2024 April Quick Quads

Join us for our April Quick Quads.

Tournament Registration Links

PCC Member or
Non-PCC Member

Schedule | Format | Prizes | Eligibility | Byes

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

Schedule and Location

Tournament Rounds: Starting Tuesday, 6:30PM, April 16, 2024
Location: The Pittsburgh Chess Club, 5869 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Capacity: There is a maximum capacity of 32 players. It is recommended to register early.
Parking: There are many places to park around Squirrel Hill, all within short walking distance of the tournament. There is paid parking available in the Forbes-Shady Lot (1648 Shady Ave, behind Dunkin Donuts), the Carnegie Public Library Lot (5801 Forbes Ave), the JCC garage (5738 Forbes Ave), the Beacon Bartlett Lot (5737 Beacon St, across from Giant Eagle), as well as street parking along nearby streets. Please take care not to park in front of any fire hydrants or driveways.

Tournament Format

Format: Quadrangular (aka. Quads), a 4-player Round Robin chess tournament. There are three (3) rounds: each player plays one game against each of the other three players.
Time Control: Game/25 delay 3 (Each player starts with 25 minutes on their clock with 3 second delay before subtracting time). Quick rated: will not impact your Regular rating!
Sections: There will be one Open section. Within the Open section there will be as many quads as possible, formed from players entered. Quads will be defined and paired in accordance with USCF Rule 30G. All entered players in the Open section will be listed in order by rating, highest to lowest. Working from the top of the list down, each group of four players will be designated as a quad. Within each quad, the four players will be assigned pairing numbers 1 through 4 in order by rating from highest to lowest. If a group of 5, 6 or 7 players is left over after defining all other quads for a section, that group will be paired as a three-round Swiss. If fewer than 4 players enter any section, that section will be eliminated, and affected players will have a choice of playing in a different section or having their entry fee refunded. Pairings: Pairings for each quad will be as follows: round 1: 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3; round 2: 3 vs 1, 4 vs 2; round 3: 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4. For round 3 only, colors will be assigned randomly in each pairing (by a coin toss or hidden pawn choice), except that in the event of a forfeit or withdrawal, colors should be assigned so as to maximize color equalization.
Pairings: Pairings will be based on the US Chess rating supplement published during the month of the tournament (see Ratings below). The highest rating will be used for pairing purposes.
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 Quick
  • USCF Regular
  • USCF Online-Quick
  • USCF Online-Regular

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

  • The 1st Place winner in each quad will receive a custom Pittsburgh Chess Club medal.
  • If the lowest quad has at least 6 players, then 2nd Place winner(s) will receive a ribbon.
  • If the lowest quad has 7 players, then 3rd Place winner(s) will receive a ribbon.
  • In case of a tie for 1st Place, players in contention for the medal will play a special playoff round with time control G/5 d5. If players are still tied after the G/5 d5 round, then they will play a second special playoff round with time control G/3 d5. If players are still tied after the G/3 d5 round, then the medal will be awarded based on USCF Rule 34E for calculating Swiss tie-breaks. Playoff rounds will not be rated.

Eligibility

Byes

  • No half-point byes allowed –please plan to play all rounds.

Tournament Rules

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: $16
  • Non-Member Advance Entry Fee: $20
  • On-Site Entry Fee: $25
  • There is no advanced entry fee for FIDE titled & USCF titled players, NM and higher. Please use promo code "TITLED-SWISS" at checkout.
  • Online registration: closes at 4:30 PM.
  • On-site registration will be available 5:45PM-6:15PM.
  • All players must check-in with the Tournament Director during on-site roll call. Failure to check-in could risk automatic withdraw from the tournament.
  • 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

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