23rd William M. Byland Memorial

The Pittsburgh Chess Club is proud to host our 23rd William M. Byland Memorial.

Schedule | Format | Prizes | Eligibility | Byes

Rules | Fair Play | Contact | Registration Details | Advance Entries

Schedule and Location

Tournament Rounds: Tuesdays, 6:30PM EST, May 9 – June 13, 2023.

Location: The Pittsburgh Chess Club, 5869 Forbes Ave., 2nd Fl, Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Tournament Format

Format: 6 Round Swiss System, one game every Tuesday
Time Control: Game/90 delay 5 (Each player starts with 90 minutes on their clock and there is a 5 second delay per move).
Sections: There is one Open section.
Pairings:

• Pairings will be based on the US Chess rating supplement issued during the month of the tournament (see Ratings below). The highest rating will be used for pairing purposes.
• Pairings Preview. Normally, pairings for the week will be posted online (pairings page) by Monday noon. These pairings should be considered tentative until 4:30pm Tuesday, at which time the pairings should be considered official (ie. officially printed and affixed to the pairings wall in the club).
• All players who have not withdrawn or requested a BYE prior to officially posted pairings will be expected to play in that round regardless of their results. A player will be forfeited if he or she does not arrive at his or her assigned board to play a scheduled game before the expiration of the default time, which is the lesser of the time control or 60 minutes. Please see Commitment to play all rounds, below.

Ratings: All players must be current USCF members to play in this tournament series. Players can purchase or renew USCF memberships in conjunction with entering the tournament. To see membership options, details and dues or to purchase or renew memberships directly online, click here: https://new.uschess.org/become-member. Membership dues are non-refundable even if the tournament is cancelled or the player withdraws. All games will be USCF-rated. Official USCF ratings from the latest supplement will apply as listed below in order of priority:

• USCF Regular
• USCF Quick
• USCF Online-Regular
• USCF Online-Quick

The Pittsburgh Chess Club reserves the right to assign any player to a higher-rated section based on the player’s rating history. Any player who does not have any of the USCF ratings listed above will be entered as an unrated player.

Prizes

• $1000 prize fund based on 32 players:
  • 1st place – $225 & Plaque, 2nd place – $175, Top U2000 – $150, Top Under 1800 – $125, Top Under 1600 – $100, Top Under 1400 – $75, Top Under 1200 – $75, Top Under 1000 – $75
  • Largest upset win (if at least 200 points) gets free entry to any future 2022-2023 PCC tournament! (up to $50)
  • No winner shall receive more than one cash award (Rule 32B1).
  • Unrated Players are ineligible to receive Under-rated prizes.
  • Prizes will paid on-site by check. If a prize is not collected, it will be transferred to winner’s designated PayPal account (if provided) or the check will be sent to their physical mailing address.
  • Per IRS rules anyone with a cumulative $600+ prizes in any calendar year will need to fill out a W9 and The Pittsburgh Chess Club will be providing a 1099 form.

Eligibility

• Players must be current US Chess Federation members.
  • Expiration date of membership must be later than the day of the tournament.
  • Not sure of the status of your US Chess membership? Visit: new.uschess.org/player-search
  • You can become a US Chess member (or renew your membership) here: new.uschess.org/join-us-chess
• Players do not need to be Pittsburgh Chess Club members, but there is a discount on entry fees
  • Not sure of the status of your PCC membership? Visit: members.pittsburghchessclub.org/portal
  • Learn about becoming a Pittsburgh Chess Club member here: pittsburghchessclub.org/membership/

Byes

• Byes are available for players in any round in case they can't participate but would like to stay in the tournament.
• A request for up to two half-point byes will be accepted under the following conditions:
  • All byes are irrevocable
  • A player may cancel an irrevocable half-point bye under the condition that if the player wins, the result will be treated as a draw for prize purposes.
  • Byes for rounds 4, 5 and 6 must be requested before the start of round 3.
  • Bye requests must be made by 4:30PM on Tuesday prior to the round. Bye requests after this deadline will be considered 0 point byes.
• Registered Byes will be posted in the weekly pairings page online.
• Please see Commitment to play all rounds, below.

Tournament Rules

• Standard US Chess rules apply

Fair Play

• Use of computer chess engines, databases, chess books, magazines, written notes and any other form of external assistance while playing is strictly prohibited. Assistance from other players is also prohibited and will result in disqualification.
• The electronic score keeping devices, ChessNoteR and eNotate, cannot be used at this tournament

Contact

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions. Or call (412) 421-1881.

Registration

• Advance entry is encouraged to be assured of a place in the tournament.
• PCC Member Advance Entry Fee: $40
• Non-Member Advance Entry Fee: $50
• On-Site Entry Fee: $55 on-site entries
• On-site registration will be available before round 1, 5:45PM-6:15PM.
• Late registrants who register after 6:15 PM may have to take a half point bye in round 1, or two half-point byes in round 2, depending on registration date.
• Administrative Fee: $10 for all cancellations & refunds. Refund checks will be sent through the mail and must be requested before the start of Round 2.
• Commitment to play paired rounds: All players who have not withdrawn prior to the start of each round pairing will be paired and expected to play in that round -regardless of their results. A player will be forfeited if he or she does not arrive at his or her assigned board to play a scheduled game before the expiration of the default time, which is the lesser of the time control or 60 minutes. Once a forfeit occurs, the player is automatically withdrawn from the event and they will be charged a forfeit penalty fee.
• Forfeit penalty fee: $10

Advance Entries