Grand Prix Tables and Formulas

 

We give here the formula and tables used to calculate the grand prix points awarded for each tournament played in.

 

The Grand Prix points table for a standard 4-round tournament

 

To find your Grand Prix point score in the table below, find the row for your section and the column for your score in that section.

 

For example, you scored 3 wins in a 4-round Elementary section. You get 88 points added to your Grand Prix total point score.

 

 

4

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

Championship

1000

707

500

354

250

177

125

88

0

Reserve

250

177

125

88

63

44

31

22

0

Elementary

177

125

88

63

44

31

22

16

0

Primary

88

63

44

31

22

16

11

8

0

4-5 Novice

53

37

26

19

13

9

7

5

0

2-5 Novice

44

31

22

16

11

8

6

4

0

2-3 Novice

37

26

19

13

9

7

5

3

0

K-1

31

22

16

11

8

6

4

3

0

Grand Prix points tables for different numbers of rounds are shown later

 

 

Formulas and explanations

 

Legend

base = the value assigned to a score of 4 in the Championship section, currently 1000.

#rnds = #rounds played in the section

adj = the adjustment value for the relative strengths of the sections.

score = the players score for the section

 

The basic formula (for a 4 round tournament section):

 

  points = base / 2**(4-score)    (1000 divided by  2  to the power of 4 minus the score)

 

Explanation of the basic formula:

 

The basic idea is that the difference between the points assigned to a score should grow as a power of 2, thus doubling every two slots, or half-points. Thus, a score of 4 is worth twice what a score of 3 is worth, and a score of 3.5 is worth twice a score of 2.5. You can clearly see these relationships by examining the table shown above. Scores of zero are excluded from the calculation; they score zero points.

 

For a score of 4 in the Championship section, the basic formula yields

 

      1000 / 2**0 = 1000/1 = 1000, while for a score of 3, it gives

 

      1000 / 2**1 = 1000/2 = 500, which is exactly what we wanted.

 

Extending the basic formula to all sections

 

Bare in mind that our goal is to provide a single total point score for a player regardless of what sections he played in during the course of the season. For the proper values to be assigned to the lower sections, we must adjust the basic formula.

 

To achieve this, we use the idea of an equivalent score. By examining average ratings and the results of section switching in the past, we are able to develop a table of score adjustments:

 

Section score adjustment table

 

SECTION

ADJUSTMENT

Championship

0

Reserve

2

Elementary

2.5

Primary

3.5

4-5 Novice

4.25

2-5 Novice

4.5

2-3 Novice

4.75

K-1

5

 

This means that a Reserve section score should be awarded the same number of points as a Championship section score that is 2 points less, while an Elementary section score should be awarded the same number of points as a Championship section score that is 2.5 points less, and so on. Moving down the adjustment column, we can see that those playing in the Novice and K-1 sections can not match the lowest point score achievable in the Championship section, but they can match point scores in other sections.

 

Again, you can see these relationships clearly reflected in the above table. For example, 88 points are awarded for a score of 0.5 in the Championship section, 2.5 in the Reserve, 3 in the Elementary, and 4 in the Primary.

 

Reflecting the section adjustment in the formula

 

This is done by subtracting the adjustment value from the score used in the formula.

 

The adjusted formula for a 4-round tournament section:

 

  points = base/2**(4-(score-adj))

 

For example, a score of 3.5 in the Primary section would be calculated as

 

      1000 / 2**(4-(3.5-3.5))  = 1000 / 2**4 =  1000/ 16  = 63

 

Sections other than 4 rounds in length

 

Sometimes we run sections that are not the normal size. A 4-player section may play only 3 rounds, and we have also had a 6-round K-1 section this year. To handle this, we have extended the formula. The score is prorated by dividing 4 by the number of rounds. The extended formula and some resulting tables are shown below.


The extended formula:

 

  points = base/2**(4-(score*4/#rnds-adj))

 

For example, a score of 3 in a 6 round Primary section yields

 

     1000/2**(4-(3*4/6-3.5))=1000/2**(4-(2-3.5))=1000/2**5.5=1000/45 = 22

 

The extended formula in Excel spreadsheet notation:

 

   =IF(score=0,0,base/POWER(2,4-(score*4/#rnds-adj)))    

 

The IF statement assigns 0 points to a score of zero. To use the formula in Excel, you must substitute cell references for base, score, #rnds, and adj.  In the tables, we show all results to the nearest digit.

 

The Grand Prix points tables for other than 4 rounds

 

To find your Grand Prix point score, choose the appropriate table below, and then find the row for your section and the column for your score in that section.

 

For example, you scored 2 points in a 3-round Championship section. You get 397 points added to your Grand Prix total point score.

6 Rounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

Championship

1000

794

630

500

397

315

250

198

157

125

99

79

Reserve

250

198

157

125

99

79

63

50

39

31

25

20

Elementary

177

140

111

88

70

56

44

35

28

22

18

14

Primary

88

70

56

44

35

28

22

18

14

11

9

7

2-5 Novice

44

35

28

22

18

14

11

9

7

6

4

3

K-1

31

25

20

16

12

10

8

6

5

4

3

2

5 Rounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

 

 

 

Championship

1000

758

574

435

330

250

189

144

109

 

 

 

Reserve

250

189

144

109

82

63

47

36

27

 

 

 

Elementary

177

134

102

77

58

44

33

25

19

 

 

 

Primary

88

67

51

38

29

22

17

13

10

 

 

 

2-5 Novice

44

33

25

19

15

11

8

6

5

 

 

 

K-1

31

24

18

14

10

8

6

4

3

 

 

 

3 Rounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Championship

1000

630

397

250

157

99

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reserve

250

157

99

63

39

25

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elementary

177

111

70

44

28

18

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primary

88

56

35

22

14

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

2-5 Novice

44

28

18

11

7

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

K-1

31

20

12

8

5

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

The Grand Prix points tables for other formats

 

When the format has changed, such as in the grade based Westchester County Championships, adjustments are made based on the expected ratings strength of likely pairings for the Grand Prix contenders. This adjustment takes into account the likely field sizes; large fields may have big gaps in strength. For a final sanity check, the results are compared to adjustments calculated based on average GP score performance of the contenders from each section’s total possible population. If necessary, modifications are then made.

 

 

The following table will be used for the 2011 Westchester County Scholastic Chess Championships:

 

Westchester County Championship - 2011 table

 

 

 

 

 

4

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

 

Adjustment

JHS/HS

841

595

420

297

210

149

105

74

 

0.25

MS

420

297

210

149

105

74

53

37

 

1.25

Elementary

250

177

125

88

63

44

31

22

 

2

Primary

125

88

63

44

31

22

16

11

 

3

K-1

53

37

26

19

13

9

7

5

 

4.25