Per my comment above, I think it is nice that players are offered multiple options. I do wonder if one or both events might suffer by the competition drawing players that otherwise would attend both tournaments. Perhaps the efforts of the NMCO have energized more players to participate OTB. Which is good for all.

I understand the rationale. It seems, however, that an underlying assumption is that there are enough players to support multiple tournaments on the same day. Which may indeed be the case. I hope both tournaments draw enough numbers to prosper.

Since I originally posted my comment, I've noticed that tourney information has improved markedly -- not to mention that we are offered an increased number of opportunities to play OTB. All of which I appreciate.

When will NMCO come out of the pandemic? Are there any chess tournaments scheduled at all?