3rd Cheam FIDE RapidPlay

Saturday, 31st August 2024

@

Cheam Parochial Hall(Photo Gallery)

The Broadway
Cheam, Sutton SM3 8BD

Cheam rail station is about 5 minutes walk from the venue - Direct trains run from London Victoria & London Bridge. The nearest paid car parking is at the Cheam Library Car Park, which is 2 minutes walk from the venue

5-Round RapidPlay Tournament: 25+10

3-Sections ECF & FIDE rated: U2050, U1750 & U1450

Chess-Results Event Page appears here

Sections

REGULATIONS & CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:

All players must be ECF Gold members or above or pay the ECF Pay-to-Play fee. Please register for membership on the ECF website

Please note that Entries are only Accepted & updated in Entrants List when the payment is processed online for which an acknowledgement has been received at your end. 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). 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 delete/merge a section for lack of sufficient entries, change the section of player/s or withdraw them. When sections are merged, a Rating cap will be decided by the Organiser for the merged sections, & anyone above that rating will be automatically withdrawn from the event & refunded their full entry fee with intimation over email on the evening before the event day

Please DO NOT ENTER the tournament if you are not comfortable playing in a merged section in case there are insufficient players (less than 16) in a section/s

Players without a FIDE ID code will be registered as ENG

Please enter early to avoid paying late fee - the event is limited to 80 players

PLANNED PLAYING SCHEDULE

Please aim to arrive by 10 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

PRIZES

The Organiser reserves the right to reduce the Prize Fund (£630) on a pro rata basis in case there are less than 60 entries for the event And/Or merge sections without notice if there are insufficient entries (less than 16) in any section

In case two sections are merged, the two place prizes (1st & 2nd) for the merged sections will be split between the two original sections such that the highest scoring player from each section will get one prize each of equal value as decided by the Organiser - if there is a tie for the top place (1st) prize between players from each section, then tie break will be used to decide the split of prize money & there will be no second place prize, as the latter prize money will be pooled for the first prize joint winners. The rating prize will be calculated as usual

Email announcing the Winners on Chess-Results will be sent to all participants & money prizes (as advertised) will be sent via bank transfers within two to five working days from the receipt of Winner's bank details. No player can win more than one prize & if a player qualifies for more than one prize, the higher of the prize money will be awarded, making suitable adjustments to the other prize/s and the Organiser's decision will be final & binding. (i) Only players with a current ECF (not P / Provisional Rating) / FIDE Rapid rating are eligible for Rating prizes. Rating prize is given to a player 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 (barring the Open), players without an ECF or FIDE rating can win a maximum prize money of £100 - the remaining prize money will be apportioned to other winners in that section/s

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 - the winners' prizes in all cases of joint winners will be shared based on their tie-break scores in proportion as outlined below

REFUNDS

Refund requests on entries fees 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. Full refund will be issued (i) to players in a section that has been deleted due to insufficient entries i.e. less than 16 players or (ii) if a player has been requested to withdraw due to higher rating in case of merged sections (iii) if the tournament is cancelled for any reason by the organiser. The maximum refund in any eventuality will be the entry fee paid per player

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. 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 to determine a player's section as required

RATE OF PLAY, Requesting Half-Point BYE & WITHDRAWALS

Each player will have 25 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, they will be defaulted and you should report to the Organiser’s desk for taking a bye or for re-pairing 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 without an explicit permission from an arbiter /organiser will be considered as withdrawn for all future rounds & removed from pairings

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 (less than 16) - Prizes would then be suitably adjusted

Although recording moves is not compulsory, Score-sheets will be provided for those who wish to use them - 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

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

There are a number of shops on the high street nearby offering lots of choices for refreshment. The venue's kitchen will offer hot & cold water facilities only (no milk or beverages), so anyone wanting to make their own teas or coffees are welcome to bring their own stuff (including reusable cups) subject to leaving the kitchen in a clean condition - we will be forced to close the kitchen to players & their guardians if it is found to be abused or left in a messy condition. Thanks for your kind understanding.

DISABLED ACCESS

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

PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs of players may be taken during the tournament to form the tournament photo gallery - by participating in the tournament, players acknowledge and agree to these conditions.Photographs taken at the event may be used for publicity purposes by the Organiser. It is allowed to take photos only during the first five minutes of each round - if using mobile phones to take photos in the playing hall, please ensure to keep them in flight mode at all times. Any objection to being photographed 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

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 limited seating arrangement for non-players 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 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

Additional Conditions of Entry