We're goin' to Vegas!!!

[Niall Doran]

Or with an entry fee of $1000, maybe not!

http://millionairechess.com/

Anyone else going?

[Roger de Coverly]

Or with an entry fee of $1000, maybe not!

You would have thought the tournament budget could stretch to hiring or buying clocks, but perhaps if you can afford the entry fee, you are deemed rich enough to be able to buy a personal clock and suffer the inconvenience of having to carry it around all day.

There was also something in the section about early draws about not being allowed to play the Exchange French which appears to have been removed.

Will the tournament be supplying sets and clocks?

We'll be supplying chess sets but players should bring their own clocks.

[Arshad Ali]

Vegas is a soulless depressing place, right now in the pits because of the economic depression (er, "recession"). I see Ashley is doing it again -- he organised a similar tournament here in Minneapolis back in 2005, when it bankrupted the sponsoring HB Foundation. He just doesn't learn.

[Niall Doran]

They want me to fork out a grand and they can't even provide clocks?!

[Chris Rice]

Its the norm in US tournaments to bring your own equipment, boards, sets & clocks etc so its not specific to this tournament. I'm rather surprised its going ahead at all seeing as they had only got commitments for something like $75000 of the $1000000 prize fund. Maurice Ashley had said on Facebook less than a week ago that he was really disappointed with the response so I assumed it was going to be binned. Seems like a big time gamble....but then if you're going to gamble where better than Sin City?

[Niall Doran]

That seems a bit cheeky, advertising something as going ahead when the funding isn't even secured! What happens to people who book flights and time off work specifically for the event if it doesn't go ahead? Will they get a refund? Some chance(r)!

[Chris Rice]

That seems a bit cheeky, advertising something as going ahead when the funding isn't even secured! What happens to people who book flights and time off work specifically for the event if it doesn't go ahead? Will they get a refund? Some chance(r)!

I would agree with that and so had another scan of the website. The concept of the tournament seems to fit the definition of a Crowdfunding project. You can only seem to register online at the moment and not pay so presumably that gives the organisers the ability to pull the plug at a moment's notice without anyone losing their entry fee. No such luck I'm guessing for those poor fools who have already booked time off work and a plane ticket.

Crowdfunding is a popular alternative at the moment for raising funds but will it work at chess at $1000 a pop? I think someone must be having a laugh. If the organisers had reduced their ambitions a bit to a $100,000 prize fund and a $100 entry they may have got more buy-in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdfunding

[Roger de Coverly]

If the organisers had reduced their ambitions a bit to a $100,000 prize fund and a $100 entry they may have got more buy-in.

There's already an established circuit in the USA of tournaments with the entry fee running into hundreds of dollars and prizes of $ 10,000 or more for first place even in the rating restricted sections. So in a way, it's just more of the same, with the additional gimmick of trusting a seven round Swiss to produce four suitable qualifiers for a final knock out.

[Chris Rice]

The players at the upcoming 7th New York International 18-22 June are therefore getting royally screwed, a USCF player with a 2200+ rating but no FIDE has to pay $350 to enter and the guaranteed prize fund is a whopping $16,750. http://www.marshallchessclub.org/tourna ... tional2014

[Roger de Coverly]

The players at the upcoming 7th New York International 18-22 June are therefore getting royally screwed, a USCF player with a 2200+ rating but no FIDE has to pay $350 to enter and the guaranteed prize fund is a whopping $16,750.

I was thinking of the extravagantly named World Open.

http://www.chesstour.com/wo14.htm

Down to the under 1600, the first prize is $ 12,000 for an entry fee of up to $ 350.

That has to rely on large entries for viability, since if you remove a zero and change the $ to £, an entry fee of £ 35 is plausible for an English grade restricted tournament, although a first prize of £ 1,200 isn't. Take another zero off and you have values perhaps typical of the big early Seventies tournaments, namely £ 3.50 entry and £ 120 as first prize.

[NickFaulks]

The players at the upcoming 7th New York International 18-22 June are therefore getting royally screwed, a USCF player with a 2200+ rating but no FIDE has to pay $350 to enter and the guaranteed prize fund is a whopping $16,750. http://www.marshallchessclub.org/tourna ... tional2014

They're not getting screwed. The theory is that they're paying for nine full length games in good surroundings against decent opposition with title norms if they play well enough. For non GMs, if that isn't what they want, then they shouldn't enter.

[Andrew Collins]

I just had a look on the Millionaire chess site, and clicked the registration link, and it seems to be asking for payment details, so looks like they are asking people to pay now!

[Chris Rice]

I just had a look on the Millionaire chess site, and clicked the registration link, and it seems to be asking for payment details, so looks like they are asking people to pay now!

That was my main concern as I wonder who is underwriting the difference between the entries and the guranteed prize fund because it isn't at all clear from the web site? Potential to lose a great deal of money here without knowing how you are protected if the whole thing collapses.

[Chris Rice]

The players at the upcoming 7th New York International 18-22 June are therefore getting royally screwed, a USCF player with a 2200+ rating but no FIDE has to pay $350 to enter and the guaranteed prize fund is a whopping $16,750. http://www.marshallchessclub.org/tourna ... tional2014

They're not getting screwed. The theory is that they're paying for nine full length games in good surroundings against decent opposition with title norms if they play well enough. For non GMs, if that isn't what they want, then they shouldn't enter.

You make a fair point there but its $350 + hotel + travel + a week's leave for 9 games of chess and that's not what I want so I'll leave it.

[Gordon Cadden]

Its the norm in US tournaments to bring your own equipment, boards, sets & clocks etc so its not specific to this tournament. I'm rather surprised its going ahead at all seeing as they had only got commitments for something like $75000 of the $1000000 prize fund. Maurice Ashley had said on Facebook less than a week ago that he was really disappointed with the response so I assumed it was going to be binned. Seems like a big time gamble....but then if you're going to gamble where better than Sin City?

It is also normal in Ireland, for you to bring your own clock, board and set. The UK has become used to the luxury of having boards, sets, and clocks, all laid out for the 1st. round.
I played in the New York Open some years ago, and I remember that there was not much change from $1000 dollars. Of course, a lower entrance fee for Masters.