2nd Cambridge International Open

The English Chess Federation is organising the 2nd Cambridge International Open Chess Tournament from Monday 19th February – Saturday 24th February 2024 in Cambridge. This will be a nine round Swiss system tournament. The event will provide an opportunity for participants to achieve international title norms. The event is supported by the University Arms Hotel, Cambridge and The Chess Trust

Registration is now closed for this event as we have reached capacity for the venue. Accepted entries to date can be found at https://chess-results.com/tnr811519.aspx?lan=1. Players wishing to be added to a waiting list in the event of withdrawals should email office@englishchess.org.uk

Rating
The tournament will be submitted to FIDE and the English Chess Federation (ECF) for rating. It is a condition of playing in the Cambridge International Open that the data submitted at the time of entry will be forwarded to the ECF and FIDE as required to enable the games played to be rated.

Allocation of Ratings – FIDE Rating February 2024
The ratings used for tournament will be in the following order of priority based on available rating –

FIDE rating (February 2024);
ECF rating (February 2024);
Where a player has neither of these, the organisers will assign the players in alphabetical order, after rated players.

Players with a FIDE rating of less than 1600 should not enter until after 15th January 2024, and such entries after this date will be only be accepted if there is space available.

The ratings allocated by this process will be used for pairings and in the calculation of any relevant prizes (see Prize Calculations section below for more information).

Obtaining a FIDE Identification Number
All entrants should have a FIDE Identification Number at the time of submitting their entry. Players with a FIDE ID of RUS or BLR will not be eligible to enter events as per the current ECF policy. They may however use FIDE’s fast track procedure to change their FIDE affiliation to FID as a basis for entering and providing they are otherwise eligible.

Membership Requirement
The following players are not required to pay an entry surcharge –

Gold or Platinum members of the ECF; or
Players whose FIDE ID is not ENG.

All other entrants must pay a £12.00 surcharge to take part in the event.

Playing Schedule
Registration Required – Yes, (see the Regulations Section E: Entering for more details)
Format – Swiss System
Number of Rounds – 9
Number of Half-Point Byes Permitted – 2 (players who receive conditions can only request one half-point bye)
Time Control – Game/90 + 30’
Default Time – 30 minutes
Schedule –

Round 1 – Monday 19th February 10:30	Round 6 – Thursday 22nd February 16:30
Round 2 – Monday 19th February 16:30	Round 7 – Friday 23rd February 10:30
Round 3 – Tuesday 20th February 16:30	Round 8 – Friday 23rd February 16:30
Round 4 – Wednesday 21st February 10:30	Round 9 – Saturday 24th February 10:30
Round 5 – Wednesday 21st February 16:30

Pairings
Pairing Programme – Swiss Manager
Pairings Published for each Round – As soon as available and no later than one hour before each round
Pairings Method – The Baku Acceleration system will be used only if entries exceed 100.

Defaults
A player who defaults a game without advance notification will not be included in the pairings for the next round of the tournament or any subsequent round unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise. Should the player be allowed to continue in the tournament the Chief Arbiter reserves the right to apply a bond of £50, which will be returned at the end of the tournament if the player takes part in all remaining rounds. A player who defaults a second game in the tournament will be expelled from it and shall not have the bond returned.
All rearranged games listed below will be rated by both the ECF and FIDE

Late Pairings
The Chief Arbiter may permit players to enter (or register) after the pairings have been published for Round 1 of the tournament. In general, these players will score 0 points in the rounds they have missed; however, the player may be paired against another player in this category who has entered the tournament, and that game shall be played as though part of the tournament. Should any players remain after this process they will be considered available for any of the pairing procedures below once the default time for the relevant tournament has elapsed.

Re-pairings
A player whose opponent does not arrive before the default time may be offered a re-pairing against someone in the tournament. The player will have the following choices –

Accept the re-pairing;
Decline the re-pairing, and receive a 1 point bye.

If the player decides to accept the re-pairing, then the game will be played as though part of the tournament. The time limit for the game shall be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Prizes
1st – £1,500; 2nd – £750; 3rd – £600; 4th – £400; 5th – £300
Rating Prize Bands
2000 – 2200 1st – £200
1800 – 1999 1st – £175
Additional Prizes
Women 1st – £250; Women 2nd – £150; Women 3rd – £100