Edinburgh Park Congress and Blitz- February 2023

A Scottish Chess Tour Event

Novotel Edinburgh Park - Friday 17th February to Sunday 19th 2023

15 Lochside Avenue, Hermiston Gait Retail Park. EH12 9DJ (see map below)
Sat Nav: **Don't use the post code** Look for 'Novotel Edinburgh Park' or 'Hermiston Gait'. The hotel is near KFC and Krispy Kreme

Entries to the Blitz have now closed. Please do not enter the Blitz as your entry will not be accepted.

Weekend Standard - Major (U2200) - 5 Rounds
Saturday 18 Feb - 09:30 to 20.00 & Sunday 19 Feb - 10:00 to 16:45
For players graded U2200 on the CS Live Standard list & FIDE Standard list

Weekend Standard - Minor (U1600) - 5 Rounds
Saturday 18 Feb - 09:30 to 20.00 & Sunday 19 Feb- 10:00 to 16:45
For players graded U1600 on the CS Live Standard list & FIDE Standard list

Friday Evening Blitz - 9 Rounds
Friday 17th Feb - 19.00 to 21.30

Both Swiss tournaments are played under the rules of Chess Scotland (CS)

Entries are limited to 70 players, so please book early

Sections

Section	Major Under 2200 FIDE Rated CS Graded	Minor Under 1600 FIDE Rated CS Graded	Blitz FIDE Rated
Entry Fee	£35 - (Non CS Mem.: £38)** Junior Discount £5	£35 - (Non CS Mem.: £38)** Junior Discount £5	£12* £8 if entering the Standard event. No Junior Discount, leave as N/A
1st. Prize	£100	£100	£40
2nd. Prize	£50	£50
Grading Prizes	£30	£30	Four Rating Prizes, £20 each

* Chess Scotland membership does not apply to the Blitz, this is not rated by Chess Scotland, so no membership reductions apply. Please do not tick this option if you are only entering the Blitz.

** Chess Scotland membership discount £3 - Congress only. Membership discount applies to anyone appearing in the current CS membership list, see here.
Junior discount £5 Congress only. Junior is under 18 on the 1st January 2005. i.e. born in 2005 or later

Playing Sessions - Congress

Round	Start Time
1	Saturday - 09.30
Lunch Break
2	Saturday - 13.30
3	Saturday - 17.00
4	Sunday - 10.00
5	Sunday - 13.45

Playing Sessions - Blitz

Rounds	Start Time
1 to 5	Friday - Start 19.00
6 to 9	Friday - Start 20.25

We expect the tournament to have concluded by 9:30. The timetable is advisory and we will allow a least a 15 minute break between each session. During each session, games will commence a couple of minutes after completion of the previous round in order that we can complete the tournament on time.

Time Control - Congress

All moves in 60 minutes, with 30 second increments from move 1.

Time Control - Blitz

All moves in 3 minutes, with 2 second increments from move 1.

Grading/Rating

The highest rating of FIDE or Chess Scotland standard rating/grade are used for entry purposes into the Standard. All FIDE rated tournaments use FIDE ratings for pairings and rating prizes.
We appreciate there may be some anomalies - we will use gradings/ratings as we deem appropriate.

Blitz Prizes

1st Prize	£40
Rating Bands above 1640 Highest scorer of the middle third rated players Highest scorer of the lower third rated players	£20 each
Rating Band 1640 and below Highest scorer of the top half rated players Highest scorer of the lower half rated players	£20 each

FIDE Identification Number (FIN)

All players must have a FIDE Identification Number (FIN)*. Chess Scotland can register players who are eligible for a Scotland (SCO) – eligibility rules here. List of registered players here.

The results of the FIDE-rated sections of this event will be submitted to FIDE, the world chess federation. Players in these sections need to be registered with FIDE to allow the results to be submitted.

Information about FIDE registration is available here.

Please read the notes on eligibility at the above link, complete the application form on the Chess Scotland website and send to the Chess Scotland Rating Officer.

*Which must be Licenced. Former FIDE Arena players who have not registered with their national federations may fall into this category. If this is the case, it is generally resolved quite quickly by your national federation. Please enquire if you are unsure of the registration rules before deciding to enter by contacting us using our contact form.

COVID Safety Arrangements

• If there are government restrictions at the time of the event, they will apply at the Allegro
• Players must not attend if they have Covid symptoms and a refund will be given
• Players must not attend if they have recently tested positive for COVID, or are required to self-isolate

Conditions of Entry

The organisers reserve the right to:

• Increase or decrease prize money
• Transfer entrants between events
• Split or merge events depending on numbers
• Withhold prizes from ungraded players if they play in events below their known strength
• Distribute the prize fund as they deem appropriate
• The organisers reserve the right to refuse entry without assigning a reason
• Take any other measures deemed necessary to ensure the smooth running of the congress
• Spectators, and players who have finished their game, are not allowed in the playing hall and may asked to leave the playing hall.

Refund Policy

Players withdrawing prior to the day of the congress may do so with a refund, less a £5 administration fee.

Photographs

Photographs taken at the event may be used for publicity purposes. Any objection should be notified to the event organiser prior to the event.