Rapidplay 2015

Crosstable available here. Full report to follow.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO READ

Galway Rapidplay

 Saturday 6th June 2015

The tournament will be FIDE rated

Venue:  Bridge Centre, St Mary’s Road, Galway

(For directions to the Bridge Centre, see www.test.local/the-club/

Start time: 11 a.m. (sharp)

Expected finishing time: 8 p.m.

There will be a 30 minute break for refreshments after round 4

Rate of play

15 minutes per player per game, plus a 10 second increment per move.

Number of rounds: 9

Accelerated pairing may be used if the number of entrants warrants it.

See the results of the Galway 2014 Rapidplay here.

FIDE rapidplay rules will apply: see here.
See Article A. A.4 will apply.

Important note for those who do not already have a FIDE ID number.

You must be registered with FIDE to play in this tournament.  If you wish to be registered with FIDE as Irish, then that will be done automatically when the results are reported.  However, if you wish to be registered with FIDE under any other Federation, you must obtain a FIDE ID number from your home Federation before entering.  FIDE no longer allows tournament organizers to register entrants for other Federations, and does not allow us to accept unregistered entrants.   Please accept that there is nothing the organizers can do about this.  

Methods of entry:

Method A (much preferred)

1. Register your entry with the organizer, by emailing [email protected] before midday on Friday 5 June. (Note: this email address will not be checked after that time.)  Include your name, and ICU and FIDE ID numbers if you have them.

                 Also please specify if you are eligible for the Junior or Female Prizes. Junior and Female prizes will only be awarded if there are at least 5 entrants in the respective category.

2. Pay the entry fee of €15 on arrival, between 10 and 10.50.

N.B.  The draw will be made at 10.50, and only paid entrants will be included.  Latecomers will be added if possible, or given a travelling bye for rounds they miss, at the controller’s discretion.

Method B

Register and pay the entry fee of €25 on arrival on Sat. 6 June between 10 and 10.45.

The organizers reserve the right to refuse entry.

Prizes

1^st                                                          200

2^nd                                                         125

3^rd                                                            75

Grading Prize                                         50

Best Junior                                             50

Best Female Player                                 50

The prize fund will be increased if there are 40 or more entrants

If there is a tie on game points, prize money will be divided equally between the tied players.

Timetable

Round 1 will start at 11 a.m. prompt.  The draw for round 1 will be made at 10.45.  Players who have not yet arrived at the time the draw is made will not be included in the draw for round 1 (and subsequent rounds), though late arrivals may be added at the arbiter’s discretion.  Players not included in the draw will receive byes for the rounds in which they do not play: half a point for each round up to a maximum of two, and no points for any rounds more than two.

Subsequent rounds will start 2 minutes after the draw for that round has been released; the draw will be released as soon as possible after the completion of the previous round.

It is each player’s responsibility to ensure that he or she is at their board at the time their game commences.

Default

There will be no separate default procedure, but any player who arrives at their board 15 minutes late will have lost on time (unless he is black and his opponent is also late).  In the event that neither player has arrived at the board within 15 minutes, the game will be scored as a loss for both players.

Any player who loses on time without have played a move will be deemed to have withdrawn from the tournament.  Such a player can be reinstated at the discretion of the arbiter, but no player will be reinstated twice.

Mobile Phones

You are strongly advised not to bring a mobile phone with you, nor any other device capable of communicating with others or assisting play.  If you do bring such a thing, it must be switched off whenever your game is in progress.  It must also be switched off at all times that it is in the playing room (this applies to spectators and parents, as well as players).  If your device makes any noise during your game you will automatically lose that game; if it makes any noise in the venue during play you may be excluded from the playing area.

Ratings

The primary ratings for determining ranking and eligibility for grading prizes will be FIDE Rapid Ratings if more than half of the entrants (excluding any entrants on the day) have such a rating.  Otherwise (and in any case for all entrants without a FIDE rapid rating) we will use the latest accessible ICU published rating (not live rating).

Playing Rules

The FIDE rules for rapid tournaments with inadequate supervision will apply (see the FIDE Laws of Chess, Appendix A).  These are the normal rules of chess (including touch-move); the main alterations are as follows.

(a)  You do not have to record your moves.  You may do so if you wish, but score sheets will not be provided.

(b)  Illegal moves.  If player A makes an illegal move and presses his/her clock, player B may claim the game.  (The procedure is to stop the clocks and summon the arbiter.)  If player B makes a move in response to the illegal move, he permanently loses the opportunity to make such a claim; in effect, the illegal move is made retrospectively legal.  It is allowed for player B to point out to A that the move was illegal and invite him to try again, without involving the arbiter.

(c)  Illegal positions.  “If the arbiter observes that both kings are in check … he shall wait until the next move is completed.  Then, if an illegal position is still on the board, he shall declare the game drawn.”

(d)  Exceeding the time limit.  If player A exceeds the time limit, player B has to claim the win.  (The procedure is to stop the clocks and summon the arbiter.)  If player B does not do so, the arbiter has the right to intervene to declare the game lost on time if necessary to preserve the playing schedule.

A note to spectators.  If you are watching a game and see that an illegal move has been made or that a player has exceeded the time limit, you must not point this out to the players (or to anybody else): you must at all times remain perfectly quiet and hide your excitement (or disgust).

Claiming Draws.

Note that Allegro rules do not apply; that is, you cannot claim a draw because you believe your opponent is not attempting to win.  The circumstances in which you can claim a draw (in addition to the players agreeing a draw, which can be done at any time) are as follows:

(i)    stalemate;

(ii)   by repetition or under the 50-move rule.  However, it is very difficult to establish either of these when the moves of the game are not being recorded;

(iii)  if your opponent has insufficient mating material.  However, note that this is interpreted strictly: you can only claim a draw if there is no sequence of legal moves that can lead to your opponent being mated.  Thus you can claim a draw with king v. king and knight, but not with king and knight v. king and knight.  (I would request that players try to be sensible, and, for instance, agree a draw when faced with king and knight v. king and knight, unless their opponent seems to be flirting with one of the mating positions.)

The arbiter will intervene and declare a game drawn if in his opinion 75 consecutive moves have been completed without a pawn move or a capture; the arbiter may also intervene and declare a draw if in his opinion neither side is playing for a win, and if the tournament schedule would be disrupted by allowing the game to continue; this will only be done if the game has already lasted at least an hour (i.e., at least 90 moves).

Appeals

Given the restricted time-frame for this tournament, it is not possible to have an appeals procedure; therefore, all decisions of the arbiter will be final.  Please remember that the arbiter is human(ish), and has a lot of things to do simultaneously; it is therefore possible that he will make a mistake (or mistakes).  In such circumstances, please be considerate and accept the error with good grace.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please leave a comment below, or email the organizer at galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com.