🪓 2024 Free-For-All (FFA) World 4 Player Speed Chess Championships (W4SCC) 🏆 ⚔️ (DISCUSSION)

Hey Everyone,

Thank you all once again for participating and watching the World 4 Player Chess Championships!
Chess.com will be hosting the second World 4PC Speed Chess Championship (W4SCC) commencing Saturday, January 6, 2024.

Requirements for participation:

• 1600+ Bullet FFA Rating for 1|1, and 1600+ Hyperbullet FFA Rating for 1/2|0
• An account registered before 9 December 2023 (Exception: Titled Players)
• No recent severe infractions on Chess.com, before or during the championship
• You must play on your main account if you have multiple staff-approved accounts

Format

This championship will consist of anonymous 1|1 and 1/2|0 FFA games played in the New Standard Setup. There will be 39 Qualifier Arenas, duration 2 hours each. 1|1 will consist of 19 arenas, and 1/2|0 will consist of 20 arenas. Arena times are as follows (UTC):
 
1|1

Jan 6 - 00:00, (04:00) 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
Jan 7 - 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
 
1/2|0

Jan 13 - 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
Jan 14- 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
 
1|1

Jan 20 - 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
Jan 21 - 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
 
1/2|0

Jan 27 - 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
Jan 28 - 00:00, 04:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00
 
Participants may play in as many arenas they like. 8 players will be selected from these arenas to play in the W4SCC Semi-Finals as follows:

• The top four 1|1 players will progress.
• The top four 1/2|0 players will progress.
• These players must provide their first and last name and country of origin on their profile and must provide a webcam/screen-share if requested at any time during the semi-finals or finals.
• To calculate the top players, players' top 2 arenas scores in each time control will be summed separately. These scores will be ranked in two lists, and the top four highest scores will advance from each time control.
• This means you have more chance to qualify for the semi-finals if you play in more arenas.
  The top 10 players in each time control will be made publicly known, and remaining players may be called upon during the finals as a replacement.
• In the event that a qualifying player does not want to, or cannot play in a semi-final, the next online player in that time control will be asked to take their place. This means that the top 10 players have a chance of playing in the semi-finals if they are online at the time of the semi-finals. Replacements will have their scores reset to match the last place's score.

The Semi-Finals 
Semi-Final 1 - 17:00 UTC - Saturday, February 10, 2024

Results will be updated here. 
Semi-Final 2 - 15:00 UTC - Saturday, February 10, 2024

Results will be updated here.

• The top two seeded 1|1 players will play with the bottom two seeded 1/2|0 players in SF1.
• The bottom two seeded 1|1 players will play with the top two seeded 1/2|0 players in SF2.
• Semi-Finals will consist of 1 hour of each time control. If the last game ends after 58 minutes, the match for that time control will be over. A timeout cannot be declared after 50 minutes into that time control. If the last game ends after 1 hour, that game will count towards the scores. Please note that the following times are SET:
• SF1 will start at 17:00 UTC Saturday, February 10.
• SF2 will start at 15:00 UTC Saturday, February 10.
• The top two scores will progress, and will be calculated as such:

1 | 1 FFA:
1st - 9pt
2nd - 5pt
3rd - 4pt
4th - 0pt
 
1/2 | 0 FFA:
1st - 3pt
2nd - 2pt
3rd - 1pt
4th - 0pt

• Players will have one (1) 5-minute timeout per player.
• Players will get a 15-minute break between the time controls.
• Players will have to hit rematch within 60 seconds of the games ending. If the players fail to hit rematch, an administrator will reinvite them all and request that they accept. If they fail to accept (or if they abort a started game) they will go through the following penalty process: 1. Timeout deducted 2. Point deduction equivalent to a Win that the time control the players are playing 3. Disqualification and a replacement player will be selected within 5 minutes.
• In the event of a tiebreak, the player with the most 1st place games will progress. Should this tiebreak not work in the Semi-Final, the player with the higher score in their most recent game will advance to the final should that be necessary. In the absolute rare event that the games are all tied between the two players, the player with the last move in the most recent game will be declared the winner.
• Upon qualifying for the Semi-Final, players must meet and agree with Championship / Prize Money Eligibility Terms & Conditions within a week of qualifying/being selected. By playing in these arenas, you agree that you meet the basic eligibility requirements.
• If a player flags/disconnects, it is apparent that the server was the issue, not the player's internet, the game will not count towards the match, and the time will be reset to what it was at the start of that game.

The Final

Finalists will be updated here.

• All finalists will earn a prize! The prize money is as follows:
  Champion: $400 (400 USD)2nd: $300 (300 USD)3rd: $200 (200 USD)4th: $100 (100 USD)
• Finalists will play 2 days of matches, playing 1 hour of each time control each day. If the last game ends after 58 minutes, the match for that time control will be over. A timeout cannot be declared after 50 minutes into that time control. If the last game ends after 1 hour, that game will count towards the scores. Please note that the following times are SET:
• Day 1 will start at 17:00 UTC Saturday, February 17, 2023.
• Day 2 will start at 17:00 UTC Sunday, February 18, 2023.

The top score will win, and will be calculated as such:
1|1 FFA:
1st - 9pt
2nd - 5pt
3rd - 4pt
4th - 0pt
 
1/2|0 FFA:
1st - 3pt
2nd - 2pt
3rd - 1pt
4th - 0pt

• Players will have one (1) 5-minute timeout per person, per day. Timeouts cannot be carried to the second day of the finals.
• Players will get a 15-minute break between the time controls.
• Players will have to hit rematch within 60 seconds of the games ending. If the players fail to hit rematch, an administrator will reinvite them all and request that they accept. If they fail to accept (or if they abort a started game) they will go through the following penalty process: 1. Timeout deducted 2. Point deduction equivalent to a Win that the time control the players are playing 3. Disqualification and a replacement player will be selected within 5 minutes.
• In the event of a tiebreak, the player with the most 1st place games will win. Should this tiebreak not work in the Final, tied players will split prize money evenly.
• Upon qualifying for the Final, players must meet and agree with Championship / Prize Money Eligibility Terms & Conditions within a week of qualifying/being selected. By playing in these arenas, you agree that you meet the basic eligibility requirements.
• In the event that a qualifying player does not want to, or cannot play in a final, the next online player in that time control will be asked to take their place. This means that the top 10 players have a chance of playing in the final if they are online at the time of the final. Replacements will have their scores reset to match the last place's score.
• If a player flags/disconnects, it is apparent that the server was the issue, not the player's internet, the game will not count towards the match, and the time will be reset to what it was at the start of that game.

Prize Money Disclaimer: It's a pleasure to announce our second W4SCC was already approved for funding with $1000 from chess.com for the finalists in total ($400/$300/$200/$100). Please understand this may take days, weeks, or a month or two to process. The tournament director may refer questions regarding prize money to staff/support. Four players will be awarded prize money, and they must agree to use the email directly linked to their chess.com accounts to find the link to the Prize Money when Awarded. Please note that the link may appear in your junk/trash/spam folder, so be sure to check those soon after you win the Championship!

Previous championship format: Announcing the First Ever (2021) World 4 Player Speed Chess Championship! (W4SCC) - Chess Forums - Chess.com

Discussion feedback may be taken into consideration but is not guaranteed. Staff and Administrators will be in communication with the TD on any rulings in the current W4SCC and decisions on future W4SCCs.
Semi-Finals and Finals will be broadcasted on https://www.twitch.tv/fourplayerchess . We look forward to seeing you play in the championship! Best of luck to all players trying out!

Luke Romanko, W4PCC Director

My hyper rating will never financially recover from playing against 1600s

I don't think I will be able to participate this due to exams. I guess not this time.

January 6th is my birthday! This will be a fantastic event! Where do I go to sign up for the event?

As per usual, just join the arenas, there’s no special sign up form

Isn't there a major timeout bug that has still not been resolved?

1/2 0 gets a third of the points of 1/1 in outrounds? That seems a bit harsh.

In 2021 45 sec was used in place of 30 sec and the same formula was in place afaik, 1|1 has much more obvious opposite cooperation and can last for around the time of a quick 4 min game so I'd say it's fair that it's weighted more heavily

with time zones are the times referring to ?

ew white mode

White or dark - are you guys good with how the original post looks?

Yes the text background is transparent so it’s all good

besides the typos yes

time to grind 1|1 I guess...

Same reaction that the one I made 1 year ago: 30 s/0s is completely another game, 1m/1s is playable and yes it's bullet, but 30s/0s is much more HYPER than bullet. I can even play 6s/2s with no problem for easily 100 moves, whereas 30s/0s can't be played without premoves and some dirty tricks, it is NOT chess.

(I have strictly nothing against an event with 30s/0s, but I am strongly against the fact players are mixed between these 2 very different formats, it simply doesn't make sense).

It's basically just splitting the difference; should we have an event where time is for pressure, or for deciding the result of the game, or both?

saying fast chess isn't chess is like saying spicy food isn't food

it's a type of chess.

Yes, maybe most people prefer their food not very spicy, but that doesn't mean it isn't food

Tomtday, your hyper rating is 2045 and mine 2163. I think I know reasonably well the difference between the main 4 time settings. I maintain, YES, it's totally different games, in Rapid and Blitz time is not an issue at all for a reasonably strong player who's played let's say 500-1000 FFA games, whereas in Bullet already it's trickier; and in Hyper you simply CAN'T win unless you use some specific (dirty, unfair) tricks which are very very far from normal chess.

AND I definitely do not criticise hyper. My point was simply that it doesn't make sense to mix 2 different populations of players. Those who are good at bullet are not necessarily good at hyper.

Unless you're not playing with 2500+ players, then you'd be a laughingstock for trying explicitly degenerate plays and not moves that require an actual plan to execute; tbh, I'd have loved 3 min or 4 min as the flagging time control (and @Cha_ChaRealSmooth had similar thoughts on stream today), but it's really just about having skill in multiple sectors.