Tournament Participation

Everyone is welcome in our tournaments! You do not need to be a strong player. In our lowest section (U1400) we often have players who are rated as low as 400. 

The only requirement is that you’ve paid for the round (either through a drop-in fee or a club membership), and have a current CFC (Chess Federation of Canada) membership.

Rating

Our tournaments are CFC-rated, and our top sections are also FIDE-rated. By playing in our tournaments, you will develop an official chess rating.

Structure

ACC runs ongoing five-round tournaments throughout the year. All players are welcome to enter any round of any tournament. You may enter or leave any tournament at any point (but please let us know!)

Our tournaments typically have three sections: Crown (over 1800), Under 1800 and Under 1400. Those with ratings within 100 points of the floor of the next section may play up. (For example, a player with a rating of 1301 may play in the U1800 section.)

Unrated players are always placed in the U1400 section. In extraordinary circumstances the arbiter may allow an unrated player to play up a section.

Start and Forfeit Times

Games (and clocks) start promptly at 7:30 p.m. In our regular tournaments players have thirty minutes of chess clock time to make their first move, or the game is forfeited.

If you are joining a tournament for the first time, please be at the club by 7:00 so we can ensure you’re registered. We aim to have pairings posted by 7:15.

Bye Requests

If you have entered a tournament it is assumed that you will be in attendance for all rounds. 

If you will be absent, you must request a bye to avoid being paired.

Byes can only be requested by email to info@annexchessclub.com, and such requests must be received by 7:00 p.m. on club night.

Byes requested by phone, text or other means may be missed. Email is the way to go.

Players who don’t request a bye will be paired in the current round, and may forfeit their game if the arbiter cannot redo pairings. (FIDE-rated sections, such as the Crown section, cannot be re-paired.)

All players who miss a round without requesting a bye will be withdrawn from the current tournament and may be re-entered on request.

You may request a bye in any round. Two half-point byes can be awarded to any player in the first four rounds of a regular tournament. Additional byes, or byes in the final round, will be zero-point byes.

Byes cannot be awarded retroactively. A player entering a tournament in the second round will not be awarded a bye for the first round. However, a player who registers for a tournament and requests a bye in the first round will receive a bye in the first round.

Time Control

The time control of our regular tournaments is 90+30: each player starts with 90 minutes , and 30 seconds is added with every move. Games usually last between one and four hours.

Players need to know how to use a clock. Fortunately this is very easy!

Keeping Score

All players are required to keep an accurate record of their games. You can learn more about this here.

Rules and Etiquette

There are rules and basic etiquette that all tournament players are expected to follow. You can review these here.