English Chess Forum

If so is it ECF graded?
What time control is used?

I think we will be having one at Leeds Chess Club over the Summer (we are just in the process of finding a new venue at the moment so it’s on the back burner) Will probably just have it YCA graded. I’m thinking just the standard 30 minutes a side, run it like a swiss, but play your opponent twice in the same night, once as black, once as white.

David Blower wrote:If so is it ECF graded?
What time control is used?

Yes. 30 minute per player per game. The tournament is held over two consecutive club nights.

Chorlton do, but wildly handicapped time wise so obviously not ECF rapidplay graded About 5 or 6 during the year.
(Much easier to deal with a game in 60/90 seconds on digital clocks!).

Minster Inn in York do run a few tournaments/year at a proper rapidplay time limit and a fairly open entry list. Not ECF graded but, this being in Yorkshire, some people there won't be ECF members so you wouldn't expect that. Fairly sure not Yorkshire rapidplay graded either mind.

Guildford's club championship last 8 weeks is played at a standard play rate of 80 mins _10 seconds a move.

It is followed by a 6 round rapidplay event played over 2 weeks at 20 mins plus 10 seconds a move. There are a few mini rapidplay tournaments played earlier in the season in weeks when we have no home matches.

All events are sent for ECF grading.

Mike Gunn wrote: It is followed by a 6 round rapidplay event played over 2 weeks at 20 mins plus 10 seconds a move.

It's going to depend on start and finishing times and the speed of being able to do pairings, but I would suspect three rounds in a night is better scheduled as 25 minutes on the clock, or increment equivalent, rather than 30.

I assume you would run it as a Swiss rather than all play all, to better cope with players wanting to arrive early, leave late or only play one week of two.

These are all Swiss tournaments. In the old days when a caretaker locked the building at 10.30 we started our games at 7.15 with 3 hours playing time to allow time for clearing up. For the past few years we can lock the building ourselves and we start at 7.30pm. We have one or two years experience now of using 80 mins + 10 seconds per move and our general finding is that games end a bit sooner with fewer time scrambles than under the fixed time limits. With the rapidplay it's the same and if we seem to be running behind schedule we reduce the 20 mins, not the 10 seconds. There are rarely more than a dozen in the rapidplay so parings are quick. Once we had a game that was surviving on the increment and I just declared it drawn: neither player complained!

Mike Gunn wrote: Once we had a game that was surviving on the increment and I just declared it drawn: neither player complained!

As I expect you know, for the game to be ECF rated it must be played under FIDE rules. Under those rules the controller/arbiter must not intervene by declaring a game drawn in that situation or the 3 move or 50 move rules, of course the players may agree the result without arbiter/controller interference. One of the drawbacks of increment time controls is that the end of playing time is not controlled !

Yes, thanks - I do know that (however, common sense prevailed on this occasion).

Mike Gunn wrote:Yes, thanks - I do know that (however, common sense prevailed on this occasion).

Do recall whether the game was sent for ECF rating ? If not your actions would not be classed as dishonest.

If you want games like those rated you should probably request the grading regulations are changed. Of course there may be others who think differently.

We have a rapidplay club championship. This season it was meant to be two divisions of eight players (although two players withdrew from division 2 without playing a game) playing double-round all-play-alls. The time control is G/30 or something reasonably equivalent; most players opt for #16 on the DGTs (which I think is G/25 + 10"/move).

Wanstead & Woodford Chess Club has held a Rapidplay Club Championship in addition to its long established standardplay event for the last six years. The Rapidplay takes the form of a six round Swiss held on a Saturday in March, and the results are submitted for ECF grading, This year's event was played at a time control of 20 minutes plus ten seconds per move added from the start.

E Michael White wrote:Of course there may be others who think differently.

I "think differently" about approximately 90% of your contributions to this Forum.

David Sedgwick wrote:I "think differently" about approximately 90% of your contributions to this Forum.

Well I agree with you on that; all my points relating to FIDE rules can be backed up by documentation.

Of course at least 90% of games sent for ECF grading don't follow the FIDE laws (how often do you sign your opponent's scoresheet at the end of the game?) And then there are all those local rules about mobile phones ...