Cost of congresses

[David Blower]

How much does it cost to enter each congress?

[MJMcCready]

The entry costs vary but are usually low. Its the cost of getting to the venue and staying in a hotel that adds up. If you're going to the coast to play over a weekend and you are from the London area, I wouldn't expect much change out of 200 pounds if any.

[Ian Thompson]

How much does it cost to enter each congress?

The answer is that it varies considerably from one congress to another, so you'd have to look at each entry form/website to find out.

A more interesting question is which congresses are best/worst value for money, using whatever criteria you think are appropriate.

[David Blower]

All these are assuming that a member is ECF Silver graded, the appropriate entry fees for the competition I would enter according to my grading, and don't include donations or late fees, travel or hotel costs.

Shropshire £20
Staffordshire £20
Birmingham Rapidplay £12
Midland Counties Chess Union £30

It is no coincidence I have chosen these congresses to compare as they are the most likely congresses I would enter (because they are local) or in the case of Birmingham Rapidplay have already entered.

In general I have two main questions, are rapidplays in general cheaper than standard play congresses?

Obviously there is the cost of hiring the venue, perhaps paying for arbiters as well and maybe some other costs I have not included (obviously the prize fund being a cost as well) but my other question is do new congresses tend to have lower entry fees?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Rapidplays tend to be cheaper to enter, yes. They are probably more price-elastic than standardplay congresses.

[Roger de Coverly]

Shropshire £20

In the USA, you could pay entry fees well in excess of a hundred dollars, admittedly for prizes in the thousands of dollars. That's not just opens, but rating restricted as well. They will even potentially sting you for a set, board and clock, rather than supply them.

Admittedly they threw in the equipment, but a recent tournament in Las Vegas had an entry fee of 1000 dollars, and that was the discounted price for early entries.

[NickFaulks]

Admittedly they threw in the equipment, but a recent tournament in Las Vegas had an entry fee of 1000 dollars, and that was the discounted price for early entries.

I assume you are talking about the event with the $1m prize fund. That was explicitly based on the poker model, and is hardly typical.

[Gareth T Ellis]

Welsh Chess Championship Easter weekend 2015
7 round FIDE only £5

[Steve Rooney]

All these are assuming that a member is ECF Silver graded, the appropriate entry fees for the competition I would enter according to my grading, and don't include donations or late fees, travel or hotel costs.

Shropshire £20
Staffordshire £20
Birmingham Rapidplay £12
Midland Counties Chess Union £30

It is no coincidence I have chosen these congresses to compare as they are the most likely congresses I would enter (because they are local) or in the case of Birmingham Rapidplay have already entered.

In general I have two main questions, are rapidplays in general cheaper than standard play congresses?

Obviously there is the cost of hiring the venue, perhaps paying for arbiters as well and maybe some other costs I have not included (obviously the prize fund being a cost as well) but my other question is do new congresses tend to have lower entry fees?

Isn't this Rapidplay a one-day event, whereas others are two-day?

[Stewart Reuben]

My book lists 89 different items of expenditure for a chess congress. Of course some do not apply to all events, such as start money for strong players, electronics, commentators...
Gibraltar has very low entry fees. But the cost of playing can be very high even for GMs. The London Chess Classic Open is £75 to £125, depending on rating, but free to women or players U25. It is, of course, heavily subsidised with £11,500 prize money and an expensive venue.

Steve Rooney >are rapidplays in general cheaper than standard play congresses?<
You re not comparing like with like. Most rapidplays are one day only. Standardplay they are 2 days to 2 weeks.

Steve Rooney >do new congresses tend to have lower entry fees?<
Thst depends on the risk the organiser is prepared to take. Long gone are the days when I used to increase the prize money when the entry fee income exceeded expectations. For the first Islington Open in 1965, Islington Chess Club had £2 in the bank. We discussed what would happen if less than 10 players entered, the break-even number. We decided to take the risk. Actually 24 played. It eventually reached 1500 in 1973. As the entry fee increased so did the number of entries.
The London Chess Association put some of its reserves into the first Lloyds Bank Masters. It was decided we would only go ahead if confident there were at least 20 FIDE Rated players. So I contacted every such player in the country I could to determine the probability of their playing. Only when I was reasonable assured of 20 was the event announced.

To my knowledge the British Championships have lost money four times since 1980.

[Steve Rooney]

My book lists 89 different items of expenditure for a chess congress. Of course some do not apply to all events, such as start money for strong players, electronics, commentators...
Gibraltar has very low entry fees. But the cost of playing can be very high even for GMs. The London Chess Classic Open is £75 to £125, depending on rating, but free to women or players U25. It is, of course, heavily subsidised with £11,500 prize money and an expensive venue.

Steve Rooney >are rapidplays in general cheaper than standard play congresses?<
You re not comparing like with like. Most rapidplays are one day only. Standardplay they are 2 days to 2 weeks.

Steve Rooney >do new congresses tend to have lower entry fees?<
Thst depends on the risk the organiser is prepared to take. Long gone are the days when I used to increase the prize money when the entry fee income exceeded expectations. For the first Islington Open in 1965, Islington Chess Club had £2 in the bank. We discussed what would happen if less than 10 players entered, the break-even number. We decided to take the risk. Actually 24 played. It eventually reached 1500 in 1973. As the entry fee increased so did the number of entries.
The London Chess Association put some of its reserves into the first Lloyds Bank Masters. It was decided we would only go ahead if confident there were at least 20 FIDE Rated players. So I contacted every such player in the country I could to determine the probability of their playing. Only when I was reasonable assured of 20 was the event announced.

To my knowledge the British Championships have lost money four times since 1980.

Stewart, I believe the quoted questions should be attributed to David who started this thread.

[Roger de Coverly]

My book lists 89 different items of expenditure for a chess congress.

The equation of balance for a Congress is that

Entry Fees + Sponsorship should be at least equal to Prize Money plus Hire of premises plus the other 87 expenses.

One day events can have lower entry fees because the cost of premises is reduced by being one day only and a lower prize fund is generally more accepted.

[Graham Borrowdale]

For the first Islington Open in 1965, Islington Chess Club had £2 in the bank. We discussed what would happen if less than 10 players entered, the break-even number. We decided to take the risk. Actually 24 played. It eventually reached 1500 in 1973. As the entry fee increased so did the number of entries.

I am not sure the cause and effect is the right way round here. Presumably in the early days of weekend congresses organisers were trying to find the optimum price point - low enough not to discourage entries, but high enough to cover costs, provide sufficient prizes, and, whisper it quietly, make a surplus for the organisers, presumably to be ploughed back into further events.

When I played congress, I tended to mentally compare the entry fee with the first prize - pointless really as I was never likely to win one, but it tended to be a barometer of how strong the field was likely to be. If I recall, though, entry fees tended to be similar across the board. One-day rapidplays always seemed to be cheap to enter, on the day. Now they seem a bit expensive - £20 to enter with a 1st prize of £100 I have seen. I am not complaining, as I am aware of costs, its just a question of disposable income for potential competitors.

[Stewart Reuben]

That period also had considerable inflation. But there seems to be no doubt that, at that time, giving value for money was the key, not minimising expenditure. If that meant higher entry fees - so be it. Inevitably after that period entry fees had to rise faster than the rate of national notional inflation. The costs of venues has spiralled. At one time £100 first prize for a rapdiplay was OK. Today the level is the same after about 30 years.
Another major factor is that there are now very few business sponsors. Just think of the positive effect of the Cutty Sark Grand Prix and the subsequent sponsors of that event, Leigh Industries, culminating in Terry Chapman's company. Now the prize money for that unsponsored event is risible and calling it a Grand Prix brings the federation into disrepute.

Why whisper it quietly about making a surplus? There is nothing dishonourable about seeking to make a profit. Ploughing surpluses back into future events should be shouted from the roomtops, not hidden.

[Jonathan Bryant]

[... whisper it quietly, make a surplus for the organisers, presumably to be ploughed back into further events.

I’d agree with Stewart. I don’t see why the organisers making a surplus should be a problem. Actually, I’d go further and say I don’t see why that surplus should be "ploughed back" to future events.

A profit one tournament helps with the 'risk' of not covering costs the next, it’s true. Beyond that, a profit for the organisers *that remains in their pockets* is a good incentive to run another event.