ChessBase.com Scottish Grand Prix 2012

1. Purpose To boost the Scottish tournament circuit. To provide another benefit for Chess Scotland members who play chess regularly.

2. Target group Members of Chess Scotland, 17 years or over as at 1 January 2012, with gradings of 2150 or less.

Note: To qualify for inclusion in the Grand Prix players must have taken up membership by 1 January 2012. There will be a couple of months while renewals are processed for players whose membership expired in December before the eligible member list for the Grand Prix is set for the season. This would usually happen about mid March.

Players outwith Scotland (of any nationality) are eligible provided they become members by the due date.

Juniors up to 16 years old AND graded below 1350 have their own Grand Prix - details here. Juniors under 17 AND graded 1350 or above appear in the "adult" Grand Prix leaderboards but compete for a specific junior prize.

3. Categories: Chess Scotland Members with 2011-2012 start of season gradings in the Main List within the following limits (the allegro grade is not used in deciding eligibility to Grand Prix categories):

Grading limit 1901-2150 - Candidates Grand Prix

Grading limit 1701-1900 - Challengers Grand Prix

Grading limit 1451-1700 - Major Grand Prix

Grading limit 0-1450 - Minor Grand Prix

Ungraded players will be placed in the Minor Grand Prix. If an ungraded player later that season achieves a new rating higher than the maximum published start season rating allowed (1450) they still remain in the Minor Grand Prix section for the duration of the competition.

4. Rules

Criteria used to formulate the rules: The rules must be simple to administer, meaningful to players and, above all, must not add anything to the burden of Tournament Directors.

To score points in the Grand Prix simply enter a Grand Prix eligible tournament and score at least the minimum points required. Grand Prix points will be accumulated throughout the season:

(a) Only performances of 50% or more will count, e.g. 2.5/5 or 3.5/6 or 4/7.

(b) You must play a minimum of three games in an event for your score to be eligible for Grand Prix points.

(c) Half point byes and defaults will not count. However, discarding byes and defaults, a score of 2/4 would count, or 1.5/3.

(d) Points scored at the Scottish Championships and weekend congresses will be doubled. The "Scottish Championships" means all main list sections of the Championships including any weekend tournament will be doubled. An allegro event held during the Scottish Championships would be a single point multiplier.

(e) Points scored in allegro events and main list events taking place over more than one week (apart from Scottish Championships) will be single point multiplier. If a tournament organiser is in any doubt as to the multiplier which would be applied to their event please contact the Grand Prix Invigilator prior to the event taking place.

(f) Final Grand Prix totals are based on the 10 best Grand Prix scoring events. (ie best Grand Prix points rather than best tournament game points).

5. Season The Grand Prix 2011/2012 season will start on July 1 2011 and finish with the Scottish Championship provided the event takes place in July, otherwise the season finishes on June 30 2012. The Scottish Championships will count twice for Grand Prix purposes as the last event of one Grand Prix season and usually first of new season. (provided the Scottish Championships are held in July). If an event other than the Scottish Championships started on June 30 2012 or before and finishes within the first week of July, and before the end of the Scottish Championships, it will still be a valid event for the current season 2011-2012.

6. Tournaments Tournaments including congresses, championships and allegros, will be eligible for inclusion provided all their results are submitted for grading and the appropriate grading fee paid. NB Domestic Club events are not eligible.

7. Scores Grand Prix points are updated online as soon as the results of an event have been uploaded to the Chess Scotland grading system. The online Grand Prix display has a clickable option to show the complete breakdown of points for every player in the competition. If you think scores have been calculated incorrectly please contact the Grand Prix Invigilator immediately.

8. Prizes In each category:

1st Grand Prix Memento Shield, Chessbase Software, plus £100, plus book, plus magazine.

2nd Chessbase Playing program eg latest version of Fritz, plus book, plus magazine.

3rd Chessbase Playing program, plus book, plus magazine.

The highest placed junior (J16 or younger) in the four Main ChessBase Grand Prix sections (Candidates, Challengers, Major and Minor) will win a specific junior prize. Juniors (J16 or younger) will not be eligible to win the main prizes.

Junior prizes are Memento Shield, ChessBase software, £25 Chess Scotland voucher plus book and mag.

(Ties will be resolved in favour of the lower rated player. Unrated players are classed as zero start grade regardless of what level they may attain later in the season.)

9. Sponsorship Chess Scotland would like to thank Chessbase for their long term sponsorship of the Grand Prix and more recent sponsors Everyman Books and NewinChess.com.

10. Publicity Information about the Grand Prix will appear on the Chess Scotland website. There may be leaderboard notices at tournaments and final positions in Scottish Chess Magazine. It would be helpful to promote the Grand Prix if the Chessbase.com Scottish Grand Prix was mentioned on entry forms.

11.Organisation The Chess Scotland Grand Prix Invigilator reserves the right to take measures to facilitate the smooth running of the Grand Prix, to ensure that the rules and conditions are applied fairly and to update and clarify these rules when required. The invigilator cannot be a beneficiary of the prize fund.

12.Notice of events New events should give sufficient notice before an event will be deemed eligible for Grand Prix inclusion. Notice can be given by any of the following methods: inclusion in the CS online Calendar, by providing event details for the website Noticeboard, a flyer or mention in Scottish Chess magazine; a published entry form available at other events, an entry form posted directly to potential participants.

13. GP News

July 2011: Many thanks to sponsors Chessbase, Everyman Books, and New in Chess magazine who have all agreed to continue support of the Chess Scotland Grand Prix into the 2011/2012 season.

Notes:

"Weekend congress" is defined as an event taking place over one weekend.

"Main List" means events taking place with a time control by which it is processed for the main grading list, ie not an allegro rated event.

An event, other than the Scottish Championships, which takes place over two weekends is a single point multiplier.

Congresses which take place over several weeks - eg five successive Thurdays, are single point multipliers.

Where conditions of entry restrict participation in an event to players from a certain area or league eg Lothians, Lanarkshire, West or East of Scotland etc, these are single point multipliers.

Some leagues organise closed tournaments for individuals in addition to their normal league team schedule eg Ayrshire Individual, Tafca Individual etc. These "closed" events are graded at a 50% discount price as "ancillary league events". These ancillary events are not normally in the Grand Prix. However if they are run as normal tournaments paying the full grading fee they can be included. Make sure that the information the event is to be included in the Grand Prix appears in the tournament advert. If they are run as closed events with participation limited to players from a particular league they would be single point multipliers.

If results of a GRAND PRIX eligible event are not processed for grading within one month of the final day of an event then the event will not be eligible for Grand Prix points. (Organisers should contact the GP Invigilator at grading@chessscotland.com immediately if there is some reason why results cannot be supplied in that time period - and the time limit may be reviewed).


The Grand Prix Invigilator and Junior Home Director, who is in charge of the Junior Grand Prix, would be happy to clarify rules and receive any constructive suggestions about modification of rules and conditions of the Grand Prix. Please help to continue to make it a success.