Nongames

There are occasions when a player does not play a game at all in a particular round of a tournament. Several situations may occasion this : an odd number of players in a section, a player who fails to arrive for one game, a player who leaves for several games.

Four issues arise here.

  1. How will that player be treated for subsequent rounds?
  2. How is that player's placing determined?
  3. Are there disciplinary measures that should be taken against one player or another?
  4. How is that player's rating affected for that game?

It is really only the last point where the Ratings Advisory Committee can give recommendations. The rating system was not designed as a system of rewards and punishments, or as a status symbol, although many players see it in those terms. The situations can be quite awkward and there has not been unanimous agreement amongst the Ratings Advisory Committee nor CASPA on how to deal with such situations.

The case for rating a non-game:

  1. Disciplinary: If a player is at fault, they should lose ratings points for not playing a game. Conversely if a player has been 'stood up' they should gain ratings points for the game. This will be a punishment which will be send a message that unsocial behaviour is decried.
  2. Manipulation: Player A, believing that player B is likely to beat him could refuse to play B, and thus not be subject to a possible loss of ratings points. The incentive for A to do so would be even greater if player A believed himself to be currently overrated or player B currently underrated.

The case against rating a non-game:

  1. Mathematical: The rating of a player is an indication of the ability of a player, as measured by the track record of winning games, taking into account the calibre of the opponent. A non-game (for instance if A was scheduled to play B, but B was not there) gives no information about the Scrabble playing ability of either player.
  2. Inequity: If player A in a tournament were given ratings points for free, no effort required (eg by giving them points for a non-game for which they were deemed to be not at fault), other players would feel rightly aggrieved that player A was given an unfair advantage.
  3. Manipulation: A tournament organiser could schedule a favoured player to play a nongame purportedly against a player who had left, thus giving this player free no-obligation ratings points. But even a scrupulously fair tournament organiser could be accused of this later.
  4. Domino effect: If a player were punished with ratings decrease for non-games, their stated rating would then be below their actual ability. Every player who played that player in a subsequent tournament would be robbed of ratings points because of the mismatch.
  5. Precedence: Nongames (forfeited games or scheduled byes) are not rated in North American Scrabble (see http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/build/rules/f-r3g.html) nor in UK Scrabble (see http://www.absp.org.uk/ratings/JAGrn4.html) nor other sports such as tennis, backgammon etc.

Software issues:
The AUPAIR software has a procedure for designating nongames. The instructions explain how to do this. Any player playing a nongame should be changed manually to show that they are playing against themself with a nominal score of say 350. Unfortunately this is often not done by computer operators, because they haven't got the instructions at hand, or find it too complicated. Another reason may be that they wish to decree certain nongames as a win for one player and/or a loss for another, for the purpose of tournament placings.

The author of the AUPAIR software, Barry Harridge, has designed the software in such a way that if instructions are followed for designating nongames, tournament placings are shown honestly at least, so that players can judge for themselves the relative performances. In truth it is impossible to compare players who have played different numbers of games.

For versions of AU PAIR prior to AU500.EXE, there was no way in which a tournament organiser could decree certain games as wins or losses (for instance one school of thought believes that a player who has a scheduled bye should be credited with a win, and indeeed this is done in some sports). Version AU500.EXE allows a computer operator to designate a particular nongame as a win, a loss or a draw (the default is a draw) for the purpose of tournament placings (but not for ratings purposes).