Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

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Mwhit299
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Joined: Fri May 28, 2021 9:50 am

Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

First of all let me say I'm so glad Matrix has made tournament play possible. Now with the bad. Poor sportsmanship by my second round opponent, RockmanBob123. On the verge of a Major victory, my opponent stops playing for more than 3 weeks and then only a resumes play a few days before the deadline. As a result by gaming the system, he is still awarded points and denies me the full points. I think this is extremely poor sportsmanship and shows a lack of candor.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid gaming the rules? Perhaps a max 7-10 days hiatus from the game. All turns need to be played within 48 hours or else it starts depleting your 10 day reserve. I'd love to hear what others think.

My opponent's blatant abuse of the rules and deliberate attempts to deny me a victory has left a terrible taste in my mouth.
FOARP
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by FOARP »

I don’t know the circumstances of the RockManBob123 but speaking as a man with kids, a house, and a full-time job, not being able to play for three weeks is something that happens pretty often.
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Mwhit299
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

I too have a wife, child and a full time job. I think if someone can't get a turn in for over 3 weeks then a tournament isn't for them. It's truly not fair to an opponent. Plus it skews the final results decisively.

However, it's not mere coincidence that I am on the verge of decisive victory and my opponent stops playing for over 3 weeks. Then just before he gets penalized as a timed out game, he magically appears. He plays a turn and is able to get a stalemate to protect his points and deny me my full points.

I think there needs to be some resolution so folks don't get cheated and it's fair.
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Hubert Cater
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Hubert Cater »

Thanks for this report as well, and sorry to hear you didn't have as an ideal experience as we were hoping most would here. This feedback helps and we'll do our best to tighten it up for the future.
Niedowidek_slith
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Niedowidek_slith »

Mwhit299,

I have very similar thoughts and I also proposed similar solution (maximum time to make a move, extra time reserve, I wrote it here: fb.asp?m=5028045 - you can also read Hubert's response there).
I also have wife and a full time job and I agree it's not an explanation. If someone can't play in tournament, he/she'd better not join it. And it's apparent that your opponent was cheating.
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Niedowidek_slith
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Niedowidek_slith »

In the 3rd round my opponent doesn't even seem to have logged in...
The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer
with a map.
Mwhit299
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

Niedowidek,

I'm so sorry to hear you had a similar situation. My opponent hasn't played in a week either. I don't want to even say it but it does make me wonder if someone can use a fake account or two to register and then control the outcomes. Seems like a lot of effort but after the last game it was pretty bad.
snooky51
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by snooky51 »

In "official" Slitherine/Matrix tournaments I have had similar experiences in Order of Battle:WW2, its usually after the first round when my non-playing opponent got wrecked in the first round and apparently abandons all hope of playing the tourney. My FOGII tourneys have not had such poor behavior, it makes me wonder about the types of people attracted to certain games.
Mwhit299
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

My opponent hasn't played a turn since May 27th. I can't wait till they become active right before the tournament deadline. Niedowidek are you dealing with the same still? The fact that my opponent played one turn makes me believe it is someone still in the running now. Wish the moderators could pull the email headers and see if that is the case.
Niedowidek_slith
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Niedowidek_slith »

My opponent has shown up and he/she's playing very regularly now, one turn every day
The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer
with a map.
Mwhit299
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

Oh good!! Best of luck! I'll be rooting for you
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ChuckK
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by ChuckK »

Let me also add that I’m very happy with the ability to play tournaments with the Strategic Command series.

I have played a fair amount of asynchronous chess tournaments. These are usually in some range of 24-72 hours turn limits with a reserve bank of time for when life intervenes. Some allowed extended vacations, many didn’t. I would like to see something similar adapted.
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AdmiralYamamoto
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by AdmiralYamamoto »

test
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Mwhit299
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

Hubert,

Can you invalidate my opponent rakell? Literally, I just received a notice that I can play my turn. This is the first time in 6 weeks and now he/she miraculously appears and will deny me full points. Sorry to bombard the forum with this but it's so frustrating with the blatant cheating/gaming the system.
Mwhit299
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RE: Tournament Update: Poor Sportsmanship

Post by Mwhit299 »

Hubert,

Disregard :) Just realized the tourney is over. Thanks again for putting this on and look forward to the next one. Hopefully I get to play a little more
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