Maybe it's time for Competitive Tournaments

[Actionjick]

These assertions are incorrect. Pleva, Fort, Fish and the other Great Ones are not All Knowing and All Powerful, unconquerable by ordinary ASL players. They will not grease you in two turns. ASL is not chess and there is no fools mate. I played all of the Old School Great Ones and they were all very, very good. They were not gods, demigods or even heroes. Well maybe heroes
Their strength and what makes them Great Ones is their ability to outplay you over many turns. Taking advantage of every mistake you make or even not mistakes. Just not the best move.

You have to be on your A game when you play this guys. And for Grofaz's Sake learn how they eventually kicked your ass and use it the next time you play.

I'm done ranting. As I have said before test these ideas in real world situations with real people and see how it works. I'm just an OMSIP and could be totally out of touch with what the modern player wants.

The whole point of this diatribe is that a really competitive gamer should want to play those who are better players. Why are they better? You will never know until you play them.

Too much of this depends on why people attend events. My feeling, based on very few real facts, is that most players have mellowed with age and attend primarily for the comradeship. That is why I said that thirty years ago Stewart's idea may have gained some traction but is not really needed now.

All that aside the other point is that you can play the Greats and give them a competitive game if you apply what you know to the best of your ability. Observe what the Great One does. Winning or losing is trivial compared to learning.