NEW!!: Club Rapidplay Tournament

After a successful trial earlier in the year, Hammersmith Chess Club will be running a Rapidplay Tournament over the course of the 2017-18 season. Bear with us – you’re in for a lengthy post!

The tournament will be run over 8 matches, with pairings decided via a Swiss system. The controllers will be Adam Cranston (Middlesex Captain) and Dave Lambert (London 4 Captain). All matches will be graded, so we should be able to work towards almost everyone receiving a Rapidplay grade by the end of the season.

Tournaments have typically failed in the past due to difficulties getting players together on a given night. No more.

With the exception of the kickoff and closing matches – which we’ll host Face to Face at the club – there will be one round per month, and it’ll be up to each of you to track down your opponent, and arrange a time/date of your choosing to play . It could be Lytton Hall, it could be at one of your houses, or it could be down the pub. It really doesn’t matter as long as you’re both happy with the conditions & the game gets played within the month.

You play your match. You let Adam and Dave know the result, and they do the rest. They’ll tabulate the standings, and publish the next set of pairings at the end of each month. Then you’ll  have the next month to arrange Game 2, and so it goes…

Competition Structure:

• Fee: £0 – included within HCC membership fee
• Matches: 8, over course of season, one per month Oct 2017 to May 2018 inclusive
• Pairings: Swiss system
• Graded: Yes, all games to be submitted for July 2018 grading list
• Scoring: 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw, 0 points for a loss
• Tie-breaks: Decided by Buchholz method (sum of opponent’s raw tournament score)
• Format: Rapidplay
• Time Control: 45 minutes for all moves; no increment
• Match Conditions: Kick-off & Closing matches (matches 1 & 8) at Lytton Hall: “Tournament” conditions (no talking, no mobiles etc.)
• Matches 2-7: Entirely up to you, and what you agree with your opponent. If you’re both happy with the conditions, that works for us. We will however schedule designated “Rapidplay” nights at the club throughout the season for those who fancy playing at Lytton Hall, perhaps followed by Training.

Competition Timing:

• September: Registration – if you wish to play, contact Adam or Dave by 30th September
• Oct 23rd: Game 1 (Face to face at Lytton Hall)
• Nov-April: Games 2 to 7
• May: Game 8 (Face to face at Lytton Hall) & competition finale

Entry Requirements:

• You’re a member of Hammersmith Chess Club
• You’re registered with the ECF for the 2017-18 season (Bronze will do)
• You’re happy to commit to playing the full 8 matches throughout the season

Prizes:

Four prizes will be awarded for the best score in each of the below categories. No one will be eligible to win more than one award:

• Open (no grade limit)
• Kings <160 ECF
• Bishops <130 ECF
• Knights <100 ECF

Small-Print:

Grades will be based on July 2017 grading list.

• If you have a Rapidplay grade, we’ll use that
• If you only have a Slowplay grade, we’ll go with that
• If you have neither, we’ll estimate your grade

Byes:

• All players will be permitted to take a maximum of 2 byes over the course of the tournament, scoring 0.5 points in each case.
• Requests for byes must be submitted in advance of the end of the month, and in advance of the round in question’s pairings having been communicated.
• Byes cannot be taken for the final round.

Late Entries:

• May be permitted at the discretion of the tournament controllers
• Late entrants will start with 0 points as standard

Failure to complete a match within the designated month:

• Both players will be awarded 0 points
• Unless a player can demonstrate they have made reasonable and repeated (>=3) attempts to find a suitable time/date for the match, in which case they may be awarded the win by default
• Adam and Dave to make the final decision on any disputes

The tournament controllers reserve the right to make minor tweaks to the tournament as the season progresses due to unforeseen circumstances. In such a scenario, a written update will be provided to all the players.

If you have any questions please drop Adam or Dave an email:

adam1234321@googlemail.com

davidlambert80@gmail.com

And remember – if you wish to play, please let us know by 30th September at the absolute latest. We’ll produce the first set of pairings shortly after the deadline.

Thanks & good luck!!