World Computer-Bridge Championship, VIII
July 13-18, 2004
at the
ACBL
summer North American Bridge Championships
New York City, New York U.S.A.
Location and Dates
The ACBL's
2004 World Computer-Bridge Championship will start on Tuesday, July 13, 2004, and end no
later than Sunday, July 18. The Event will take place at the American
Contract Bridge League's summer North American Bridge Championships, New York
City, U.S.A. The
playing area will be at the Hilton New York. See the New York City NABC website
for information on places
to stay.
2004 Conditions of Contest:
General
The ACBL
will set the
final Conditions of Contest. This includes any future
changes to the Conditions of Contest below. ACBL Management or its agent may,
at
their discretion, alter the Conditions of Contest.
Entrants are responsible for having their programs compatible with the interactive software that will manage the contest, referred to as the Table Manager. Some help will be available for this purpose, but the responsibility lies with the entrant.
The contestants agree not to file legal claims for any reason regarding this event against the ACBL, its agents, Directors and administrators and other contestants. The persons filing such legal claims shall not be eligible for future ACBL computer events.
The Conditions of Contest include all relevant provisions of the ACBL code of behavior.
One violation of the Conditions of Contest is cause for a warning or disqualification. A second violation will result in disqualification. This applies to all Conditions of Contest whether before, during and after the play dates.
Complaints against players and officials may only be lodged with the ACBL Management. The disposition of these complaints will be final and cannot be appealed. Any complaint deemed frivolous, false or capricious is a violation of the Conditions of Contest.
I. Entry
II. Play
Format
III. Schedule
of Play
IVa. Allowable
Systems and Conventions
b. Explainable
Bids
V. Convention
Cards
VI. Method of Play
VII. Protests and
Rulings
XIII. Code of
Behavior
IX. Officials
I. An Entry
An entry consists of a program and a submitter or submitters. The
submitters must
own the program entered or represent the company that owns the program. The
submitters or company represented must be the developers of the program. A program (or a substantially similar version) may not be entered more than
once. The ACBL will be the sole judge as to the eligibility of a
program.
The program's operator may be either the submitter or, with the permission of the ACBL or its agent, an acceptable person designated by the submitter. Acceptability will be determined by the ACBL.
Programs must meet a minimum standard of play to be determined solely by the ACBL.
Each participant must submit a copy of their program at the start of play.
For the purpose of checking that programs are not violating any of the Event's requirements, various program tests may be done, including testing before, during, and after the Event. Any test will respect the commercial confidentiality and copyright of the source code, algorithms and other intellectual property related to the program. A program's submitter, operator and owner must comply and cooperate fully in any test.
II. Play
Format
If there are six or fewer entries:
Round
robin followed
by a final match.
If there are seven to eleven entries:
Round robin followed by
semifinal and final match.
If there are twelve or more entries:
Round robin, to be played in two
brackets with seeding, followed by
semifinal and final match.
(A) Round Robin:
20-board matches against each opponent, IMP
scoring converted to Victory Points using a 20-VP scale. If there are six
or less entries, there will be 32-board matches.
If six or less entries, the top two contestants play a final; if seven to ten entries, the top four contestants play a semifinal; if eleven or more entries, the top two contestants in each bracket reach the semifinal.
(B) Semifinal:
64 Boards, IMP scoring
If seven to ten entries, 1st plays
4th and 2nd plays 3rd
If eleven or
more entries, first of one bracket plays second in the other bracket.
Ties for the last position from the Round Robin:
If there is a tie
for the last position, and one contestant must be eliminated, then a 10 Board
playoff will take place without carryover. If there are multiple ties for
the last position, and one or more contestants must be eliminated, then an
eight-Board round-robin will take place, without carryover, with the final
positions determined by quotient. All multiple ties that do not include
elimination will be determined by a coin toss, for example, if there is a
two-way tie for 1st and 2nd or for 3rd and
4th.
(C) Final:
64 Boards, IMP scoring
Deals in Play:
Matches in the same round robin round will play the same deals (boards).
Files containing the match deals will be created randomly. Hand records
will be distributed by the
Coordinator after the start of each match.
Carryover:
If six or less
entries, the top two contestants play a final with carryover; if seven to ten entries, the top four contestants play a
semifinal with carryover and then a final with carryover; if eleven or more entries, the top two
contestants in each bracket reach the semifinal, without carryover, and then a
final without carryover.
Only the contestant that finishes higher in the round robin than it's opponent can be awarded a carryover. The carryover, if applicable, will be equal to the lesser of (a) the head-to-head VP difference the two opponents and (b) the their overall VP difference. There is no carryover if the contestant finishing higher in the round robin did not win the head-to-head round robin match against it's opponent.
If any KO match ends in a tie then 8-board segments will be played until there is a winner.
The number of boards for any stage may be changed by 25%.
III. Schedule of
Play
The schedule of play will be set by the
Coordinator. The Coordinator's approval is required for any deviation by
participants from the schedule, including, but not limited to, playing a match
at a different time than scheduled.
If the starting time for a session is not at, or near, the scheduled time, then
the Coordinator may require that a different set of deals be played.
Round Robin, July 13-15
For more than six entries, round robin play will be in a 4-session/day schedule. Each 20-board match is expected to be played, both ways, in under 3 hours, allowing 2 hours 40 minutes (4 minutes per board) for play and 15 minutes for setup. The first round of round robin play will start on the morning or afternoon of July 13.
For six or less entries, round robin play will be in a 4-session/day schedule. Each round robin match will be consist of two 16-board segments, with VP awarded based on the entire 32-board match. Each 16-board segment is expected to be played, both ways, in under 2 1/2 hours, allowing 2 hours 8 minutes for play and 15 minutes for setup. A small break will be allowed between 16-board segments.
Semifinals, July 16 or 17
Finals, July 17 or 18
IV. a. Allowable
Systems and Conventions
Limited systems and conventions will
be allowed, modeled after the ACBL General Chart, modified to allow only natural
opening one bids. General details are given elsewhere. In general, non-standard systems and conventions will not be allowed, with
consideration given to what is standard in different parts of the world. The Convention
Card Spreadsheet (shown here with Contestant's 2003 systems) is the definitive list of allowable Conventions.
Requests can be made for additional allowable conventions. The final decision on allowable conventions will be made by the Coordinator.
IV. b. Explainable
Bids
In all cases bids shown in red on the Convention
Card Spreadsheet are explainable to the opponent, that is, the meaning of
the bid will be described to the opponent either through electronic
communication or through manual input. Also see the section describing Allowable/Explainable
Bids. Note that explainable bids are self-explainable,
that is, the bidder explains the bid to both opponents. An explanation may come from the
program, the operator, or a combination of both.
The input may be either electronic or manual. Electronic input is not required. An operator may always revert to manual input.
An explanation is limited to the meaning of the current bid (in regard to the entire auction). Only "new" information will be given, and will be limited to all or part of that described in the protocol. All "explainable" bids shall be recorded, with a record made of the information given and the information input. This must be verified by both contestants. Details of which bids are explainable are given elsewhere.
The program or operator may give the meaning of a bid or sequence of bids.
No penalties will be imposed for unintentional insufficient or inaccurate electronic transmission of information relating to an explainable bids. In general, if there is a protest due to information that was transmitted electronically, the deal will be replayed using manual input.
The operator must state before a match whether Manual Input of the meaning of Explainable Bids will take place (a) as the bids are made, (b) at the end of the auction, or (c) not at all. If (a) or (b) is chosen, an exception will be allowed if it is declared before a match that the meaning of certain conventional bids will never be input. One reason that this option might be chosen is if a program already understands the meaning of an explainable conventional bid. If any other exception is requested during play it must be made to the Coordinator or Director, not the opponent.
Participants are not to input the meaning of any bid that is not an explainable bid. Participants must confine their input to the information contained in the protocol. No exception can be made by the participants. If there is a question regarding whether a bid is explainable or not, the Coordinator or Director should be called to resolve the issue.
Input of the explanation of an explainable bid will be consistent with the Protocol. The explanation consists of the range of the opponent's suit lengths, high card points, total points, or specific controls, if relevant. Input also includes, when relevant, that a bid is asking for: Aces, Kings, a 4- or 5- card major; a minor; support; a lead in suit; or lead not in a suit. The explanation also includes whether a bid is forcing to game, one round, or promises a rebid. That is a summary. The actual input follows.
Explainable information consists of one or more of
the following pieces:
"[n] cards in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"up to [n] cards in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"at least [n] cards in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"[n1] to [n2] cards in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"[n] total points"
"up to [n] total points"
"at least [n] total points"
"[n1] to [n2] total points"
"[n] points in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"up to [n] points in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"at least [n] points in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"[n1] to [n2] points in [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"[n] total aces"
"[n] total kings"
"ace of [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"king of [suit]" (repeated for each relevant suit)
"Asking for aces"
"Asking for kings"
"Asking for a major suit"
"Asking for a four-card major suit"
"Asking for a five-card major suit"
"Asking for a minor suit"
"Asking for a four-card suit"
"Asking for support"
"Asks for lead in [suit]"
"Asks for lead not in [suit]"
"Forcing for one round"
"Forcing until game"
"Promises a rebid"
V. Convention
Cards
The tournament Convention Card
Spreadsheet (Windows Excel) must be filled out.
One Convention Card per program.
Minor changes may be allowed before a match with the Coordinator's approval. Conventions cannot be changed during a match. The Coordinator or Director can make exceptions for cause.
VI. Method of
Play
Computer
Equipment
P4 2 MHz/128 MB or similar
equipment, running under Windows 98 or XP. All contestants will use the
same or similar equipment.
Table Manager
Two copies of each program will play as a pair on a network of
computers to be provided.
Matches will be controlled by a Table Manager program. One that may be used is a Table Manager developed by Ian Trackman of Blue Chip Bridge Ltd. This program is the property of Blue Chip Bridge Ltd which has full copyright and other intellectual property rights to it. If it is used it will be supplied to acceptable potential contestants solely for the purpose of preparing for the Montreal competition. To receive a copy an entrant must agree to the above restrictions, abide by the copyright, agree not distribute the program, and sign a release statement provided by Blue Chip Bridge, Ltd.
Transmission of information as to deals, bids and play of cards and otherwise, will be consistent with the protocol defined on http://www.bluechipbridge.co.uk/protocol.htm.
Programs must not communicate with their “partner” program or any other program nor search for any information. Any attempt to do so will be deemed to be a violation of the rules. The penalty is disqualification. The ACBL reserves the right to implement whatever network monitoring and/or other measures that it thinks fit without disclosure to the participants.
Time-outs, bugs, crashes, and
delays
Programs may compute while the
opposing program is bidding or playing a card. However, all bridge-related activity
will cease for a time-out or an unexpected halt in play.
Between matches operators may improve
and/or debug their programs, provided that the program remains substantially the
same. In rare cases an adjustments may be allowed
during a match or between deals, if there is a clear and unmistakable wrong
setting and the adjustment can be made quickly.
In the event of an unexpected halt in play,
the board will be replayed. The
operator is to ensure that, when replayed, the program does not have any advance
knowledge of the interrupted board.
In all cases of unexpected halts in play, the Coordinator will be
notified before play restarts.
Speed of
Computer Play
Round robin: Speed of play will be, on
average, 4 minutes per board (approximately 1/2 that of human play speed) or, on
average, 2 minutes per program pair per board. While it is expected that all
computers will be the same, if they are not then the timing of play may be
adjusted accordingly. Each 20-board Round Robin match segment is expected to be
played in 80 minutes. This excludes any set-up time or delays or
time-outs due to rulings, power outages, computer mishaps, or 5-minute coffee
break. This 2 minutes per board does not include the time for
Manual Input.
Slow play in the round robin will be penalized. A match, consisting of two segments (corresponding to two tables of play), will be played in approximately 160 minutes. A warning will be given for the first 5-minute delay, that is, if a program is playing its side of the table at 45 minutes per 20-boards (instead of 40 minutes per 20 boards). If a participant considers that the opposing program is exceeding its time limit, as described here, the matter should be referred to the Coordinator. The Coordinator may then monitor the speed of play, or may assign a monitor. If the monitor deems that the program’s play continues to be slower than 45 minutes for 20 boards, up to a 6-IMP penalty per monitored five-minute delay will be imposed. After a five-minute delay the play speed must be increased to under 40 minutes per 20 boards. Further penalties of 6-IMPs per five-minute delay will be imposed with a further time adjustment made.
After start of each match a program may raise its speed of play (play faster) but may not lower its speed (play slower), unless the Coordinator or Director determines that circumstances exist to allow an exception. Such circumstances include a clear error or oversight. Intent and fairness will be the deciding factor.
Semifinals and final: Speed of play in the semifinals and final will also be, on average, 4 minutes per board. Timing regulations and penalties will be similar to those in the round robin. A warning and penalties will apply if play is longer than 37 minutes per 16-board segment.
VII. Protests and
Rulings
When a question of conditions of contest is raised,
the Coordinator should be called. The usual infractions regarding unauthorized
information, revokes, penalty cards, leads out of turn, etc., do not take place
in computer play. Infractions may involve slow play, misinformation and
insufficient information related to explainable bids, or a failure to specify
(alert) that a bid is explainable.
Regarding a question of Insufficient/Incomplete/Incorrect Information
Unlike in
human play where the penalty is often resolved in an extreme manner, that is to
say, best/worst possible results, here our
first choice is to replay a deal with the correct information given. If this is
not possible then the Director or Coordinator will resolve the issue. There
is no intent to penalize inadvertent and infrequent misinformation. Fairness and equity will be the guideline.
The Coordinator can make a ruling or direct the inquiry to the Director. Rulings can be discussed with the participants and reconsideration can be requested. If reconsideration is requested, then the Coordinator and/or Director will consult with others before making a final ruling. All decisions are final.
VIII. Code of
Behavior
Inquiries before and during the
Event
All inquiries regarding this Event must be respectfully
directed to the Coordinator. Contacting the sponsors or administrators of
participating organizations must be cleared with the Coordinator. If
approved, the communication will be forwarded.
Conduct during Play
When play is in
session the participants (including the program operator and any representatives
associated with the entry) will maintain a quiet and respectful atmosphere so as
not to affect or disturb opposing participants or other participants in the same
room.
All interaction between participants shall be respectful. Protests and appeals made to the Coordinator or Director shall be respectful.
Promotional Activities
During the dates
the contest is being conducted (July 13-18) and through the completion of the
ACBL's summer NABC (July 8-18), participants shall not publish, or
submit for publication, any aspect of the championship event, exhibition
matches, or informal competition of any kind,
without the express consent of the ACBL.
General
Conduct
A contestant, or someone associated with the contestant,
program, or company that owns the program, may not publicly criticize this
contest. Constructive criticism is welcome and should take the form of an
inquiry to the Coordinator.
Complaints against players and officials may only be lodged with the ACBL Management. The disposition of these complaints will be final and cannot be appealed. Any complaint deemed frivolous, false or capricious is a violation of the Conditions of Contest.
Any lack of full cooperation with the event administrators or officials will be considered a violation of the Conditions of Contest. It is an offense and violation of the Conditions of Contest to fail to comply with instructions of an event official. This applies to all Conditions of Contest whether before, during and after the play dates.
One violation of the Conditions of Contest is cause for a warning or disqualification. A second violation will result in disqualification.
IX.
Tournament Coordinator
Al
Levy
ACBL Administrator
Gary Blaiss
Tournament Director
Sol Weinstein