usually between 1 and the number of pairs competing.
OUTRIGHT: the outright number is the number used in each session (also called the EVENT number) to tally their outright total. Pairs typically look for that number in the outright results as well as looking to find their seat in the next session. The outright number in a Swiss pairs event will typically match the session number.
3. The outright field. This is a complete list of all pairs competing in the event. Typically this list is the same as the list in each session, but may not be. Substitutes may be playing in any session, or a pair may drop out of the event after playing in one or more sessions (eg illness or other misadventures).
Now back to our Swiss pairs problem. Consider a simple example. We have an original entry list of 12 pairs. We set up an event with session one having 6 tables, put the pairs in the session list and print the seating.
Table NS EW
1 1 7
2 2 8
3 3 9
4 4 10
5 5 11
6 6 12
The session pair numbers are 1 to 12, and the outright numbers are the same for each pair. If you go to the [Names] [for the current session of play] you will see the pair number and outright numbers match.
Then the problem we are considering arises. In the example, say, pairs 2 and 10 do not arrive. The director moves pair 6 to NS table 2 (where 2 was) and pair 12 to EW table 4 (where 10 was). The IMAGINARY move is for pair 2 to go to 6 NS and 10 to 6 EW. Table 6 is actually empty now and out of play.
To reflect this change in the ASE Scorer go to the [Session] [Names] "for the current session of play" screen and change the OUTRIGHT numbers (option F7) at table 2, 4 AND 6 to those in the session as changed by the director. Produce the SESSION seating printout and it will look like:
Table NS EW
1 1 7
2 6 8
3 3 9
4 4 12
5 5 11
6 2 10
Then session proceeds normally, the scores entered and scored. Table 6 scores will not be entered but that is no problem for the ASE Scorer. It does report that scores are missing, but the results will be valid irrespective of the scoring method used.
One other change is needed to tidy up the event. Go to [Event] [Field] "for the outright field" and un-tick the "in Swiss draw" option for the two missing pairs (2 and 10). Pairs 2 and 10 will appear in the SESSION report (in last place and no scores) but do not appear in the outright results. The next round is produced in the normal way with [session] [new] and use automatic Swiss draw, and the next session will only have 5 tables, with pairs 2 and 10 missing.
Another way to handle this is to use the [Entries] "before movement is known" names option. This is a little more complicated but will produce the definitive answer to this problem. All directors should experiment with this method as it does help in other situations (eg extra pairs arrive late).
We have an original entry list of 12 pairs. We set up an event with session one having 6 tables, put the pairs in the session list (Copy Pairs to Session) and print the seating. It is rthe same as the first list sghown above. The session pair numbers are 1 to 12, and the outright numbers are the same for each pair. If you go to the [Names] "for the current session of play" you will see the pair number and outright numbers match.
Then the problem arises in the example: pairs 2 and 10 do not arrive. As before the director moves pair 6 to NS table 2 (where 2 was) and pair 12 to EW table 4 (where 10 was). What we now have "on the floor" is:
Table NS EW
1 1 7
2 6 8
3 3 9
4 4 12
5 5 11
To reflect this change in the ASE Scorer go to the [Names] "before the movement is known" screen and select the [Load pairs from session] option. Move pairs 6 and 12 to their new seats and [remove] pairs 2 and 10 from the list. Select [done]. Go to option [advanced] [session] [delete] to delete the ONLY session in the event.
Use the [start] [Define session] option to set up the 1st session again, but with the pair numbers defined as in the new layout. In the last screen of the session definition change the pair numbers to be:
Table NS EW
1 1 7
2 6 8
3 3 9
4 4 12
5 5 11
Return to [Names] "before the movement is known" screen and use the [Copy pairs to session] option to move the new list of pairs back to their seats.
Produce the SESSION seating printout and it will the same as the last list. Note this last method should also be used where additional pairs arrive for the event before session 1 starts.
Where additional pairs need to be handled after session 1 use the [names] "for the outright field" to add the new pairs, using pair numbers greater than the existing ones. The next round will include those pairs in the draw. Note you would need to give these pairs some adjustment score using [results] [event scores] to produce sensible results.