International Shogi Forum 2024 Bulgarian Qualification Finals in Sofia

The ” Bulgarian Shogi Association ” presents the

Title: International Shogi Forum 2024 – Bulgarian Qualification Finals

Venue: TO BE DETERMINED SOON Sofia, Bulgaria

THE MATCH WILL BE STREAMED ONLINE ON Bulgarian Shogi Association YOU TUBE CHANNEL!!

Format: 

Match of 5 handicap games between

the highest FESA rated player in Bulgaria (Ermanno Bozzali)

and :

the winner (Nikodim Marinov) of the ISF 2024 PreQualification tournament

Timecontrol: 20min + 40sec byoyomi per player

Prior to the first game, the relative strength of the players will be determined according to their performance in Ruse. So the evaluation of a player’s strength will be more significant rather than the ELO. The ELO itself is not a predictor of the future accomplishments of a player. It does just tell the past achievements.

In the Ruse PreQual, Nikodim Marinov scored 100%, so a performance rating does not have sense. In the Ruse open, he performed 1286, and that puts him in the 4 kyu range.

Ermanno Bozzali performed pretty much his rating in the Ruse open, and that puts him in the 2 Dan range.

So, very likely the handicap will be four or five pieces. But a more accurate estimation will be ascertained on the first day of the event. A lot of factors , even emotional ones, contribute to the final evaluation.

The general feeling is that the winner of the PreQuals is far STRONGER than his actual ELO.

Handicap rules

Computation of handicaps: The ELO of each player according to the FESA rating list from 12th of April 2024, will be converted into a fractional grade. By the table from point 2 of the FESA rating regulations http://fesashogi.eu/index.php?mid=5&listid=elosystem, the ELO of a player lies in a rating range of a certain grade g between a lower bound ELO LB and an upper bound ELO UB. The fractional grade frac.g is computed as follows (rounded to one decimal place):

frac.g = g + (ELO-LB)/(UB-LB)

The fractional grade may differ from the actual grade of a player. The fractional grade of a player without a FESA rating will be estimated in accordance with their playing strength.

Example:
A player’s ELO (performance!) is 1862. The corresponding grade is g = 2 dan. The values for LB = 1800 and UB = 1920 yield the fractional grade frac.g = 2.5 dan
A player’s ELO (performance!) is 1286. The corresponding grade is g = 4 kyu. The values for LB = 1280 and UB = 1360 yield the fractional grade frac.g = 4 kyu

The difference of the fractional grades between two players determines the handicap:

0-0.5: no handicap, equal game
0.6-1.4: left lance
1.5-2: bishop
2.1-2.6: rook
2.7-3.5: rook and left lance
3.6-4.9: 2 pieces (rook and bishop)
5.0-6.4: 4 pieces (2 pieces plus both lances)
6.5-7.9: 5 pieces (4 pieces plus right knight)
8.0 and above: 6 pieces (4 pieces plus both knights)

Example: The difference of the fractional grades of the two players from the above example is 6.5 . The corresponding handicap is 5 pieces.

Further rules: In case of jishogi (mutual entering kings), the handicap giver gets credit for the pieces removed at the start. In case of sennichite (move repetition) or a tied jishogi count, the handicap giver wins.

Schedule:

1st game 15:00 , 18th of June 2024

2nd game 10:00 , 19th of June 2024

3rd game 18:00 , 19th of June 2024

4th game 18:00 , 20th of June 2024

5th game 18:00 , 21st of June 2024

Ending ceremony: 20:00 , 21st of June 2024

Organiser:

Bulgarian Shogi Association

mailto:bulgarianshogiassociation@gmail.com

Youtube: @Bulgarian_Shogi_Association