All fifty players will play in the eighteen-game preliminary round from Friday to Sunday (see schedule). First-round pairings will be based on qualifying ratings, and will pair players in the first and third quartiles at random. Thereafter, modified Swiss pairings based on player wins and total opponent wins (rather than spread) will be generated by computer each turn. Some repeat pairing may take place toward the end of the tournament. If player(s) have clinched finals berths before the end of the tournament, they will subsequently be paired against the bottom of the field. For more details about the preliminary pairing algorithm, or a copy of the Perl script that will be used to run it, please contact John Chew.