^Book prizes have been sponsored by Elk and Ruby whose website appears here

REFUNDS

Refund requests will be considered up to 72 hours before the event start time & an admin fee of £6 will be charged per refund per player. Players can also transfer their entry fee to the next tournament if the request is made within 48 hours of the event. No requests for refunds or transfers will be considered less than 48 hours of the event

RATING

The latest ECF Rapid Rating will be used to determine a player’s ratings as published on the first of the tournament month for pairings. In case neither an ECF nor a FIDE Rapid Rating is available, Blitz / Standard /Estimated Rating (with evidence) may also be used by the Organiser for pairings as required. All sections will be sent for Rapidplay rating to the ECF so that every player has a rating / updated rating after the event

RATE OF PLAY, Requesting Half-Point BYE, No Shows & WITHDRAWALS

Each player will have 15 minutes plus a 10 second increment per move from start

If your opponent has not arrived within 10 minutes of the start of a round (no show), they will be defaulted and you should report to the Organiser’s desk for taking a full-point bye for the default or for re-pairing to play either a tournament game or a friendly ECF rated game as feasible for the round/s

Players may take a Half-Point Bye in advance for Any One Round Except the Last Round if requested on the entry form or with an arbiter / organiser on the day for an upcoming round

Players who do not show up for a round after the default time without an explicit permission from an arbiter /organiser will be considered as withdrawn automatically for all future rounds & removed from pairings for smooth running of the tournament. Reinstatement of the excluded player will be at the discretion of the Organiser / Chief Arbiter at an additional fee of £10

PAIRINGS, SECTIONS & CLOCKS

All pairings will be done using 'Swiss Manager' software; Round #1 pairings will be endeavoured to be published by 10am on the day & pairings for all other rounds published as soon as feasible and displayed on Chess-Results.com. If there is an odd number of players in a section, then one player in the draw will receive a full-point bye for that round and, if possible, will be paired for a friendly game instead. (Players score 1 for a win, ½ for a draw, 0 for a loss)

Please ensure to check that your Rating & Name are correctly displayed on the Chess-Results page at least one day ahead of the tournament & report any discrepancies to the Organiser promptly, but certainly much ahead of the publishing of the pairings for Round #1

Default time is 10 minutes after start, after which Re-Pairing may be made for each player whose opponent has not arrived and for any player otherwise having a full-point bye

In general, sections will not be merged. However, the Chief Arbiter reserves the right to merge sections if there are insufficient number of entries in one or more sections

Digital clocks will be used in all sections and help will be given to anyone unfamiliar with them

FAIR PLAY REGULATIONS

All mobile phones and electronic devices must be switched-off at all times in the Playing Hall. They should be put either on the control desk or face-down on the playing table, or in a bag under the desk that must not be moved whilst games are in play. If it is evident that during play, a player’s device is not turned off or a player has such a device on their person or has had access to any such device, the player shall be warned in the first instance & unfortunately defaulted on second instance with a forfeit / loss of game

Any spectators (Players are classified as spectators after finishing their games), Parents/guardians/carers and others who may enter the Playing Hall must also have their mobile phones / electronic devices switched-off at all times

DISPUTES

In the event of a dispute regarding the rules during play, a player should Pause the Clock and summon an Arbiter - an appeal on the Arbiter's decision can be made to the Chief Arbiter within 10 minutes of the incident. The Chief Arbiter's decision will be final & binding in all matters

REFRESHMENTS

Barham Village Store is not open on Sundays & there will be no catered lunch (e.g. sandwiches or hot food) available at the event. Food and drink may be consumed in Barham Village Hall’s main waiting areas all day. Basic Tea, Coffee, Squash & light snacks will be available at the venue to purchase - paying by Contactless Card is the preferable mode of payment as we encourage a cashless system of settlement. Kindly tender exact change if using cash.

ACCESSIBILITY

The venue is Disability friendly - any such person needing help is requested to inform the Organiser in advance. There is disabled parking immediately in front of the hall. The tournament room and waiting areas are all on ground level, and there is a disabled toilet.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs of players will be taken by the Organiser during the tournament for publicity / promotional purpose - by participating in the tournament, players acknowledge and agree to these conditions. Any objection to being photographed should be notified to the event organiser prior to the event in writing. No photographs can be taken by anyone else other than the official photographer nominated by the Organiser for safeguarding reasons

BEHAVIOUR, PARENTAL SUPERVISION, SAFEGUARDING and DISCLAIMERS

Psyon Chess is grateful to Barham Village Hall for the use of this community facility. Please treat the premises with respect and follow all signs and rules as requested. A high standard of behaviour and respect for others and for their property is expected at all timesquietly

Smoking / Vaping including e-cigarettes is NOT allowed in the playing venue; nor is the consumption of alcohol

The Organiser/s and Arbiters are unable to act "in loco parentis" for children. Parents / guardians / carers are responsible for their children throughout the duration of this event. U16s must not be left at the event without adult supervision, although this may be shared. U10s must be supervised by their own parents / guardians / carers. However, Parents/guardians/carers should note that they are still ultimately responsible for their children and their behavior throughout the event

Psyon Chess has adopted the ECF Child Protection Policy, which can be found on the ECF website appearing here

The organiser/s accept no responsibility for any damage, theft or accident to the person or property of any player, trainee or other visitor at this event. Nor are they responsible for the effects of actions of anyone else attending this event

Spectators and Players who have finished their game (they then become spectators) are generally not allowed to stay in the Playing Hall (area #1) and may be asked to leave the Playing Hall. There will be seating arrangement for non-players / parents / guardians in an adjacent facility on a first-come-first-serve basis (designated as the Non-Players' area #2) at the venue. Non-players are expected to maintain low voice levels at all times to avoid distracting the players & other Hall users. Any movement outside the Playing Hall or the Non-Players' area (designated hired premises) will be construed as trespassing so please confine yourself to either of area #1 or area #2 at all times based on your status

GDPR - Personal data is held solely for the purposes of our events. This is for administration purpose and to keep you updated on future chess events from Psyon Chess. We share some data with the English Chess Federation for rating purposes. Results, ratings and photos may be used on social media pages or in publicity unless informed otherwise

Additional Conditions of Entry