Running simultaneous face-to-face and BBO sessions with the same boards
A couple of clubs I am involved with are looking ahead to a time when face to face bridge becomes possible. While players trickle in nervously, F2F numbers may be low at first, and the idea is to run two sections - F2F & BBO, same hands, then merge the two sections for results. The simple minded way would be to set it up on EBUScorer as two sections, the F2F going in as usual and the second section player names and travellers entered manually from the BBO results file. It is a lot more work for the TD.
Any better ideas out there?
Comments
John Goacher's BBOtoXML, which has been mentioned here a number of times, can combine sessions from separate sources - the live ones from a USEBIO file and BBO ones imported directly.
Thank you Gordon. Next question, I have never come across a USEBIO file except with RealBridge, don't know the format, I am afraid. Does EBUScore generate a USEBIO file? I know it does produce an .xml file (for UMS submission) and one for uploading to Bridgewebs - is that a USEBIO by any chance?
The XML file produced by EBUScore for UMS upload is a USEBIO file. It contains full traveller information and can be uploaded to Bridgewebs, as well as to the EBU. EBUScore also has a specific interface for Bridgewebs upload but this is via a CSV file, not XML.
BBOtoXML generates USEBIO XML files, and can import USEBIO XML files from various sources, enabling sessions to be combined from multiple platforms. You specifically mentioned the case of merging F2F and BBO events, but BBOtoXML can also merge RealBridge and BBO events, or RealBridge and F2F events, for example. In doing so, it will also preserve the auction/play data (used by BridgeWebs for the "play" links on travellers) if the imported XML file contained it.
Thank you very much indeed! Just what I needed.
Further to this topic, we have one club that plays face to face, looking to combine the scores with a cub that plays online (RealBridge) on the same evening. This will be once a month. I have no problem combining the scores using the BBO to XML.
But I cannot get my head around what happens if one club plays, say 21 boards, and the other club plays 18 boards.
We propose to submit the combined result to the EBU (each club taking it in turns so that the same results are not posted twice, UMS charged properly, proper impact on NGs etc.). Would the scores from boards 19-21 show in the combined result? If so, would the scores be correct for those last three boards, given that they will only have been played by around half of the combined field? Or should I exclude boards 19-21 from the combined result (that doesn't seem fair, but maybe the solution)
Yes, boards 19 to 21 will show in the combined results. The matchpoints for those boards will be adjusted using the Neuberg formula since they have been played fewer times than boards 1 to 18. Also, if the movement in one section was single winner and in the other section was two winner then the result will be converted to single winner.
I can't comment on the fairness of including or omitting boards that have only been played in one of the sections.