Tournament Director Prerogatives

The Tournament Director reserves the right to:

• Refuse entry
• Transfer players between sections without giving a reason
• Merge or split sections based on the number of registrations
• Alter section rating bands

Code Of Conduct

See the code of conduct page.

Appeals Committee

Appeals must be addressed in writing to the Appeals Committee and the player must notify the arbiter of their intention to appeal immediately. It must be done no more than 20 minutes after the end of the game in which the decision in dispute took place. After 20 minutes, the claim will no longer be admitted. The Appeals Committee’s decision is final. The decision will be communicated in writing in the pairing display area.

A fee of €10 must be paid to lodge an appeal. If the appeal is successful, the money will be refunded. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the money will not be refunded.

This Appeals Committee shall consist of three members with at least alternate. The committee members will be chosen prior to the start of the competition by the tournament director. In the event that a committee members is not available, the tournament director may select an alternate.

Registration

Registration instructions can be found at https://itsligochesstournament.ie/register/.

• Early Registration €60 ends on November 29th, 2024
• Standard Registration €70 ends January 10th, 2025
• Late registration €80 ends on January 30th, 2025, at 8pm

It is the responsibility of each player to register for the appropriate section based on the higher of their national or FIDE rating. Players must ensure that their details in the registration list and rankings are correct, and should inform the tournament director in the event of a mistake. If a player registers for the wrong section, the tournament director will move them to the appropriate section. If a player deliberately provides erroneous information, they can be expelled from the tournament.

Pairings

The pairings for all sections for the first round will be published on the tournament website on the evening of Thursday, January 30th, 2025, after registration closes at 8pm. The successive round pairings will be displayed as soon as they are available online and at the designated pairing display area.

Accelerated pairings may be used in the first two rounds of sections with large numbers of entrants.

Playing Schedule

• Friday, January 31st: 7pm
• Saturday, February 1st: 10am and 3pm
• Sunday, February 2nd: 10am and 3pm

Food and Drinks

Players are only permitted to have water at the board. No food, chewing gum, or any other drinks are permitted. Alcohol in particular is not permitted to be consumed in the playing area.

Smoking

Smoking is permitted in the designated area. However, cigarettes are not permitted to be rolled at the board.

You are not permitted to speak to anyone in the smoking area or communicate with anyone outside of the smoking area.

Playing Venue

Players are not permitted to leave the playing venue (defined as the playing area, toilets, and smoking area) while playing a game. Leaving the playing venue can result in forfeiting a game.

Appropriate Attire

Although business casual attire is encouraged, players are free to wear, within reason, what they want.

Equipment

All boards, pieces, clocks, and scoresheets will be provided by the tournament.

Time Control

All moves to be completed in 90 minutes, plus a 30 second increment from the first move.

Notation

All moves must be notated on provided scoresheets.

Personal scoresheet notebooks are not permitted.

Default Time

Any player arriving more than 30 minutes late will forfeit their match.

Byes

A half point bye is permitted in round 1. You must inform the tournament director, Craig DuBose, before registration closes at 8pm on Thursday, January 30th. You must receive a confirmation communication from the tournament director for the bye to be valid.

You may request a zero point bye in any subsequent round. You must inform the arbiter before the pairings are done for the next round.

Prizes

• Master
  • 1st – €1200, 1 year PRO Chessable membership, and a Chessable course voucher value of €200
  • 2nd – €800, 6 months PRO Chessable membership
  • 3rd – €400, 3 months PRO Chessable membership
• Championship
  • 1st – €400, 1 year PRO Chessable membership, and a Chessable course voucher value of €200
  • 2nd – €200, 6 months PRO Chessable membership
  • 3rd – €115, 3 months PRO Chessable membership
• Major
  • 1st – €300, 1 year PRO Chessable membership, and a Chessable course voucher value of €200
  • 2nd – €150, 6 months PRO Chessable membership
  • 3rd – €75, 3 months PRO Chessable membership
• Challenger
  • 1st – €150, 1 year PRO Chessable membership, and a Chessable course voucher value of €200
  • 2nd – €100, 6 months PRO Chessable membership
  • 3rd – €50, 3 months PRO Chessable membership
• Top 3 Women
  • 1st – €500, 1 year PRO Chessable membership, and a Chessable course voucher value of €200
  • 2nd – €300, 6 months PRO Chessable membership
  • 3rd – €200, 3 months PRO Chessable membership

You must play in the final round to claim a prize.

The prizes are subject to change at the Tournament Director’s discretion.

Players are eligible to win only one prize

In the event of players finishing on the same number of points, prize money will NOT be shared. Prizes and places will be determined by the tie break criteria.

Trophies will be presented at the award ceremony Sunday evening after the final round. The prizes will be distributed within two weeks of the conclusion of the tournament.

Chess Rules

FIDE Laws of Chess Apply as per FIDE Handbook.

In the event of any dispute during the game, the players should stop the clock and look for an arbiter to rule on the issue. The decision of the Arbiter shall be final.

At the end of each game, players must set the board up correctly (i.e. White Rook on a1).

Sets and clocks must not be removed from the playing room.

Clocks must be left at the side of the board where placed by the Arbiter.

Tie-Break Criteria

Tiebreak criteria: Direct Encounter, Buchholz Cut-1, Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, Performance.

In the event that the tie break criteria are insufficient, the tournament director will implement a method to break the tie.

Cheating

Cheating will result in expulsion from the tournament.

No player shall consult with electronic devices, any other player, or any external source, except the Arbiter, until after the game has finished.

No player will be allowed to have on their person any electronic device, including a phone, smart watch, during a match. If a player is found to have a phone or other electronic devices once the round has started, that player will forfeit that round’s match.

Players will be allowed to leave their turned-off devices at the administration table.

Tournament officials will randomly check players after games with a handheld metal detector. Refusal to empty pockets or explain sources of metal on a player’s person will result in forfeiture of that game and possibly explusion from the tournament.

Refunds will not be issued to expelled players.

Refunds

Although we strive to refund registrations without explanation, we don’t offer any guarantees. Within two weeks of the start of the tournament, the registration funds have been allocated so refunds are not generally available.

Data Protection

Information provided for entry may be recorded and used for administration, mailing lists, and grading purposes.

Photos and video could be taken for use on the Sligo Tournament website, social media, FIDE website, or other marketing use. If you don’t want your photo published, please inform the tournament director.

Games played on smart boards will be pubicly available online and may be commentated on by our Twitch streamers.

There will be a live video feed of the playing area used by the Twitch commentators.

Disclaimer

Acts of God or other reasons beyond the tournament director’s control may necessitate the cancellation of the tournament.

The tournament accepts no responsibility for any damage, theft, or accident to the person or property of anyone attending this event.

Parents or guardians are responsible for their children during the tournament. The organisers and helpers are not able to act “in loco parentis” and are not able to take responsibility for any child’s actions, or for the actions of anyone that may affect your child.