NI RAPID GRAND PRIX - FIDE RATED
NI RAPID GRAND PRIX - FIDE RATED
During the 2022/2023 season, Northern Ireland will host ten FIDE rated tournaments in an exciting Rapid Grand Prix. Each individual event will award 10 points to the winner, 9 for second place, 8 for 3rd and continuing to 1 point for 10th place. We will keep a running total of points accumulated at each tournament. At the end of the season, the Rapid Grand Prix champion will be awarded a special engraved cup. It is hoped the ten competitions will help more players gain a FIDE rapid rating. Arbiter/Organiser: Jamison, B. - FIDE National Arbiter
Most of the venues have a set capacity in terms of tables, chairs and overall space. Therefore early booking is advised. Payment is required in advance to secure a spot in each individual competition. Free entry for 2nd, 3rd or 4th player from the same family. Entry fees are used to pay for the venue hire and purchase the trophies, cups and shields. Full refunds will be issued up to 24 hours before the start of an event.
Membership of ICU or UCU*
*Please note, with the exception of a few places kept for newcomers, participants at each event should to be paid-up members of the Irish Chess Union [ICU] or Ulster Chess Union [UCU]. FIDE requires participants to be members of their national federation. With this in mind, we cannot host the Rapid Grand Prix at venues where the majority of participants attending are expected to be non-members of the ICU or UCU. All our FIDE rated events are submitted to FIDE by the Irish Chess Union and they have to pay a fee (for each individual player) when submitting a tournament to FIDE for rating purposes. Therefore we must ensure there are enough paid-up members playing at each event.
Programming for the month of September is summarised below, kicking off with the Bangor Congress, then Downpatrick and rounding the month off with Strand. Events for October and November will be scheduled after the league fixtures are published. We are planning events at Lisburn, Greenisland and Omagh. More venues will be confirmed in due course.
Event 1: Sat 3rd Sept
FIDE rated City of Bangor Congress (6 rounds of 30+0)
9:45am to 5pm
Prizes: Cups, shields, trophies
Early entry fee: £12
Late entry fee: £20
Deadline to enter: 10am on 27/08/2022.
Entries to: bangorchessclubni@gmail.com
Early entry list:
FIDE 1732 Kelly, Christopher
FIDE 1565 Todd, Andrew
FIDE 1496 Cole, Ethan
UCU 1392 Dorrian, Christopher
UCU 1361 Morrow, Richard
UCU 1215 Todd, Sam
FIDE 1235 Rushe, Adam
UCU 1213 Gunning, Joe
Event 2: Sat 17th Sept
FIDE rated Downpatrick Rapid Championship (10 rounds of 15+0)
10am to 5:15pm
Prizes: Cups, shields, trophies
Early entry fee: £12
Late entry fee: £20
Deadline to enter: 5pm on 03/09/2022.
Entries to: fidechessni@gmail.com
Early entry list:
UCU 1392 Dorrian, Christopher
UCU 1361 Morrow, Richard
UCU 1247 Dornford-Smith, Adrian
FIDE 1235 Rushe, Adam
Event 3: Fri 23rd Sept
FIDE rated Strand Rapid Championship (6 rounds of 12+0)
7pm to 10pm
Prizes: Cups, shields, trophies
Early entry fee: £8
Late entry fee: £15
Deadline to enter: 5pm on 16/09/2022.
Entries to: strandchessclub@gmail.com
Early entry list:
FIDE 1864 Harris, Ross
FIDE 1732 Kelly, Christopher
FIDE 1496 Cole, Ethan
UCU 1361 Morrow, Richard
UCU 1247 Dornford-Smith,
FIDE 1235 Rushe, Adam
FIDE 1106 Harris, Dexter
UCU 1094 Worbey, Leah
UCU 1089 Magill, Reuben
UCU 1080 Harris, Blake
UCU 823 Worbey, Jennifer
Do you need to join?
A full list of ICU membership rates are available here, with the option to pay online. Adults are €35
Similar to the ICU membership year, UCU membership runs from 1st September 2022 to 31st August 2023. Fees are £25 per player, with a reduced rate of £15 for ICU members and a rate of £10 for Under 18s. Payments can be made at any tournament or the PayPal link/bank details can be emailed on request.
