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Last day to enter online | 2023-04-19 |
Places Remaining | 21 |
ST ALBANS CONGRESS 2023
Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd April
St Columba's College, King Harry Lane, St Albans AL3 4AW
Entry List Closes at 9.00 pm Thursday 20th April
Number of places increased from 200 to 240.
5-Round ECF-rated Swiss tournament in 5 sections
Free Parking for over 200 cars
Chess & Bridge Bookshop
Analysis Room
Cafeteria:
Cooked breakfast from 9.00 am, Lunch from 12.00 noon.
Payment by card preferred, cash accepted.
Chief Organiser: Ray Claret
Chief Arbiter: Adrian Elwin
Control Team: Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell (lead), Ian Cross, Paul Lawrence, Stuart James
Contact: Lubo Botev
Telephone 07746 317979 (mobile), or email stalbanscongress@yahoo.co.uk
Links
St Albans Congress Website | St Albans Club Website | Postal Entry Form
Prizes (Total prize fund over £3500)
Section | Open | Challengers | Major | Intermediate | Minor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Prize | £320 | £320 | £320 | £320 | £320 |
Second Prize | £160 | £160 | £160 | £160 | £160 |
Third Prize | £80 | £80 | £80 | £80 | £80 |
Rating 1 | £80 (U2250) | £80 (U1950) | £80 (U1800) | £80 (U1650) | £80 (U1500) |
Rating 2 | £80 (U2100) | n/a | n/a | n/a | £80 (U1350) |
Veteran (65 or over at 1/1/23) | £80 (Best score by eligible player in Congress) | ||||
Junior (Under 14 at 1/1/23) | £80 (Best score by eligible player in Congress) |
Payment of Prizes
There will be no formal Prizegiving. A list of all Prize Winners will be available on the Congress website shortly after the event.
Prizes will be sent within 7 days by:
(i) cheque posted to the player's home address, or
(ii) PayPal, although a PayPal transaction fee (2.9% + £0.30) will be deducted from any payment.
Entries
ECF rating list (March 2023) will apply.
Except in the OPEN, no ungraded player may win more than a maximum of £60. However, to be eligible for this prize money they must have provided written evidence of their playing strength, before Sunday 16th April 2023.
No Entries (Online or Postal) will be accepted after Thursday 20 April at 9.00pm.
Entry Fees & Donations
Standard entry fee (for ECF members at Silver or higher level: £35.
For Bronze-level ECF members or non-ECF members, there is a rating surcharge of £9.
There is a £5 discount from the standard entry fee for Juniors (Under 18 on 1 January 2023).
Conditions of Entry
Players entering the tournament agree thereby to abide by the Competition Rules and the decisions of the controllers.
Players agree to their rating information and results being published on the ECF and St Albans Congress websites and the Chess-Results.com website.
The organisers reserve the right to refuse entries, transfer entries, and to revise prize money, according to circumstances.
Round Start Times
Round 1 | Saturday | 10.00am |
---|---|---|
Round 2 | Saturday | 2.30pm |
Round 3 | Saturday | 6.30pm |
Round 4 | Sunday | 10.00am |
Round 5 | Sunday | 2.30pm |
A ½ point bye may be requested in advance, except in round 5.
If your opponent has not arrived within 30 minutes of the start of a round they will be defaulted and you should report to the Controller’s desk for repairing.
Players wishing to withdraw or change a ½ point bye request should advise the Control Desk as soon as possible ahead of pairings being made for the next round.
Rate of Play
All moves in 90 minutes, plus 10 seconds per move increment from move 1.
Disputes
In the event of a dispute during their game, a player should stop the clock and summon an arbiter.
The Chief Arbiter's decision in all matters is final.
Electronic Devices
A player must not use any electronic device during a game without the controller’s explicit permission. Although players may keep such devices with them at the venue, they must be fully switched off (not merely muted) in the playing area during playing sessions.
Electronic devices must not be carried on the person during a game but may, for example, be kept in a bag on the floor. These rules apply at all times during playing sessions. In particular, a player whose mobile phone sounds during a game will forfeit the game.
Refreshments
Refreshments will be provided by Professional Caterers and will include: cooked breakfast; a hot meal at lunchtimes on both days (e.g., lasagne, chicken curry or similar); crisps, snacks, chocolate; a selection of cakes; bottled water, soft drinks, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
Analysis Room
A separate room will be available for post-game analysis.
Bookshop
The Chess & Bridge bookshop will be located in the cafeteria during the weekend.
Data Protection
Personal data is held solely for the purposes of the St Albans Congress: for the administration of the event; to report results to the ECF for rating purposes; to publish rating information, results and games to the St Albans Congress and Chess-Results.com websites; and to inform you of our future chess events.
We occasionally post photos of the tournament on the Congress website; should you have any concerns regarding the use of photos, please, contact the organisers.