Ulster Chess Championships 2016, terms and conditions

1. All participants must be current members of either the UCU or ICU and be of good standing.
2. It is a condition of entry to the Ulster Chess Championships that all players accept these terms and conditions.
3. All entries are taken subject to the approval of the tournament director and these terms and conditions. The tournament director's decision is final.
4. All players over 18 years of age are deemed to allow publication of photographs of them taken at the event by the organisers for publicity purposes unless they inform the organisers otherwise.
5. Entries received after the 1^st round draw will be paired with any subsequent late entry.  However if there are no more entries or if this leads to an uneven number the last entry will only receive a ½ point bye and therefore not play the 1^st round.
6. Prizes will be determined at the earliest opportunity following the start of the tournament and are dependent on the number of entries.
7. Any players found to not be paid-up members of the UCU or ICU may have their prizes withheld if they are not a paid-up member.
8. No Player may win more than one prize.
9. If an unrated or estimated rated player wins any section they will only receive 50% of the prize money.
10. Estimated rated players who cannot provide adequate proof of their rating may not qualify to win any cash prize. This does not apply to the senior section.
11. Prize money will be shared equally amongst tied players.
12. Where there is a tie for first place in any section then a tie-breaking system will be applied for titles. (First tie-break will be Median Buchholz followed, if necessary, by Buchholz, then most wins and then progressive scores.)
13. The title holders of the lower sections from the Ulster Championships 2015 may enter the next higher section irrespective of their current chess rating.  Other entrants wishing to play in the next higher section may do so at discretion of the tournament director and is subject to entrant numbers and their individual rating.
14. The following will be used to decide players seeding (in this order):

a. Their current UCU or ICU Rating*

*For those players who have both a UCU and ICU rating, their recent activity in UCU and ICU games will be scrutinised to help decide which rating is used.  The tournament director's decision is final.

b. Their FIDE Rating

c. Their National Federation Rating (if verified)

d. The decision of the Tournament Director

1. A players' committee will be appointed before the start of the tournament.
2. No live ratings can be used.  Only the latest official UCU/ICU rating list shall apply to UCU/ICU members and the latest FIDE list to overseas players.
3. Pairing will be done in accordance with the FIDE Swiss pairing rules using the FIDE approved Swiss Master pairing program. Published pairings will not be changed unless: "They are in breach of one of the absolute pairing rules specified by FIDE".
4. Re-pairing may take place if necessary, and at the arbiters discretion, up to 30 minutes after the start of any round. Any player refusing to play a re-paired game will be deemed to have lost by default.
5. Decisions of the arbiter may be appealed to the Player's Committee provided it is received in legible writing within 30 minutes of the end of the game in question.
6. Players will be defaulted if they are not present at their board within 30 minutes of the beginning of each round.
7. Should a player not turn up for a particular round and fail to inform the arbiter they shall be withdrawn from the tournament.
8. Players are reminded of Law 11.3 (Laws of Chess) regarding mobile phones.  Players must inform the arbiter if it is necessary for them to have a mobile phone. A player automatically loses the game if their mobile phone “goes off” during their game.

Time Controls

1. Time control in all sections is:- 1hr. 30 minutes per player for all moves + 30 seconds increment from move 1.
2. All moves must be recorded regardless of remaining time.
3. A player who's time runs out will lose the game, provided their opponent could, from the final position, checkmate with any possible series of legal moves (see laws of chess 6.9).
4. Should a player be unable to use a supplied clock the Tournament Director may allow the use of another clock with appropriate time controls.

Playing Conditions

1. Sets and clocks will be provided for all players.
2. The arbiter decides where clocks will be placed.
3. A small proportion of games will be played on live (internet) boards.  Instructions for their effective use will be provided and players must follow these instructions.
4. At the end of each game players must set their boards up correctly.
5. Sets and Clocks must not be removed from the playing room.
6. Clocks must be left at the side of the board where they had been placed.
7. Spare sets may be available for analysis subject availability.
8. No analysis may take place in the playing rooms.  Boards and sets may be available in the lobby area.