Answers

What do the Frequencies mean?

So - you are looking at the frequencies, and they just don't make sense!

Well, first of all, note that there are two sets of frequencies - one for your local club only, and the other for the overall results. The club ones can be accessed by going to the club results or your personal score, and the link is on the left. The overall ones are linked from the top of the general results pages (rather than your own scorecard or the club ranking)- there is a link to frequencies beside the link to clubs.

Now you have found them, let's have a look. The frequencies show just that - the number of times - i.e. the frequency - that a particular board has had a specific score.

So, going across the top, the first column shows the Scores. Every time a score is entered, it will appear on the frequency chart. Some boards may have relatively few scores, where perhaps the bidding is quite simple and where there are few chances either for declarer to make an error or to get an overtrick. Other boards may have a great long list of scores because it has more room for manoeuvre in the bidding and play. You will see that each score is underlined, and if you click on it you will see which pairs at which clubs achieved that score.

The next column is headed Freq. That is the actual number of times that score has been achieved. Next column is Factored - this is a bit more complicated!

If you look at the frequencies for the most played board you will see that the frequency and the factored frequency are the same. (most club results are like this).

Taking the local club results (they are smaller and it is easier to explain) ... If the most played board has been played 9 times ( which gives a possible top of 16) and there is a board played only 8 times or one that has a penalty or adjusted score then using manual matchpointing a top will be 14, but this is unfair to a pair doing well.

So we alter the scores using the formula

MP = (N/n x (mp+1)) - 1

Where N is the number of scores normally,  n is the number of scores this time

 mp Matchpoints in group
MP factored MPs

10/9 x (17) - 1 = 15.9 top

For frequencies they are just multiplied by N/n

Frequencies are multiplied by 9/8 to give factored frequencies

I hope that hasn't made your head explode!

Then the other two columns simply show the total Match Points score achieved on the board by NS and EW.

NOTE that NONE of this has anything to do with Master Points which are calculated at the end of the event when it is finalised and published as a PDF file - they are never shown as part of the results. Click here to find out more about Master Points.

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