I just received my tournament packet from the APA today, confirming that I’ll be playing in the APA Regionals in Bakersfield, CA on March 5. Included in my paperwork is a list of all tournament participants. Since I’m rated as a 7, I’ll be playing in the top division against players who are rated either 6 or 7. In the “purple tier” as it’s known, there are 32 players (19 6s and 13 7s) competing for 2 spots that will move on to compete for the National Title. I personally know 5 of the players rated 7, and this is not going to be an easy tournament. Here’s the list of players competing in Bakersfield, with a few preliminary notes that I’ve scratched in the margins to help me gague the speed of the players that I don’t know.
Angle of Reflection 
OK, now you’re going to have to decode the initial notes 😛
Games played, games won & total points (aggregate SL)? I do something similar.
Looks like your board is pulling from Bakersfield, Campbell, Fresno, and San Francisco, BTW.
Yeah, nothing complicated with the notes. I usually research players and look back two or three seasons to see their matches played, matches won, and points earned. The points earned tells me on average the skill level of players they beat. You have to be very careful though because the numbers in some cases can be very misleading. It’s just a very rough guage. I’m going to employ a different game strategy against a 7 who is undefeated and always plays 7s vs a 7 who has a bad win/loss ratio, and has only beaten 4s and 5s. It’s just good to have a plan before the match begins.
Focus, focus, focus. Mind over body. Good luck with the regional.
Good luck this weekend!