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Tournament Policy

Tournaments

  1. Byes. All requests for byes must be made either during tournament registration, by phone, or by a subsequent email to director@pittsburghchessclub.org. The usual lead time for requests is one hour in advance of the start of any weekend round, and two hours in advance of any weekday rounds. Follow the instructions in the tournament event web page.
  2. Forfeits. All players who have not withdrawn prior to the pairing of each round will be expected to play in that round -regardless of their results.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. Once a forfeit occurs, the player is automatically withdrawn from the event and they will be charged a forfeit penalty fee. Repeat offenders will lose tournament privileges! If we are unable to rate an event due to an expired USCF membership, a $25 penalty will also apply.
  3. Cell Phones. USCF rule 20N states: Without permission of the Arbiter/TD a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. A warning and a time penalty will be issued for a first offense. A second offense will result in the immediate loss of the game. The TD may request that a player leaves his or her device(s) in a specified location outside the tournament hall for the duration of an event. If the player refuses, the TD has the right to withdraw the player from the remainder of the tournament without a refund.
  4. Disputes. If there is a dispute, players should pause their clock and get the TD immediately. Players should report errors with recorded results, or other issues, by email to director@pittsburghchessclub.org.
  5. Disruption of Games. USCF rule 20N1 states that the TD has the right to impose penalties on players and non-participating spectators who are disturbing play. After a noise warning has been issued, the TD reserves the right to eject any player or non-participating spectator (i.e. a club member or guest) from the tournament (without a refund) and from the club premises. Repeat offenders may be subject to a suspension from the club.
  6. Notation Rules. Players are expected to follow all scorekeeping rules. In events with a 30 second increment, scoresheets need to up-to-date at all times. Per USCF rule 15C, in games without an increment, players may stop notating once either players clock goes below 5 minutes.
  7. Prizes. Cash prizes will be distributed through PayPal to tournament winners and notified of their award via the email they used at registration. Upon request, physical checks may be printed on-site after a tournament has completed and handed to the winners in-person. The Pittsburgh Chess Club no longer sends any checks through the mail. Reissuing a lost check is subject to a $30 processing fee.
  8. Restricted Pairings. The club reserves the right to deny requests by players not to be paired against each other. Sometimes, this is not possible if the section is small and/or the number of rounds is high.
  9. Tournament Equipment. The club provides players chess sets, clocks, scoresheets, and pens/pencils. There may be limited availability of equipment at remote tournament venues. The club reserves the right to require players to use the equipment it has provided at its own discretion and without providing an explanation.

Tournament Organizing

  1. Tournaments shall be planned at least 6-months in advance in cooperation with the Tournament Committee.
  2. Established club heritage events should be planned annually. These include: Club Championship, Pittsburgh Metropolitan Open, Golden Triangle Open, Fred Thompson Memorial, Allegheny Chess Congress, Pittsburgh Summer Open, Wild Card Open, William M. Byland Memorial, Fred Thompson Memorial, Robert P. Smith Memorial, Fred Sorensen Memorial, William J. Browne Memorial, Richard Abrams Memorial, Abel Bomberault Memorial.
  3. Venues should be planned appropriately. For recurring tournaments that historically receive a higher number of entries than club capacity (ie. >90%), an offsite venue should be chosen. For recurring tournaments that receive less than 90% capacity, an offsite venue should not be chosen.
  4. No tournament entry fees for FIDE & USCF titled players, NM and higher.
  5. Tournament promotional channels should include: Website, US Chess Online TLA, online club bulletin board posts (ie. Workplace), postcard/flyer posts on club corkboards, Facebook posts, event calendars on local pittburgh websites.