Ridgefield March 15th Sunday Open

*** Players who recently created or renewed a US Chess account may find that the membership expiration date is invalid and consequently, are unable to register successfully for the tournament.  If so email hello@wayoftheboard.org with member ID and intended section, and the tournament director should be able to assist. *** 

Times (All sections may end earlier or later depending on gameplay)

1. All sections - Round 1 starts promptly at 1:05PM, subsequent rounds ASAP.  
2. Award ceremony and group photo for U400 section expected to end at 5:00 PM, and by 6:30 PM for other sections.

Location: St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, 6 Ivy Hill Road, Ridgefield, CT, 06877

Sections*:

1. U400 : 4SS, G/30.  Four rounds of US Chess rated chess in Swiss System format. Each player has 30 minutes to make their moves in a game with no delay per move. Players will be grouped by live regular rating, and notation is not required.
2. U1300, U800 and U600 sections : 4SS, G/30;d/5.  Four rounds of US Chess rated chess in Swiss System format. Each player has 30 minutes to make their moves in a game with 5 second delay per move. Players will be grouped by live regular rating.  Players may choose not to notate, but will receive a 5 minute penalty to compensate opponent for their notation time (G/25 instead of G/30).  Sections may be combined if there are <7 players in a section.
3.  Players should already be familiar with how to move and capture pieces, castle, how to check/checkmate an opponent, and play to the end of each game without being distracted.  If unsure whether a player is ready, please email tournament director.
4. Beginner players in grades K-5 who do not yet have rated tournament experience are suggested to register for the U400 section, although parents are free to register players in the U800 section.  Beginner players in grades 6-adult should register in the U600 section, although stronger players are encouraged to register for the U1300 section.  All players grades K - adult may register for the U1300 section.
5. All sections are rated, and a valid US Chess membership is required for all players.
6. When siblings are playing in the same section, a pairing exception will be added if possible.
7. If a section is full, seating will not be increased.  If a player registration is cancelled before the tournament date, that seat will be available.

Discounts
Entry fee increases on March 1st and March 12th, so register early to avoid the higher entry fees. 

Byes:

1. A half (1/2) point bye requests (1 maximum) is available for round 1.
   
2. Zero (0) point bye requests are available for later rounds.
3. Byes must be requested before pairing for each round is announced.
4. Players may request a half point bye for their first round when registering, if anticipating that a player will arrive late.  Players not playing the first round should arrive by 2:45 PM latest for the U400 section, and 2:50 latest for the other sections.

Entry deadline: Saturday 10 pm (day before tournament). No on-site registration.

Prizes (All sections except U1300)

1. Gold medals for player(s) in top half of pool for each section, (for example, 1 point for each game won, 0.5 points for each game drawn), with no computer calculated tie-breaks. Silver medals for all other players.
2. Trophies are awarded to top player/players in each section.  (See note at bottom for tie break rules if there are 2+ players with a tie). 

Prizes (U1300 section)

• $90 cash prize for section winner/winners, with $45 for the second place winner/winners.

Refunds/Cancellation/Inclement Weather Policy:

• If unable to participate, registered players may withdraw by contacting the tournament director.  If cancelling by Tuesday midnight before tournament, fee will be refunded but are subject to a $10 administrative fee.  If cancelling after Tuesday, refund is subject to a $15 administrative fee.
• If a player is feeling unwell (coughing, has fever, sore throat, etc) day of event, they should not compete in consideration of the health of other players.
• If there is heavy snow day of event and road conditions are unsafe locally in Ridgefield, tournament will be rescheduled and players will be given the option to have their entry fee refunded with a $2 fee to cover platform and credit card costs.

Additional Details:

* This event takes place on Sunday afternoon, not Saturday afternoon.

* To register, go to link https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=2543&cat=1

* An active US Chess membership is required prior to registering for this tournament for all sections. - available at https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess. The fee for one child under 19 is $24/year, and the membership fee for adults (under 65) is $54/year.  Other membership options are available.

* Chess sets, clocks, pencils, erasers, and score sheets are provided, and players do not need to bring their own equipment.  Players are welcome to use their own score sheets/score books.

* Supervision: Tournament director and tournament assistant(s) will be coordinating this event.  Dropoff is possible, and parents can be contacted via cellphone as needed.  Parents with young players who require supervision should plan to attend the event for duration.  For players without cellphone, parents may request at sign-in a text message to be sent to contact phone number at the start of round 4.

* Pizza will be delivered to venue  at 3 PM, with water bottles and chips also available for purchase.  Payment on-site via Venmo or Paypal. 

* Safety: Masks are optional, and no food is allowed in the playing area.   A water bottle for players is suggested.

* Parking: There are plenty of parking spaces in the venue parking lot.

* Social media: Photos/videos will be taken at the event and may be posted to the club website or social media accounts for outreach and marketing purposes. Inform the tournament director before the day of the event to opt-out if desired.

* See tournament handout for event rules and tournament etiquette.  Taking notation is required for players in all sections except U400, although players may request an exemption with 5 minute penalty.  Notation is not required for players in the U400 sections.

* For families visiting Ridgefield, Ridgefield's local library is open until 5 PM, and there are coffee shops (Queen B, Tazza Cafe, an ice cream and candy shop (Deborah Ann's), and the local bookstore (Books on the Common) in downtown Ridgefield.  Limited seating provided for parents and family members.  Parents are welcome and encouraged to stay for the beginning and end of the tournament for the orientation and award ceremony.

* Tournament results and link to event photos will be posted to https://tournaments.wayoftheboard.org.

* Latest published ratings are used for tournament registration as opposed to official ratings.  A player's official published rating will not be given to a player until 25+ games have been played and is updated 12 times a year.  Tournament director may move a player to different section on day of event if rating has changed from time of registration (for example, if rating was initially 399 but on day of event is 401 player may be moved to the U800 section).

* An Events4Chess account is not necessary to register a player for a tournament, only the player's US Chess account ID.  It is only needed to auto-populate fields when registering, or to be notified when a new event is live.

* Payment: Paypal/credit card/debit card accepted for payment.  To use a payment method other than Paypal after checkout, select "Pay with Debit or Credit Card" as in screenshot.

* Tie Break format for U400/U800 sections - If there are 2+ top players tied in a section, a playoff will determine the section winner and trophy recipient, and will immediately follow the last round. The playoff format will be G/5/4 d2 Armageddon game, blitz rules apply, with pawn hand determining player color (tournament director will have black and white pawns in hand, players choose hand to determine color).   All other ties broken by US Chess standard tie break rules.

* To confirm if a player was successfully registered after submitting the registration fee, check the Participants list.  If the player is listed, registration was successful.

* An orientation email will be sent out at 8 AM day of event with additional details for first-time parents and players, but parents/players can email tournament director with any questions.

* Printable flyer: https://www.events4chess.com/dashboard/events/rds_generate_flyer.php?event_ID=2543