user11144: Less "radical": see also this question.
Usually, in tournaments rules hold uniformly for each participant. Here are some examples that might violate the rule:

A: Those who can't notate (very young players, disabled) may have an assistant. (Usually they get a slight time malus in return. Official rules: E-01-8.1.6 and E-02)
B: For very young players, also other measurements may be taken (e.g. playing without clocks), but this usually then holds for everyone (U8 tournaments and such) and thus no violation of the above principle.
C: Sometimes in DWZ (German rating system) club tournaments, the weaker player gets compensated with a time bonus, but usually only in "fun" tournaments.

Was there ever a "large" (even FIDE) tournament where "weaker" people got a bonus beyond A and more in the line of C?

user17330: This is kind of an opposite of an answer, but McMahon system is a modification of the Swiss system where players are awarded starting scores according to their rating: the higher rating, the higher starting score. The logic is that we "pretend" that the first few Swiss rounds have been played, and the higher-rated players were paired with significantly lower-rating players and won their games.
This may sound extremely unfair, and McMahon system is rarely if ever used in chess, but it's quite common in Go. Go has no draws, and the result of a game between two players of different level is much more "deterministic" than in chess. So, it really makes sense to avoid such pairings.
Incidentally, when Morozevich picked up Go, there was some over-excitement about his results as reported on chess websites unfamiliar with McMahon system, such as "he scored 9/9 in a the European Go championships". True, this does not nearly imply he won!

11144: <p>Less &quot;radical&quot;: see also <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/24869/are-there-any-tournaments-that-treat-less-represented-groups-preferentially">this question</a>.</p>
<p>Usually, in tournaments rules hold uniformly for each participant. Here are some examples that might violate the rule:</p>
<ul>
<li>A: Those who can't notate (very young players, disabled) may have an assistant. (Usually they get a slight time malus in return. Official rules: <a href="https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012018" rel="nofollow noreferrer">E-01-8.1.6 and E-02</a>)</li>
<li>B: For very young players, also other measurements may be taken (e.g. playing without clocks), but this usually then holds for everyone (U8 tournaments and such) and thus no violation of the above principle.</li>
<li>C: Sometimes in DWZ (German rating system) club tournaments, the weaker player gets compensated with a time bonus, but usually only in &quot;fun&quot; tournaments.</li>
</ul>
<p>Was there ever a &quot;large&quot; (even FIDE) tournament where &quot;weaker&quot; people got a bonus beyond A and more in the line of C?</p>
 17330: <p>This is kind of an opposite of an answer, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMahon_system_tournament" rel="nofollow noreferrer">McMahon</a> system is a modification of the Swiss system where players are awarded starting scores according to their rating: the higher rating, the higher starting score. The logic is that we &quot;pretend&quot; that the first few Swiss rounds have been played, and the higher-rated players were paired with significantly lower-rating players and won their games.</p>
<p>This may sound extremely unfair, and McMahon system is rarely if ever used in chess, but it's quite common in Go. Go has no draws, and the result of a game between two players of different level is much more &quot;deterministic&quot; than in chess. So, it really makes sense to avoid such pairings.</p>
<p>Incidentally, when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Morozevich" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Morozevich</a> picked up Go, there was some over-excitement about his results as reported on chess websites unfamiliar with McMahon system, such as &quot;he scored 9/9 in a the European Go championships&quot;. True, this does not nearly imply he won!</p>
