I was unable to go to ACF Regionals this last
January on the West Coast, so I didn't see the big change
in ACF tournament difficulty level from 2000 Regs to
2001 Regs until Nov 3 in Illinois. I think, however,
that the questions at the two levels of tournament
difficulty accomplished similar goals (the best teams won)
and were equally enjoyable. With compliments to both
levels of ACF (the "name this Ethiopian king" type
versus the "kings of which country" type), I think the
new "local level" ACF does the better job at not
scaring away the newest of players while challenging the
older ones at the same time. If any scaring is done, it
is done by the best teams rather than the questions.
Tournaments like the Artaud, Chicago Open and ACF Nationals
will still be around to ask us to name these
compositions of Scriabin, none of which involve Prometheus
FTPE. I'll look forward to all kinds of difficulty
levels in ACF. Congratulations to the editor, and thanks
to those who allowed me to play this
weekend.
--Wesley (who finally heard a long-awaited Skanderbeg clue
despite the easier questions).