2nd Orpington FIDE RapidPlay

Saturday, 20th April 2024

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St Olave's Venue in London Borough(Photo Gallery)

St Olave's Grammar School

Goddington Lane,
Orpington, BR6 9SH

Orpington (a London Borough) is easily accessible by rail & the train station is about 19 minutes on a Direct Train ride from London Bridge - direct trains also run from Waterloo & London Charing Cross. There is ample car parking at this majestic St Olave's Grammar School venue, which is walkable from the rail station. If driving, then please enter via the Goddington Lane entrance. There is an alternate walkable path via the pedestrian gate on the Park Avenue entrance/

5-Round RapidPlay Tournament: 25+10

3-Sections ECF & FIDE rated: Open, U1900 & U1600

Chess-Results Event Page appears here

Sections

REGULATIONS & CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:

Players should be ECF members at Silver or above, Or a non-ENG player with active FIDE ID, otherwise there will be an additional "Pay-to-Play" fee of £15

Please note that Entries are only Accepted when the payment has been processed online. Players are expected to enter a section which is not more than 200 rating points above their rating (higher of ECF & FIDE rating on the first day of the Tournament month) with the exception that anyone can enter the Open provided we have their official rating (FIDE or ECF). Any requests to move player/s to a higher section will generally not be entertained & if as a result a player wishes to withdraw after registration, the refund rules will apply. Unrated players will be requested to provide evidence of their playing strength/past grade or rating to enter them in the suitable section - Organiser reserves the right to change the section of player/s or withdraw them

Refund requests will be considered up to 7 days before the event start time & an admin fee of £9 will be charged per refund per player. No refunds will be issued less than 7 days before the event start time for any reason

Players may take a Half-Point Bye in in advance in Any One Round Except the Last Round if requested on the entry form

The Organiser reserves the right to reduce the Prize money And/Or merge sections without notice, if there are less than 60 entries for the event, OR insufficient entries (less than 16) in any section

Players without a FIDE ID code will be registered as ENG

Please enter early to avoid paying late fee - the event is limited to 120 players

Rate of Play

Each player will have 25 Minutes plus a 10 Second Increment from start

Planned Playing Schedule

Please aim to arrive by 9.30 am to allow a prompt start to the first round. While every effort will be made to adhere to the planned playing schedule, the Organiser does not take responsibility for reason/s affecting the schedule beyond their control

Please note that there are No Scheduled Breaks for Lunch, etc. in between rounds

Refreshments

Basic Tea & Coffee 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

Disabled Access

The venue is Disability friendly - any such person needing help is requested to inform the Organiser in advance

Rating

The Higher of the latest ECF and FIDE Rapid Rating Lists will be used to determine player’s ratings as published on the first of the month. Both ECF and FIDE ratings will need to be below the stated section limits to be eligible for the U1600 & U1900 sections. In case neither an ECF nor a FIDE Rapid Rating is available, Standard Ratings/Estimated Ratings (with evidence) may also be used by the Organiser to determine a player's section as required

Prizes

Winners will be announced within two working days from the conclusion of the event. Money prizes (as advertised) will be awarded to winners & these will be endeavoured to be disbursed via bank transfers within two to five working days from the receipt of bank details from the winners. In case of a tie on points for Place position/s, the prize will be jointly shared, suitably modifying the overall prize money. In case of there being more than one player tied for the first place, there will be no second place prize, as the latter prize money will be pooled for the first prize joint winners. No player can win more than one prize and the organisers decision will be final. (i) Only players with a current ECF / FIDE rating are eligible for Rating prizes. Rating prize is given to a player (who hasn't won a place prize) scoring the highest number of points with the lowest rating from the bottom half of the players as listed by Starting Rank for the tournament (ii) In all sections, players without an ECF or FIDE rating can win a maximum prize money of £50 - the remaining prize money will be apportioned to other winners in that section/s

Pairings, Sections & Clocks

All pairings will be done using 'Swiss Manager' software and displayed on Chess-Results.com

Please ensure your Rating is reflected correctly against your name 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 pairings for Round #1. Default time is 10 minutes, 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. If a player does not show up for a round without written signed intimation to the Organising/Arbiting Team in time, then the player shall be excluded from the tournament for all the remaining rounds automatically. Reinstatement of the excluded player will be at the discretion of the Organiser / Chief Arbiter at an additional fee of £10

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 - Prizes would then be suitably adjusted

Score-sheets will be provided for those who wish to notate their games - please bring your Clip-board & Pen/Pencil. Result-sheets may be used to collect the results. Digital clocks will be used in all sections

Fair Play Regulations

To comply with FIDE regulations - All mobile phones and electronic devices, including smart watches, 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 defaulted & will unfortunately forfeit / lose the 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

Photographs

Photographs taken at the event may be used for publicity purposes by the Organiser. One is allowed to take photos during the first five minutes of Round #1 Only - if using a mobile phone to take photos, please ensure to keep them on silent while the play is on. Any objection should be notified to the event organiser prior to the event

Behaviour, parental supervision and disclaimers

Please treat the premises with respect and follow all signs and rules as requested

A high standard of behaviour and respect for others and property is always expected. Players entering or leaving the Playing Hall while other games are in progress should do so quietly

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

The Organisers and Arbiters are unable to act "in loco parentis" for children. Parents/guardians/carers are responsible for their children throughout the entire duration of this event. Children under the age of 8 must remain under sole parental supervision throughout. Supervision of children over the age of 8 and teenagers may be shared between adults. However, Parents/guardians/carers should note that they are still ultimately responsible for their children and their behaviour at this event

The organisers accept no responsibility for any damage, theft or accident to the person or property of any competitor, trainee or other visitor at this event, nor are they responsible for the effects of actions of anyone else attending this event

GDPR - Personal data is held solely for the purposes of our events. This is for administration and to inform you of future chess events. We share some data with the English Chess Federation and FIDE for rating purposes. Results, ratings and photos may be used on social media pages or in publicity unless informed otherwise. Please message the Organiser if needed

Additional Conditions of Entry