2024 Lake Effect Snow Blitz

Join us for some Blitz!

Schedule | Format | Prizes | Eligibility | Byes

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

Schedule and Location

Tournament Rounds: Starting Tuesday, 6:30PM, February 27, 2023
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 JCC garage (5738 Forbes Ave), the Carnegie Public Library Lot (5801 Forbes Ave), the Forbes-Shady Lot (1648 Shady Ave, behind Dunkin Donuts), 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: 4 double round Swiss System. In each double round, players play two games against their paired opponent, one game as the White pieces and one as the Black pieces.
Time Control: Game/5 delay 5 (Each player starts with 5 minutes on their clock and a 5 second delay)
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.
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 Blitz
• USCF Quick
• USCF Regular
• USCF Online-Blitz
• 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

• $500 prize fund based on 20 players
  • 1st Place - $200, 2nd Place - $150, 3rd Place - $100, 4th Place - $50
  • Prizes will paid on-site by check. If a prize is not collected, it will be transferred to winner’s designated PayPal account.
  • 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-MISC 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

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

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 Advance Member Entry Fee: $32
• Non-PCC Member Advance Entry Fee: $40
• On-Site Entry Fee: $45
  
• Online registration: closes at 4:30 PM.
• On-site registration will be available 5:45PM-6:15PM.
• 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