Austin Lockwood Thursday, May 8, 2014
Dear Friends,
ICCF is delighted to announce the start of the 6th WebChess Open tournament on the server. This announcement is posted on the ICCF website and distributed to all national federations. The following Frequently Asked Questions clarifies all information applicable for this edition.
1. What is the Webchess Open Tournament?
It is a tournament open to all correspondence chess players around the World, with or without any previous ICCF experience.
2. Who is in charge?
Frank Geider (FRA), World Tournament Director (WTD) has appointed Markus Hömske (FRA), ICCF Non-Title Tournaments Commissioner (NTTC) as the responsible ICCF Officer for this tournament. Please direct all general inquiries to him at: [email protected]
Guido Bresadola (ITA) has been appointed Central Tournament Leader (CTL). He is in charge of registration, pairings and other tournament related issues. His email address is: [email protected]
3. How and when to enter?
Multiple entries are allowed. Go to the ICCF Webserver main page www.iccf.com click on “New Events”, find the tournament in the main list and click “Enter”. It allows you to register with a click of a button using one of the three methods available:
- Contact The Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation, Provide your ICCF-ID (if you have one) and a valid email address you will use for this tournament. WCCF will forward your entry to CTL Guido Bresadola (ITA).
- Qualified players may use Direct Entry (DE). This method is available for new players to ICCF
- New players to ICCF are allowed to enter 1 section for free. They should send their contact information: name, email address and country to Markus Hömske NTTC. ([email protected]) If they wish to enter more than one section, all extra entries should be paid for as described above.
4. When does the registration close?
Registration is open immediately and it closes on June 30th, 2014.
5. How much does it cost?
The payment is linked to the method of registration used:
- Registering via WCCF. Receiving payment of the event fee and confirmation of your registration is handled by WCCF, more details are available on request.
- Registering via Direct Entry. All information is provided through the DE registration process. Simply click the enter button and follow the prompts.
- New players to ICCF play 1 section for free.
6. Who is considered a new player to ICCF?
- Players without ICCF ID or,
- Players with ICCF ID but who never played an ICCF rated game in the past.
7. What is the time frame?
The tournament will be played in three stages: preliminaries, semifinal and final.
Preliminaries will start in early July 2014, with an approximate end date of Feb 28th, 2016. The other 2 stages will be scheduled accordingly at a later date. Reference information:
1st WebChess Open tournament - preliminaries started Feb 1st, 2005, all groups finished; semifinals started Nov 15th, 2006, all groups finished; final started May 5th, 2009 ended January 29th, 2011
2nd WebChess Open tournament - preliminaries started June 15th, 2006, all groups finished; semifinals started Jul 25th, 2008, all groups finished; final started June 21st, 2010 ended on February 9th, 2012
3rd WebChess Open tournament - preliminaries started May 20th, 2008, all groups finished; semifinal started July 31st, 2010 all groups finished, final started June 23rd 2013
4th Webchess Open tournament - preliminaries started July 20th, 2010; all groups finished, semifinal started September 10th 2012
5th Webchess Open tournament preliminaries started June 1st 2012, 4 groups unfinished
8. How will I play?
Preliminaries will consist of groups of 7 (seven) players each. All games will be rated. The latest ICCF Playing Rules Webserver will apply for all stages as applicable. You can read them online at www.iccf.com by clicking on “Online Help” ? “Server rules”.
9. How do I qualify from preliminaries?
Only the section winners will qualify for the semifinal stage. Ties will be broken according to the ICCF Tournament Rules, Article 5. 10.
10. What are the prizes available?
Winners of the preliminaries will receive a book or a DVD (worth 20€) (Tiebreak will be used to decide amongst player with equal points) Winners of the semi-finals will receive a subscription to a magazine or a book (worth about 100€). (Tiebreak will be used)
Final: 1st: 900€, 2nd 700€, 3rd 400€ (Cash prizes will be shared on equal points, tie break to be used for medals)
11. To verify entries
You may check the latest list at http://www.asigc.it/temp/wot6.htm
We welcome with open arms regular ICCF players as well as new ones, eager to test their skills with us. It is our hope you will enjoy the experience on our server and will use this opportunity to make new friends around the World.