Doe anyone have a ladder program to recommend for use with an elementary
school chess club? Thanks.

Brian Lafferty wrote:
Doe anyone have a ladder program to recommend for use with an
elementary school chess club? Thanks.

Back when I were a lad...

We just had a piece of cardboard with slits in it and each player had
a card with their name on it and, if a lower player beat a higher
player, they changed places. I think there was a side rule that, if a
higher player consistently refused challenges from a lower player,
then they changed places, too. What more do you need?

(And I don't remember many draws happening back then.)


Dave.

--
David Richerby Mouldy Wine (TM): it's like a vintage
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ Beaujolais but it's starting to grow
mushrooms!

On Feb 3, 11:50*am, David Richerby
wrote:
Brian Lafferty wrote:
Doe anyone have a ladder program to recommend for use with an
elementary school chess club? *Thanks.

Back when I were a lad...

We just had a piece of cardboard with slits in it and each player had
a card with their name on it and, if a lower player beat a higher
player, they changed places. *I think there was a side rule that, if a
higher player consistently refused challenges from a lower player,
then they changed places, too. *What more do you need?

(And I don't remember many draws happening back then.)

Dave.

--
David Richerby * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mouldy Wine (TM): it's like a vintagewww.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/* * *Beaujolais but it's starting to grow
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *mushrooms!

Isn't there usually a rule that #1 in a 50-player club doesn't have to
accept a challenge from #40?

Keeping unpublished ELO ratings & limiting challenges to the same
third of the population should be good enough. I'd just keep the
ladder in an Excel workbook. Above 60 or so this might be a drag.

To keep it fun for the kids, you might only list the top half....

http://main.uschess.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1716

wrote:
David Richerby
We just had a piece of cardboard with slits in it and each player
had a card with their name on it and, if a lower player beat a
higher player, they changed places. =A0I think there was a side
rule that, if a higher player consistently refused challenges from
a lower player, then they changed places, too. =A0What more do you
need?

Isn't there usually a rule that #1 in a 50-player club doesn't have
to accept a challenge from #40?

Maybe, yes. I think we only had about fifteen of us kids in the
school chess club and a game between one of the top couple of players
and one of the bottom couple would last about five minutes so wasn't
really an issue.

I'd just keep the ladder in an Excel workbook.

Just use a text file/Word document with one name per line. There are
no calculations involved so there's no need to use a spreadsheet. But
I'd strongly recommend the sheet of cardboard approach. Kids like
moving the cards around when they win and it gives instant feedback on
where people are. There's no need for any technology at all.

Above 60 or so this might be a drag.

Above thirty or so, I wouldn't be using a ladder.


Dave.

--
David Richerby Evil Poetic Dictator (TM): it's like a
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ totalitarian leader but it's in verse
and genuinely evil!