Hi Chris, Well stated. Richard ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris C. To: blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 9:30 AM Subject: [blind-chess] Re: New Ladder Seeding Proposal Hi Richard, I highly agree with you in that I think we should be more focused on education and less on competition. That is the main reason i support the reverse order proposal. I think it is all in how we approach it. Instead of looking at it as being "sitting ducks" or "targets", I look at it as an opportunity to learn. One thing I like about the list is the relaxed atmosphere, and I think this is because we try to help one another, and that is the way it should be. To much concentration on competition or rating points will take away from this. There is nothing wrong with some fun competition, but we should never lose sight of why we are all here, and that is to learn from each other and help each other become better players. Just my opinion. Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: R Dinger To: chess Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 12:01 PM Subject: [blind-chess] New Ladder Seeding Proposal Good Morning All, I am trying to find a workable compromise between Mike's very good "festival seeding" idea and the desire for a reverse seeding by some others. I do not want to put the less skilled players in a situation where they appear to only be there for target practice for the big guns. I think this list will be more successful if our focus is less on competition and more on education. Competition is, of course, how you demonstrate achievement of that education, but competition has its destructive side as well. That having been said, maybe the rules as stated already cover what to do: Anyone that signs up for the ladder tournament prior to say Wednesday April 28 will be seeded in reverse order of their current Elo rating. Anyone signing up after the tournament starts will be added to the bottom of the ladder as their emails arrive. Will this work for everyone? Keep those ideas coming, they all have merit. Richard ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.814 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2834 - Release Date: 04/25/10 02:31:00