The Pittsburgh Chess Club is proud to host our 79th Pittsburgh Metropolitan Open.

Schedule | Format | Prizes | Eligibility | Byes

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

Schedule and Location

Dates: Saturday, March 16, 2024
On-Site Registration: 8AM - 8:45AM
Rounds times, all sections: 9AM | 11AM | 2PM | 3:30PM
Awards Ceremony: Shortly after the final game.
Location: Levinson B Conference Hall, Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, 15217.
Note: Neither the Pittsburgh Chess Club nor the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Open are associated with The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
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-round Swiss System, in three sections
Time Control: Game/45 delay 5

Sections:

• Championship: Open to all players.
• Reserve: Players rated under 1800 or unrated.
• Novice: Players rated under 1000 or unrated.

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.
• All players who have not withdrawn or requested a BYE prior to officially posted pairings will be expected to play in that round regardless of their results.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. 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

• Championship:
  • Place prizes: 1st – $400, 2nd – $300, 3rd – $150,
    
  • Class Prizes: Top Class A (1800-1999) – $75, Top Class B (1600-1799) – $75
  • Prize Fund: $1000 Fund based on 32 paid entries. Reserve, Novice, GM/IM/FM/NM/CM/WGM/WIM/WFM/WCM entries count as 1/2.
• Reserve:
  • Place Prizes: 1st Place Plaque, 2nd Place Plaque, 3rd Place Plaque
    
  • Class Prizes: Top U1600 Medal, Top U1400 Medal, Top U1200 Medal, Top U1000 Medal, Top Unrated Medal
• Novice:
  
  • Place Prizes: 1st Place Plaque, 2nd Place Plaque, 3rd Place Plaque
    
  • Class Prizes: Top U800 Medal, Top U600 Medal, Top U400 Medal, Top Unrated Medal
• Cash prizes will paid via PayPal.
• No winner shall receive more than one cash award (Rule 32B1).

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 one ½-point byes will be accepted under the following conditions:
  • Byes for rounds 1 & 2 must be requested at least 1-hour prior to the round start time.
  • Half-point byes for rounds 3 and 4 must be requested before the start of round 3.
  • Bye requests after the start of round 3 will be considered 0-point byes.
  • All byes are irrevocable
  • A player may cancel an irrevocable ½-point under the condition that if the player wins, the result will be treated as a draw for prize purposes.
• 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

• PCC Member Advance Entry Fee: Championship $40, Reserve & Novice $16
• Non-Member Advance Entry Fee: Championship $50, Reserve & Novice $20
• On-Site Entry Fee: Championship $55, Reserve & Novice $25
• There is no advanced entry fee for FIDE titled & USCF titled players, NM and higher. Please use promo code "TITLED-ACC23" at checkout.
• Advance Entry Fee increases to On-site registration pricing on Friday, February 16.
• Advance Entry form closes at 6am.
• On-site registration will be available starting at 8am.
• Late registrants arriving after 8:45am may have to take a Round 1 BYE.
• Administrative Fee: $10 for all cancellations & refunds. Refunds must be requested before the start of your first paired round.
• 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: $15

Advance Entries