League standings

[spacefrog]

I wonder if somebody could clarify one of the points in the rules for me. Under the heading "LEAGUE STANDING CREDITS" it says the following:

Criteria for standings in the order that they are used are:

1. Total credits earned
2. Percentage of matches won
3. Results of played matches

"Results of played matches" is a little confusing. It obviously does NOT refer to matches played exclusively between tied players, since this is the following criterium described, only to be used when the above three all continue to produce a tie. Could it be the difference in points won and points lost by the tied players in all the league matches played with all players during the month?

If not, then what exactly does "Results of played matches" mean? If so, then I would be very interested to hear it.

Thank you for your attention,

spacefrog

[TheCubist]

My understanding is that it refers to the cumulative of points for and points against from all matches played for that month. Whomsoever possessed the bigger difference would win the tie-breaker.

[Joy_IBADirector]

Yes Cubist, you are correct.

To break a tie we first go to Step 1 ... Total Credits Earned. The vast majority of the time this will resolve the tie. If not, then we go to Step 2 ... Percentages of Matches Won.

Only one time have we been forced to continue to Step 3 ... Results of Played Matches. It is on the list only to handle that rare exception.

[spacefrog]

Well, that makes three of us, including Joy, an IBA Director, who all thought that ‘results of matches played’ referred to the difference in the totals of points for and against from all matches played that month. But apparently it does not refer to that at all. This is clear from the fact that I failed to be promoted to the first division at the end of last month following a five-player points and percentages tie, despite having much the best ‘results of matches played’ under the interpretation that I, among others, had placed on it.



As this is a game, we must all play by the rules, and in order to do so the rules must be clear. The rules state that “It is your responsibility to be familiar with these rules and to comply” and therefore, as my right and responsibility under IBA rules, I must insist that the person who decided that I had not satisfied the criteria for promotion reveal the basis on which the decision was taken.



Thank you once more for your attention.



spacefrog

[Joy_IBADirector]

Hi spacefrog,

I certainly can appreciate your question. I just wish I could answer it. IBA's League Coordinator is currently on leave dealing with a personal tragedy and her focus is on her family at this time. The decision on breaking the tie was hers and I know that she will be happy to explain it to you once she returns to her duties.

In the meantime, I ask for your patience and compassion for her personal situation.

Thank you,

Joy

[Joy_IBADirector]

I am attaching the breakdown of that rare five-way tie that occured in Division 2B's October league. It will show you exactly how the determinations were made on who would advance and who would not.

If you do not have Excel on your computer, you can download the free Excel Viewer program here, (http://www.microsoft.com/office/000/viewers.asp)

[spacefrog]

Thank you for supplying the full list of the five tied players’ results, but the mystery surrounding the decision to promote rudigerjona and sweetypie to the first division deepens further still on examination of these data. Sweetypie had a positive difference of 8 pts, while Rudigerjona had a mere 5 pts, and both went up. Meanwhile, AlfaRomeo and dolphinlove had 12 and 14 pts respectively, clearly higher and yet they remain in Division 2.



The fact that my own positive points difference of a whopping 29 pts has been reduced to just 5 pts by some spectacularly poor arithmetic on somebody’s part (certainly not Excel’s) adds further to the confusion.



In the end, the promoted players were precisely those with the lowest points difference in reality, although just why I was not promoted by merit of the mathematical error that placed me lowest on points difference is not clear. Knowing myself well, I am sure I would have embraced the decision with blissfully ignorant jubilation, and that would have been the end of the matter.



As it now stands, it is a little disappointing to find that even after the drastic reduction in the uncertainties created by the old 3-point forfeit system, which meant that the final positions were a complete mystery even when the playing month had finished, it is still anyone’s guess what might happen behind closed doors between the 28th of one month and the 1st day of the next.



spacefrog

[spacefrog]

According to IBA rules I have now won Division 2A for two consecutive months. Nevertheless, I remain in Division 2A for yet another month. I am a little concerned for the integrity of the league. The league management has failed to give any explanation whatsoever for its erratic decision in October, but now attention must turn to November. Following another five-way tie on credits, the second criterium for determing standings, that of higher percentage of wins, has been ignored entirely. And by coincidence the same player has been affected once again. Is it another mistake? Just a coincidence?

Promotion and relegation are, of course, automatic. Nobody would ever question that. But could it be that they are more automatic for some than for others?

spacefrog

[Joy_IBADirector]

Hello spacefrog,

First I would like to assure you that no decisions on the placement of league players are erratic and all inquiries are investigated for possible human error. Favortism among the participants is not tolerated nor has it ever been proven to exist. There are no "behind closed doors" decisions that go beyond IBA's published league rules. IBA has nothing to hide from its members and I must say that I take personal offense from the suggestion that we do.

I wish to emphasize that in six years, five-way ties are rare. Attached is further documention as to how the placement decisions on the November five-way tie were made detailing the decision process step-by-step. Perhaps this will help you better understand the process as you review your standings each month.

Yours in backgammon,

[Tapper_IBA]

Hi spacefrog,
In October, after using all the criteria, there was a 5-way tie. All players had 25 credits, 7 wins, 4 losses, 11 matches played and were even with 64% of won matches. In the October tie, step 1 was the only step necessary because it totally resolved the placements.

Step 1 - to break the tie a comparison of the tie players versus each other. The result was:

rudigerjona 4 wins - 0 losses
sweetypie 3 wins - 1 loss
AlfaRomeo 2 wins - 2 losses
dolphinlove 1 win - 3 losses
spacefrog 0 wins - 4 losses
Amongst the tied players, spacefrog lost to the other 4.

Cordially,

Tapper_IBA
League Manager
www.iba-backgammon.com (http://www.iba-backgammon.com)

[GV_eskimo]

I think that (last and correct) xls sheet could be put on the rules pages as an example. It clearly (?) shows ties are resolved as a mini-division between the tied players only.

And as I've mentioned I would change the wording of "percentage of matches" to "percentage of matches between the tied players".

Eskimo

[Joy_IBADirector]

Greetings Eskimo,

Both of your suggestions are very good. I will ask Tapper to please implement them. This may take some time since they will require multiple translations before adding them.

But first, if you (or any player) have any suggestions for wording changes on the November_League_Division_2A_ties.xls document's explanations that will make them even clearer, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you :clap:

[spacefrog]

This should make it all 'even clearer'. I have tried to minimize changes to the wording in order to reduce translation work as far as possible, and am confident that happiness will abound.



LEAGUE STANDING CREDITS:

League Standing Credits is the first criterium IBA uses to determine IBA League standings:

Each win = 3 credits
Each loss = 1 credit

Ties: If two or more players have the same number of credits, a review is made of the matches played between/among those tied players. In a two player tie, the player who won that match is placed higher. In a three or more player tie, the results are taken from the matches played between those players and a mini-league is drawn up.


Criteria for standings in the mini-league created are, in order of application:

1. Total credits earned
2. Percentage of matches won
3. Balance of points won in the course of matches



Whenever the tie is partially broken, i.e. one or more players’ definitive standings are established by the mini-league, another mini-league involving the remaining tied players is drawn up, and the above criteria for standings are followed once more, in the same order, in a repeat of the same procedure, a procedure which is repeated until all ties have been resolved.


And after that?………….



Only in the unlikely case that a tie persists after the all the mini-league criteria have been exhausted will use be made, once again, of all league matches played, firstly, the percentage of matches won, and secondly, the balance of points won in the course of matches.