How To Get The Most From Tournament Life
(Modified version with additional CCA info)
HOW TO ENTER IN ADVANCE
Entering a chess tournament in advance is easier for both you and the tournament organizer, and often costs less. Along with entry fee, send full name, address, USCF ID number, schedule (number of days) if more than one offered, and section desired (if any). Also give your last official rating from your magazine label if you know it (first 4 numbers on top row of your Chess Life label, or see the USCF website).
WHICH RATING IS USED?
The official rating for the month of the tournament is used (March tournament uses March ratings, April tournament uses April ratings, etc.) If the tournament starts in one month and ends in another, effective summer 2008 we will use the later of the two official ratings. So for the 2008 World Open, which ends in July but has one schedule that begins June 30, we are using the July official ratings, not June.
Unofficial ratings: A rating that appears on www.uschess.org/msa between official ratings will not be used, unless the player would otherwise be unrated, in which case it is used at the Tournament Director's discretion.
If you are unrated, or have a rating from many years ago, be sure to indicate this. Old ratings are still valid- you never lose your rating.
You may use one of the optional entry forms in Chess Life to enter any event. A CCA entry form appears on the page facing the inside back cover in each issue. It may be used for any CCA event, not just the one advertised on that page, and may be photocopied.
Click here for an on line entry blank which may be printed out and mailed or faxed.
WHAT TO TAKE TO A TOURNAMENT
Bring a set, board, and clock if you have them, plus a pen or pencil for keeping score and posting your result on the pairing sheet. It is also a good idea to bring your USCF card or a current Chess Life with your mailing label, in case any question arises regarding your USCF membership.
RATING CLASSES: EVERYONE CAN WIN
In most events, you don't have to win the tournament to win a prize- you can win a class prize as a top scorer of your rating group, or a section prize in a section restricted to your rating group. These groups are:
Senior Master 2400 & up, Master 2200-2399, Expert 2000-2199, Class A 1800-1999, Class B 1600-1799, Class C 1400-1599, Class D 1200-1399, Class E 1000-1199, Class F 800-999, Class G 600-799, Class H 400-599, Class I 200-399, Class J Under 200.
Many tournaments have "under" prizes or sections including all under a specified rating. For instance, an "Under 2000" prize or section may be won by players in any class from Class A down to Class J. However, a "Class A" prize may be won only by players in Class A (1800-1999). Some prizes or sections have different groups, such as Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700, Under 1500, etc. or 2300-2399.
Sections are not the same as class prizes. If a tournament announcement says:
Under 1200: $600-400-200-100, top U1000 $300-150
This means that the first four prizes in the Under 1200 Section are $600, $400, $200 and $100, and the top two scorers rated Under 1000 win $300 and $150. However, the Under 1000 players do not play in their own section and do not face only each other; they are in the Under 1200 Section.
What happens if an Under 1000 player wins the Under 1200 Section? That
player would win the larger of the two prizes ($600 in this case). The
second Under 1000 player would win the top Under 1000 prize of $300, and the
third Under 1000 player would get the second Under 1000 prize of $150.
WHAT IF THERE IS A TIE?
Money prizes are split on ties. Let's say a section in a 5-round tournament has prizes of $600 1st, $400 2nd, $200 3rd and $100 4th, and the results are:
No
one scores 5
3 players score 4½
1 player scores 4
The players with 4½ tie for first, second and third prizes, and each receives
$600 + $400 + $200 divided by three, or $400. The player with 4 points is
fourth and receives $100.
Some newcomers to tournament chess think that in this situation, the three players scoring 4½ points split only first prize of $600, so each receive $200, while the player with 4 points is "second" and gets $400, and those with 3½ points are "third." Of course, it doesn't work that way- what would be the point of penalizing players for scoring an extra half point?
If three players score more points than you do, you are fourth. The fact that these players are tied with each other does not promote you to second! Consider baseball or football standings- if three teams were tied for first in a 4-team division, would anyone say that the last place team was "second"?
PROVISIONAL RATINGS
"Provisional" ratings, based on 4 to 25 games, are eligible for all prizes unless otherwise stated in the tournament publicity. Provisionally rated players are not unrated.
AFTER ENTERING IN ADVANCE
DO NOT EXPECT A REPLY TO YOUR ADVANCE ENTRY. Virtually all advance entries submitted by the deadline are received, but if you want to make 100% certain of this, check the advance entry lists (link in middle of home page at www.chesstour.com). If you enter online and after inputting your credit card info, the screen says "Thank you for your order," that is all the confirmation you need. Do not expect to receive a confirming email.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR E-MAIL TO ASK WHETHER YOUR ADVANCE ENTRY WAS RECEIVED! This would be a lot of work for us, so we don't offer this service! Often we would have no answer anyway, as we tend to fall behind processing entries and catch up in the last few days. We do post the advance entries on this website periodically, with the final post usually one day before the event.
If you mail the entry by the deadline, the chances that it will be received in time are so overwhelming that such calls are really a waste of not only our time, but also your time and money. And even if you show up to find we do not have your entry, YOU WILL NOT BE TURNED AWAY, but can still enter at the door. So please, avoid these nuisance calls and emails so that we can prepare for the tournament without so many nonproductive interruptions.
HOTEL-MOTEL RATES
Rates listed ("HR") are often special chess rates- you must request the chess rates or you will be charged more. The rates may be higher or rooms unavailable if not reserved early enough- see the details of each tournament for the reservation deadline (usually 2-3 weeks before). Reserving as early as possible is wise, as even if you adhere to the listed deadline, it is possible that the "chess room block" has already been exhausted.
Hotel rates of "89-89" indicate that the rate is $89 per night, per room, for either one or two in a room (two beds). Hotel rates of "89-89-89-89" mean that the rate is $89 per night, per room, for one through four in a room (however, do not expect more than two beds; a rollaway or two may be available for an extra charge- ask the hotel about this).
It is especially important to reserve early for major events. For example, the hotel in Philadelphia usually sells out about a month before the World Open, and Bally's Las Vegas sometimes is sold out almost two months before the North American Open. Even if a hotel does not sell out, they have the right to raise their rate after the reservation deadline listed in our publicity.
IF YOU MUST WITHDRAW
If you enter in advance and cannot attend, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you give notice before first round pairings are started! A day or more before the tournament, email is the best way to give notice, and you should never call to drop out if you can email instead.
On the day of the tournament, email is usually also best, but if you don't get a response, that means the Director may not be set up to read email, and you should call about 1-2 hours before the first round. Call the hotel and ask for the chess tournament headquarters. Do not ask for the Tournament Director by name, as this may lead to a message visible only in his guest room, and he probably won't go there before making round one pairings. If giving notice by mail, you must send this at least 8 days before the tournament.
OTHER INFORMATION
For prizes of $600 or over, bring your U.S. Social Security card. If you have no Social Security number, the organizer must deduct 30% from your prize. This includes foreigners, unless they provide written evidence of exemption due to a tax treaty.
For foreign players with multiple ratings (USCF, FIDE, CFC, FQE, other foreign) the highest of the ratings (plus possible adjustment points) is used.
FIDE or foreign ratings may be rejected or have adjustment points added. Usually we will accept CFC ratings at face value, add 100 points to FIDE, 100 points to FQE, and 200 or more points to most other foreign ratings. Foreign ratings other than CFC, FQE or Jamaica may be rejected for the purpose of qualifying you for Under 2000 or a lower section.
The Tournament Director may assign an estimated rating to any player, and may expel an improperly rated player from an event in progress. CCA minimum ratings are used in all CCA events if higher than USCF. Only about 100 players have CCA minimum ratings, which we assign if we feel their USCF ratings are too low.
TOURNAMENT LIFE ABBREVIATIONS & TERMS
$$G: Guaranteed prizes.
b/ or $$b/: Based-on prizes; number of entries needed to pay full prize fund follows. USCF rules specify that at least 50% of the advertised prize fund must be guaranteed if over $500 is advertised. Some CCA tournaments have guaranteed prizes while others use the based-on method; those using the latter usually guarantee more than the required 50% (see announcement of each tournament for the exact guarantee).
Blitz: Five-minute chess (G/5). This is now rated by USCF under its Quick rating system. For CCA Blitz tournaments, regular USCF ratings are used for pairings and prizes.
BYE: Indicates which rounds players who find it inconvenient to play may take half point byes (draws without play) instead. For example, BYE: 1 indicates the bye is available in round 1. Most CCA tournaments allow byes in all rounds, but those in the latter part of the tournament must be committed to early (see details of each event).
CC: Chess club.
EF: Entry fee.
Ent: Where to mail entries.
FIDE: Top section results submitted to FIDE for probable rating.
G/: Game in. For instance, G/75 means each player has 75 minutes for the entire game.
GPP: Grand Prix Points. The USCF Grand Prix is a year long contest, primarily for Masters.
HR: Hotel rates. For example, 70-75-80-85 means $70 single, $75 single, $80 3 in room, $85 4 in room. The 3 and 4 to a room rates usually include only two beds.
JGP: Junior Grand Prix. A year long contest for players under 21, which awards points for scoring against players at least 100 points above you in events in which most play is slower than G/60.
Memb req: Membership required; cost follows. Usually refers to state affiliate.
NC: Computers are not allowed to enter. Standard at all CCA tournaments, so not listed.
Norms: Results needed to qualify for the FIDE titles of International Master or International Grandmaster. Only tournaments of at least nine rounds can offer norms, and even with this many rounds, the tournament must also have sufficient foreign, titled, and FIDE rated players for a player to have a chance for a norm. Currently three CCA tournaments have title norm possibilities: World Open (Open or U2400 Sections), Foxwoods Open, Philadelphia International.
NS: No smoking. Standard at all CCA tournaments, so not listed.
Open Section: A section open to all. Often has very strong players, but some who are eligible for lower sections choose to play for the learning experience.
Play up: To play in a higher section than necessary. For instance, a player rated 1700 who enters the Under 2000 Section (or Under 2200 Section or Open Section) when an Under 1800 Section is offered is "playing up."
QC: Quick Chess (Game/10 to Game/29). USCF rates these events with a separate Quick rating system. CCA runs some Quick rated events, but we don't use the Quick rating system for pairings or prizes as we don't feel it is accurate enough yet. For some quick events we use the higher of regular or quick rating.
Quad: 4-player round robin sections with similar strength players.
Rds: Rounds; scheduled game starting times follow. For example, rds Sat 11-2-5:30, Sun 10-4:15 means rounds begin Saturday at 11 am, 2 pm, and 5:30 pm, Sunday at 10 am and 4:15 pm.
Reg: Late registration at site (not necessary at CCA tournaments if you have entered in advance; we have no "check-in").
RR: Round robin (preceded by number of rounds).
SD/: Sudden death time control (time for rest of game follows). For example, 40/2, SD/1 means each player has 2 hours for the first 40 moves, then 1 hour for the rest of the game.
Section: A division of a tournament, usually excluding players above a specified rating. Players in a section face only each other, not those in other sections.
SS: Swiss System pairings (preceded by number of rounds).
U: Under. For example, U1200 means Under 1200.
Unr: Unrated. Note that players with foreign ratings or categories are not unrated, and provisionally rated players are not unrated. Also, you never lose your rating, so if you were rated 40 years ago, you are not unrated.