Galway Congress 2021

Friday 19th to Sunday 21th March 2021

The final results, and links to all the games, are available here.

Update: €664 was donated to Croí from the entry fees, and a donation made to lichess for the use of their server. Croí has asked us to thank all who contributed.

Tournament Information

The tournament will be played on the lichess server. You must have an account (which is free) at lichess.org and include your username when entering the tournament. Information on how to register on lichess for the Galway Congress will be emailed to you on acceptance of your entry. If you are not used to playing on lichess, you are strongly advised to become familiar with how it works well in advance of the tournament.

All players will play in one section. Accelerated pairing will apply in the first rounds so that players are initially grouped in sections of approximately 30 players of similar rating. ICU rating will be used for this when known; if not known then the best estimate of rating will be used at the organizers’ discretion. Full information of how the accelerated pairing will be applied can be provided on request.

The entry fee is €10 (see Entry Procedure below). We will refund this in full if by any chance the tournament does not take place, or is not completed due to a failure of the internet system. Any money left over after covering our expenses will be donated to charity: we have chosen Croí, the West of Ireland Heart and Stroke charity.

Prizes

Trophies will be awarded to the first, second, and third placed players (including ties) and also to those who come first in a rating-section. (Full information on prizes will be supplied when the distribution of entries is known.) Trophies will be posted to winners (within Ireland only) as soon as is possible, but please be patient: at present our trophy supplier is closed, and when it reopens there will doubtless be a considerable backlog for him to deal with. Cash prizes will not be awarded.

Playing Schedule

Round 1 7.30 p.m. Friday 19 March
Round 2 11.30 a.m. Saturday 20 March
Round 3 2.30 p.m. Saturday 20 March
Round 4 5.30 p.m. Saturday 20 March
Round 5 11.30 a.m. Sunday 21 March
Round 6 2.30 p.m. Sunday 21 March
Round 7 5.30 p.m. Sunday 21 March

Note: For those who wish, there will be a Practice Round on Thursday 18 March at 7.30, so that participants can familiarize themselves with the requirements of playing online. Please inform the organizers if you would like to take part in the Practice Round.

Further Information

Time limit: 45 minutes for the game, plus an increment of 15 seconds from move 1.

Players who have not logged on to lichess to start their game within 15 minutes of the start time will forfeit the game. We will attempt to find another opponent for anybody who does not get a game but this cannot be guaranteed.

A player who forfeits a game will be deemed to have withdrawn from the tournament and will not be included in the pairings for subsequent rounds. Anybody who was prevented from playing through no fault of their own – for instance, internet failure – can apply to the organizers for readmission in the next round to be paired.

A player who does not wish to play in a round should inform the organizers on the entry form or by email (at [email protected]) at least an hour before the start of the round in which they wish not to play. In such circumstances, a player will receive half a point for the first such occurrence in rounds 1 to 5, and no points subsequently or in the final two rounds.

Note: for players not familiar with chess tournaments you will normally play in all seven rounds: players who lose games do not get knocked out, but will be paired to play against another player who has also lost.

The submission of an entry will be taken as indicating an agreement to accept and abide by the tournament rules, including our GDPR policy.

The submission of an entry will be taken as indicating an agreement to accept and abide by the tournament rules.

In accordance with standard international practice, the organizers have the right to refuse any entry without giving a reason.  In such a case, the entry fee will be refunded in full; that is, we will bear any transaction costs imposed by PayPal. 

Other Tournament Rules

The tournament will be held on the lichess server and will be governed by their own conditions, which are available here.

When playing you are not allowed to use assistance from any other person, book or device.

Anybody who is flagged by lichess as being in breach of lichess’ terms will be removed from the tournament and will not be eligible for any prize. The organizers have no say in how lichess conduct their business, and if any player has any complaint it must be addressed to lichess and not to the organizers.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do if anybody loses a game due to internet failure or mouse-slips. Please note that take-backs are not allowed.

Enquiries
Enquiries are welcomed to [email protected] (preferably),
or to Pete on 086 8701483