Schedule and Location
Tournament Rounds: Sunday, June 16, 2024 11am | 1pm | 2pm
Location: Schenley Park, at the Westinghouse grounds (W Circuit Rd Pittsburgh, PA 15217).
NO on-site registration: All players must pre-register online as the TD will have limited resources available to register on-site. Online registration closes at 11PM Saturday the night before. Shortly after registration closes, quad assignments will be posted online, as well as emailed to all players who have entered. The quad assignments will also be posted at the Westinghouse grounds starting at 10:30am.
Capacity: There is a maximum capacity of 16 players. It is recommended to register early.
Parking: There is paid parking on the street. There is also limited free parking in the middle of the road directly in front of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Restrooms: There will be a portable toilet on-site. In addition, there are also restrooms available at the soccer field.
Park Map: Schenley Park Map
Food: It looks like a 20-minute walk downtown (40-minute roundtrip). Please plan accordingly. Vehicle transportation, Uber Eats, DoorDash, or GrubHub are suggested means to getting food efficiently and observing round times. There is also a Café Phipps next to the park.
Rain or Shine: The tournament will proceed regardless of rain or clear skies. Players should dress for the weather, noting average summer temperatures in Pittsburgh (ie. range between 60-84).
Emergency Weather Adjournment: In case of an impending weather emergency while games are in progress (ie. flash flood, tornado, lightning, high heat, high wind, etc.), it is the Tournament Director's discretion to announce a 5-minute Emergency Weather Adjournment Warning. If games are not completed within 5-minutes after the announcement, the player on move will be asked to seal their next move and stop the clock (in accordance with USCF Rule 18). Players on move after the announcement may ask the director for permission to seal early. The sealed envelope shall follow the protocol and specifications of USCF Rules 18D & 18E. After games have been completed and/or sealed, the tournament will be postponed for a period of time at the discretion of the tournament director depending on what the situation demands. It is preferable to resume the tournament on the same day, at the same venue, as soon as weather has become fair. If it is not possible to resume at the same venue on the same day based on weather forecasts, it is the Director's discretion to may move the tournament indoors to the Pittsburgh Chess Club clubhouse (about 1-mile away from Westinghouse grounds).
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 special playoff rounds with time control G/5 d0. If players are still tied after the agreed upon number of playoff rounds, then the medal will be awarded based on USCF Rule 34EÂ for calculating Swiss tie-breaks. Playoff rounds will not be rated.
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.
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 required. There is no onsite registration.
- PCC Member Advance Entry Fee: $16
- Non-Member Advance Entry Fee: $20
- 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 11:00 PM Saturday the night before.
- 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
