Overview: The 2005 Arimaa World Championship tournament will determine the best human Arimaa player. The winning player will be declared the 2005 Arimaa World Champion and receive a prize of $500 USD. The tournament will begin in late November and finish in early January. The participants will play one game per week over the Internet in a knockout format tournament. A prize of $200 USD will be awarded to second place and $100 USD for third place.
Registration: Interested players should register before the deadline of November 13th. There is a small registration fee. After the tournament you can request a refund of the registration fee if you have not missed any of your games.
Location of games: All games will be played in the Arimaa gameroom over the Internet. The players are responsible for providing their own reliable computer and Internet connection. There will not be a rematch if a player loses a game due to problems with their computer or Internet connection. However, if there is a problem with the game server, the tournament director will consider a rematch.
Time of games: The players will play one game per week. At 12am (GMT) Monday the players will be notified of the other player they have been paired with. The players will have 24 hours to submit a web form to indicate what times they are available to play during the upcoming week between Wednesday and Sunday. A player who does not submit this within the allowed time will lose by forfeit. On Tuesday the tournament director will fix the game time based on the input from both players and notify them of the scheduled game time. The earliest a game could begin is on Wednesday and the latest is on Sunday. If a player does not show up for the game within 3 minute after the scheduled start time then that player will lose by forfeit.
Playoff games: The playoff games will use the 1m15s/1m15s/100/3/5 time control. One game will be played between the paired players. The winner will advance to the next round and the loser will be knocked out of the tournament. In case of a draw the player who was the first to lose a Rabbit will lose the game. The pairing will be based on the player ratings at the start of the playoffs. At the start of each round the players will be ordered from highest to lowest ratings and the lower half of the players will slide up to be paired against the upper half. If there is an non power of two number of players in the first round the director will select one or more players from the middle of the ordered list to get a bye and advance to the next round without playing a game. The number of players that get a bye will be such that the second round has a power of two number of players after the players in the upper set have played against the players in the lower set. The lower rated player of each pair will be the first to move. The playoff rounds will continue until there are only 2 players left.
3rd Place Match: The game to decide the 3rd place winner will use the 1m30s/1m30s/100/3/7 time control. The director will determine the color for the players. In case of a draw the first player to lose a Rabbit will lose the game.
Championship Match: The Championship games will use the 1m30s/1m30s/100/3/7 time control. Three games will be played between the two final players. All three games must be played. The director will determine the color for the players. In case of a draw the first player to lose a Rabbit will lose the game.
Notes: The games must be played in one sitting and cannot be adjourned. A player will not be allowed to take back a move once it has been submitted. The games will contribute to the players' ratings. Players are forbidden from using advice or suggestions from others or programs while playing the games. Any player doing so will be eliminated from the championship matches and will not be allowed to take part in future matches. The director will serve as the arbitrator in case of disputes. Should a dispute arise about the outcome of a game, the director will review the game and decide if the game should be replayed. The directors' decision shall be considered final and binding by all parties. The director will also make the final decision on matters of pairing and color assignment. The director may require any player to have a web-cam turned on for monitoring during the games. Also the director may send a representative to be present with any player during the games. A player who does not comply will lose by forfeit. All decisions made by the director are final.
Copyright © 1999-present www.arimaa.com. All Rights Reserved. Contact author for permission.