Congress Rules and Conditions of Entry

FIDE Rules and Rating of Games

FIDE Rules apply unless overridden by the rules below.

In any dispute the controller’s decision is final.

Games will be ECF rated.

Eligilibilty

To be eligible to enter the congress a player must comply with at least one of the following conditions:
a) Was born In Dorset
b) Has lived in Dorset for over 5 years
c) Plays regularly in either the Bournemouth and District Chess League or the Dorset Chess League.

Refund Policy

Any entrant who withdraws by 17th January 2025 will be entitled to a full refund. Any entrant who withdraws after that date may be granted a partial refund at the discretion of the organisers.

Default Time and Repairing

The default time for a round is 30 minutes. Repairing will be at the controller’s discretion.  If players are repaired, the game will be played with an adjusted amount of time equivalent to the remaining time in the round from when the repaired game commences.

Byes

A ½ point bye may be claimed for any one round except the final round and must be requested at the time of entry.

Prizes

Prize money will be forwarded within 14 days.

In the event of ties, players will share prizes.

Players without a published A or K ECF Standard rating are eligible for all prizes providing the organisers are satisfied that they are members of a club that belongs to the Dorset Chess League or Bournemouth & District Chess League, and their rating playing strengths can be reasonably determined.

The rating prize bands will be decided by the organisers once the entrants are known. They will be published before the event commences.

The organisers’ decision is final.

If a low number of entries are received the organisers reserve the right to reduce the value of the prizes.

Treatment of more than one prize per competitor:

A) Where a player would otherwise be eligible for more than one prize outright (i.e. not shared), they will be awarded the higher of the two prizes and the lower prize will be allocated to the next best eligible performer.

B) Where a player would otherwise be eligible for more than one prize where at least one of those prizes is shared with another player, the organisers may either adopt the approach described in A) above or, if more appropriate, pool the relevant prizes and split them as fairly as possible between the players. The organisers’ decision on the allocation of prizes in these circumstances shall be final.

Rating used for Pairings, Determining Section

Where a player has an Original January 2025 ECF Standard A or K rating this will be used for pairing, determining the eligibility to play in a given section, and rating prize eligibility.

In the absence of an ECF Standard A or K rating, a combination of the following will be used to determine a rating that will be used for pairings and section eligibility: ECF Standard P rating, ECF Rapid Ratings, FIDE ratings, online ratings and any other relevant information that is available. Players without ECF Standard A or K ratings should provide evidence of their playing strength. The organisers’ decision on the appropriate rating will be final.

The right is reserved to assign players to specific tournaments.

Anti-Cheating

Any mobile phone or other mobile device capable of running chess software should be turned off and left on the playing table in plain sight of your opponent before you make your first move and for the duration of the game. If during a game a player’s mobile phone produces a sound, that player must make the device silent and be advised that in the event of a repeat incident, he or she will forfeit the game to the opponent unless the opponent cannot win by any series of legal moves, in which case the game will be a draw.

Players may be scanned before, during and after games and if there is any evidence that a player has used a device to run chess software whilst playing or if they refuse to fully comply with anti-cheating checks they will be excluded from the tournament.

Food and Drink

No food or drink may be brought into the hotel for consumption.

Drinks and food will be available to purchase in the hotel.

Parental Responsibility

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.

Photographs and Data Protection

Photographs will be taken at the event and may be used on the Dorset Chess website, the Dorset Chess Newsletter, the Dorset Junior Chess Newsletter and other local chess websites. By entering you, (the player or in the case of a junior, i.e. under 18 years old, the player’s parent or guardian) are consenting to the publication of such photos and your/your child’s results in the tournament.  Your results will be passed to the ECF for rating purposes and prior to the tournament your membership details may be checked with the ECF.

Other than as specified in the paragraph above, your personal details including your address, email address and phone number will NOT be passed to any third party. Your personal details will be retained to aid in the distribution of prizes and to inform you of future events organised by the Dorset County Chess Association.

You may request the deletion of your personal information by contacting the organisers at [email protected]