How the Kāpiti Chess Club Grand Prix works

The Grand Prix recognises the member with the consistently best performance throughout the year. Grand Prix points are awarded for each of the Club’s rated tournaments, so the award also in part recognises support of the Club through active participation in events throughout the year.  It was first awarded in 2006. The current system was introduced in 2020.

Scoring system

For each eligible tournament, players get:

• 10 Grand Prix (GP) points for first place, 9 points for second, down to 1 point for 10th.
• No points for subsequent placings below this.
• Players get the same points for the same placing from tournament to tournament regardless of number of players in the tournament or whether that placing is shared or not. E.g. If two players share first place, they both get 10 points, the next player (or players) who are third (or third=) each get 8 points.
• If less than 10 players in a tournament then points stop at lowest ranked player. E.g. If 8 players in the tournament then, 8th placed person gets 3.
• If a tournament is played over more than one series, GP points are awarded for each series.
• For each tournament GP points are weighted as below.

Multi-grade tournaments

• If a tournament consists of separate grade tournaments, then the final points for each grade are scaled as follows: If there are 2 grades, then total game points for the lower grade are scaled by a factor of 1/2. If there are 3 grades, then game points for the B grade players are scaled by a factor of 2/3, and game points for the C grade players are multiplied by a factor of 1/3. Grand Prix points are then assigned based on the rankings of the single combined set of scaled points.

Eligible tournaments

• Any internal KCC tournament that is rated with NZCF should be counted as part of the Grand Prix. This provides a clear rule on eligibility for current and future calendars.
• E.g. For a typical year, this would include the Freebird, Kingston Memorial, the Leo Eichholtz, the Winter Cup,  any other rated rapid tournaments, and the Club Championships. It excludes non-rated events such as the Blitz Cup, variant and casual nights, and open tournaments such as the Kāpiti Open and Junior Open.
• Weights for each tournament are used to reflect the number of series, and nights/ rounds, and significance of eligible tournaments. For example, the weights for 2024 tournaments were set as follows. These may change in the future years should tournament formats change:
  • Club Championship  1.5
  • Leo Eichholtz  1
  • Kingston Memorial  1
  • Winter Cup  2 (1 for each series)
  • Freebird  1 (1/3 for each series)
  • Spring Rapid 1

 Player eligibility and how to treat non-members and changes in membership

• Only members are eligible for the Grand Prix Trophy.
• If a non-member plays in a tournament, they do not receive Grand Prix points at the end of it. They are removed from the placings and the placings of remaining members are re-adjusted. Grand Prix points are then awarded based on these adjusted placings.
• If a non-member who plays in a tournament subsequently becomes a member during or after that tournament, then the placings and scores of that person as well as every other member who played in that tournament are retrospectively adjusted. 
• If a member ceases to become a member, their results stand. They are not removed, and the placings and points of others are not retrospectively adjusted.

Winners and Tie break

• There shall be one winner overall, and one junior winner, for the highest placing junior.
• The following tie-break system is used for people sharing first place on the same final number of Grand Prix points:
  • The person with the highest weighted tournament game points in all Grand Prix games over the year.
  • If still tied then by Direct encounters: i.e. Highest number of wins against tied players in Grand Prix games over the year.