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I am going to ask and answer this question since I played in one for the first time in almost 40 years yesterday, and because I find it surprising that no one has asked this previously.

So, "what is a "tornado" in chess?"

PhishMaster
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    Not to be confused with the Tornado UCI chess engine. – Mast Mar 02 '20 at 13:30
  • @Mast Thanks. I have never heard of that one. – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 13:32
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    "I am going to ask and answer this question since I played in one for the first time in almost 40 years yesterday, and because I find it surprising that no one has asked this previously." For the sake of keeping the Q&A illusion, is this sentence necessary? (same with the other questions) – Quintec Mar 02 '20 at 16:43
  • Maybe not, but it was a personal decision. Otherwise, it was too short anyway, and I would have to find other filler to meet the minimum requirements for length. And to be honest, how strong is that "illusion" anyway since my name is listed for both the question and an answer? – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 16:46
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    I think it would be better to remove that sentence and instead insert a sentence or two about the context in which you heard the word "tornado" that made it confusing or surprising. If someone just asked "What is a tornado in chess", that would not be a very good question, and the same standard applies to self-answered questions. Adding some context makes it easier to understand, and easier to find from a search engine. I've proposed an edit to that effect. – amalloy Mar 02 '20 at 19:06
  • That sentence was a bit confusing to me, because I assume that it was some kind of sequence of moves on the board. – Michael Mar 03 '20 at 01:06
  • @Michael What sentence? – PhishMaster Mar 03 '20 at 01:09
  • about "playing in one" – Michael Mar 03 '20 at 01:11
  • Well, I, purposely, did not want to give away the answer the question. If you do not know what a tornado is in this context, the question should pique your interest, and by its nature, might confuse a bit if you are not familiar with the idea. That is precisely what the answer is for. – PhishMaster Mar 03 '20 at 01:15

1 Answers1

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I do not know if this term is used in other countries, but in the U.S., a “tornado” is a swiss chess tournament with four rounds in one day, typically at a sudden death in 60 minutes time control. It was probably given that nickname because your mind is spinning from so much chess in one day.

I played in the “Queen City Tornado” yesterday, and there were rounds at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6 p.m.. It makes for a very long day.

PhishMaster
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  • Why the downvotes? Seriously? http://nhchess.org/ – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 03:07
  • IMHO, having 5 hour rounds where I have to roam around a strange city for hours is a much longer day than having something to do. Your definition of a long day is directly opposite of mine. – Mike Jones Mar 02 '20 at 03:08
  • And THAT is why you downvoted? The day started before that, and ends at about 9 p.m. To me, 13-14 hours of chess is a long day. – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 03:12
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    I kinda like this format. It's just about the only thing available around here anymore - we don't call them "Tornado" anymore, but we used to. Either 4 rounds SD/60, or maybe 5 rounds SD/45. We used to have full weekend tournaments with time controls like 40/90, SD/60, 5 rounds - 1 round Friday night, 2 rounds on Saturday and Sunday (sometimes with an alternate 2 day schedule with different time controls for the first 3 rounds and merges on Sunday). The problem we find is nobody has a full weekend (plus Friday night) to devote to chess. Including me... I do miss the weekend events, though. – patbarron Mar 02 '20 at 04:50
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    That being said ... I do tend to play fast, so in long time control events, I usually finish way early and end up with a lot of time to kill between rounds. And when I can carve out one day in a weekend to devote to chess, I want to get in as many rounds as possible. :-) – patbarron Mar 02 '20 at 04:52
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    @patbarron in my area we often see those kind of weekend events, the last one I entered was a 2 hour drive for me, my opponent for game 2 (saturday morning) didn't show up, and there was no point in driving all the way home and back. That really put me off, I think I'd quite enjoy a day like the one described in this answer – Darren H Mar 02 '20 at 07:23
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    Having to sit at the board for an hour with a clock running (assuming USCF rules), waiting for an opponent who's probably not going to show up, for the first round of the day, is absolutely the worst... :-( Like, I woke up early for this? – patbarron Mar 02 '20 at 08:38
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    @patbarron Thanks for the comments. I glad you seem to like the question. I know it is strange asking and answering my own question, but at least I am not using a second account to cheat by asking it, and then upvoting and accepting my own answer. I have always liked the longer time controls myself, and as I get older, that extra time is even more welcome. That said, the funny thing is that, with the exception of my poor opening versus a GM in the 3rd round, I felt like I played my best chess ever start to finish in that tournament, despite the fast control. – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 10:18
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    Why the Downvotes? - Some people are jerks. Give them a red button and they will press it just to watch it burn. Don't give them attention. – Mindwin Remember Monica Mar 02 '20 at 17:15
  • @Mindwin Thank you. I think it is more that they do not like people asking and answering their own questions, so they take that out on the person asking. Instead, a better way is to just not vote at all, or only vote for either question or answer. I posted because SE Chess has been dead for a few days, and I wanted to liven it back up. The only alternative is to cheat, and create a sock-puppet account to post, and then most cheaters upvote and accept their own answer. Clearly, I am not the type to do that. – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 17:20
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    We live in the age off skimming and making up your own truth. People just don't bother to learn the rules. The purpose of the StackExchange is to create a repository of information. Self-answering is as selfless as one can be. Just do your thing and remember that an upvote is worth five downvotes. – Mindwin Remember Monica Mar 02 '20 at 17:26
  • @Mindwin Frankly, it really is not about the points. I often hit the 200-point limit anyway, as I did by the time I woke up this morning. It just detracts from good questions/answers that maybe someone might have read if the vote totals were better. – PhishMaster Mar 02 '20 at 17:28