Kraaifontein Rapid Chess Tournament

• All place (1st. – 3rd.) prize money will be shared equally amongst tied players.
• Prizes may be paid in by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) within 48 hours after the conclusion of the event.
• Players must attend the award ceremony to receive their prizes and/or awards.
• No player may win more than one individual prize. A player will receive the prize with the highest value.
• Prizes may be amended subject to numbers of entries.

LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE

The appointed Local Organising Committee comprise of:

• Tournament Organiser: Kraaifontein Chess Club
• Tournament Director: Mr Burton van Staaden
• Chief Arbiter: Mr Ricardo Minnaar
• Chief Covid Officer: Mr Darryl Jacobs
• Appeals: Mr Paul Wilson
• Enquiries: Mr Paul Wilson                    Cell: 083 461 8742 Email: paul@chesshub.co.za
• Enquiries: Mr Burton van Staaden    Cell: 073 212 4875 Email: info@kfnchess.org.za 

EVENT SECTIONS

The event will consist of the following sections:

Open Section

• Championship                   : Players with CHESSA rating 1600+
• Advanced                            : Players with CHESSA rating 1300 to 1599

Junior Section

• Intermediate                     : Players with CHESSA rating 1000 to 1299
• Beginner                              : Players with CHESSA rating below 1000

The Junior Section is reserved for players under 16 years of age (born 2005 or later)

Players over the age of 16 years with rating below 1300 must play in the Open Section.

Players with a rating within 50 points of a higher section may “play-up” into that section.

TIEBREAKS

The following tiebreak systems, in the order given below, will be used to rank the players (who finish the tournament on the same scores) to determine the final standings.

• Direct encounter
• Bucholz
• Sonneborn-Berger
• Rating average of opponents

EVENT REGULATIONS

• 01 January 2018 FIDE Laws of Chess will apply.
• All electronic equipment (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, smart watches, etc. but excluding those items used exclusively for the running of the Event) must be switched off when brought into the playing hall. Any player who is found to have such a device in his/her possession which is not switched off will immediately be forfeited (loss of game).
• The “late arrival time” for all rounds will be 5 minutes. Any player who arrives more than 5 minutes late after the actual start of a round will immediately be forfeited, unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise.
• Organisers reserve the right to combine or split sections depending on entries.

APPEALS

A player wishing to appeal against a ruling made by an arbiter, must do so immediately after the game has ended and before the pairings for the next round has been published.

ARBITERS

The following arbiters have been appointed:

• Chief Arbiter: Ricardo Minnaar
• Other Arbiters: Darryl Jacobs & Takudzwa Chiriya

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EVENT

• Players withdrawing from the event will forfeit their entry fees.
• If a player withdraws during the event, rating penalties will be applied as per Chess SA Rating Regulations if no valid and acceptable reason(s) are provided by the player.

 DRESSCODE

Players must always be dressed neatly and look presentable. Casual wear/clothing will be allowed. Players must wear shoes or sandals.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs will be taken during the event and the award ceremony. All players 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.

TRANSPORT AND ACCOMODATION

 Each participant is responsible for his/her own transport & accommodation arrangements and the costs thereof.

 TUCKSHOP

A tuckshop will be in operation for the duration of the event.

 COVID-19 HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS

1.  A total of 100 players (50 for Junior section and 50 for Open section) will be allowed to participate in the event.
2. Only players will be allowed to enter the venue.
3. No spectators or parents will be allowed at the venue.
4. Screening of all players, support staff, officials and attendees will be done upon entry at the venue and recorded in a register.
5. All players, support staff and attendees will complete a self-screening questionnaire to ensure efficient contact tracing where necessary.
6. Any person displaying symptoms associated with Covid-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties) or people who are considered in a high-risk group should not attend.
7. Players will not be allowed to leave the playing area during the day as well as its associated demarcated breakaway area. Players should therefore bring their own food and drink.
8. No food deliveries will be allowed, and players will not be able to leave the playing area to buy food or drink.
9. Sanitisation of chess pieces, sets and surfaces will be done in between rounds, but players may bring their own hand sanitizers as well.
10. Hand sanitiser will be available at the entrance of the venue, as well as at strategic areas inside the venue and toilets. Toilets will have sufficient soap and paper towels as well as marked Covid-19 disposal facilities.
11. All players must wear masks always covering both their noses and mouths.
12. All players must adhere to strict social distancing at all times.
13. Players, support staff and officials over the age of 60 or people with comorbidities will be encouraged to be cautious and minimise exposure.
14. Players will sign their own scoresheets and report the result to the arbiter. No signing of opponent sheets and no sharing of pens.
15. No hands will be shaken at the commencement of the round, nor at the end of the match.
16. Once the players are done with a match, and their results have been recorded, they become “Spectators” and must leave the playing area immediately and reside in the breakaway demarcated area.
17. No informal games on private chess sets are allowed outside the playing venue in the demarcated breakaway area.
18. Any player that does not comply with Covid-19 Health and Safety protocols may be expelled from the event.