English Chess Forum

The 2011 Leicester Chess Congress will take place Friday 30th Sept to Sunday 2nd October 2011 at Regent College, Regent Road, Leicester LE1 7LW

Sections

FIDE Open

Open to all players. This event will be FIDE rated. In addition, the highest placed player not already qualified will qualify to play in the 2012 British Championships.

1st Prize £250 ; 2nd £100 ; 3rd £50 ;
Entry Fee £25

Major

Open to players graded below 160

1st Prize £200 ; 2nd £100 ; 3rd £50 ;
Entry Fee £23

Minor

Open to players graded below 130

1st Prize £200 ; 2nd £100 ; 3rd £50 ;
Entry Fee £23

Full Details : http://www.leicesterchess.co.uk

Should be a good event. I guess you ment that the Open winner qualifies for the 2012 British at North Shields/Tynemouth.
Incidentally, the Grand Hotel at Tynemouth looks a nice spot for those willing to spash out...but I`m sure there are good budget B&Bs to choose from.

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BRING BACK THE BCF

Sean's using his time machine again:

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Ian Kingston
Working – http://www.iankingston.com/
Blogging – http://square65.wordpress.com/
Reading – http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk/

Cheers. Sorted!

Is membership of the ECF compulsory to enter a FIDE rated event, or only if you want your games FIDE rated? A couple of weeks ago I considered entering Leicester but was put off by the fact that the open is FIDE rated. Have I misunderstood the entry requirements?

It's compulsory to enter a FIDE-rated event in England if you wish to play under the England flag. As you seem not to have a FIDE ID at the moment, you would be able to avoid that rule by picking a nationality other than England, should there be one you are eligible to claim.

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http://westcountrychess.blogspot.com

Thanks Jack. I just fancied entering a local congress, playing a few games, and later having a few beers with mates who have entered (various sections) but the only section I'm eligible for is the open and it's a bit frustrating to find I can't enter without being an ECF member. Oh well.

Why not just join the ECF? Chances are you'll need to next year anyway.

Presumably the £ 27 puts him off. It is quite a large Chess Prevention Tax.

On the contrary, more players play in the Open since it became FIDE rated (and hence, ECF membership compulsory).

Spot on Roger.

Well, you could always play as a representative of another federation. Having looked your surname up on the FIDE list, I would assume you are of Croatian/Serbian/other former Yugoslav ancestry. Why not put one of those nations in the "Federation" field?

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http://westcountrychess.blogspot.com

Yes, I'd probably be eligible to play footie for 3 or 4 of the former republics if I was good enough. However, I'll only play under the English flag, being born & bred. If other players want to play in a FIDE rated event and don't fancy paying £27 they now know of a nice little loophole: pretend you have a foreign ancestor!

I think I'll content myself with cheering on the mighty Rams on the box away to the Foxes.

I suppose next year I'll have to decide whether to upgrade from Bronze/Silver to Gold. Then again, my grade should be lower, or if it isn't I suppose I could always follow the example (allegedly) of certain well known players and lose a few games to lower my grade!
(ps. tried to add a smilie but couldn't)

I thought we'd just established that you won't play under the English flag?

Ha! Very Good.

English flag? Yes. English Chess Federation? Not unless you drag me kicking and screaming. Or change the bye-laws...

Anyway, hope the congress goes well Sean. Give Barnesy a tough draw to sharpen him up for Gambit!