Torquay Congresses

[Roger de Coverly]

There are now two forthcoming Torquay weekend Congresses within a couple of weeks of each other.

From 25th to 27th October 2024, there's the Torquay FIDE Congress held at the Hampton by Hilton hotel in the town centre above the harbour.

The regular Congress, 56th Torbay Chess Congress is at the Toorak Hotel again opposite the Riviera Centre in the TLH complex. That's from the 8th to the 10th November.

The first coincides with Scarborough and either or both may clash with the as yet unannounced first 4NCL weekends.

[Ian Thompson]

There are now two forthcoming Torquay weekend Congresses within a couple of weeks of each other.

From 25th to 27th October 2024, there's the Torquay FIDE Congress held at the Hampton by Hilton hotel in the town centre above the harbour.

The regular Congress, 56th Torbay Chess Congress is at the Toorak Hotel again opposite the Riviera Centre in the TLH complex. That's from the 8th to the 10th November.

I doubt that the organisers of the regular congress need worry about losing entries due to the preceding event. Anyone able to play in both, but only wishing to play in one, will probably find it easy to make a decision when they compare the entry fees for the two events, the hotel costs (if staying at the venue) and, to a lesser extent, the prizes on offer.

[Mike Gunn]

Last year there was a congress held in one of the hotels just to the north of the Riviera in the TLH complex in September which replicated the traditional Paingnton Congress scenario of having separate morning and afternoon events which meant you could play just 1 game per day.

[Derrick Walker]

It's running again this year, although slightly different format. A 7 round FIDE Open section, one round each afternoon with the final round in the morning. As well as 4 ECF rated 5 round events, two in the morning and two in the afternoon - slightly different rating limits - so you can still play one round a day if you wish.

Details here https://congress.org.uk/congress/371/home

[Roger de Coverly]

I spotted an unusual rule for the 56th Torbay Congress.

Long running games in a morning round may be ended and adjudicated by the arbiter if the start time of the afternoon round is about to be impacted

The top section is FIDE rated. Is adjudication legal, if ever applied? The normal convention applied in the ten years or more since 90 30 weekend congresses became established was that the players involved get a short break and start their afternoon games later than the other players. At a pinch, the next round pairings could be done using an assumed result. That's what they did when adjourned games were still unfinished at the start of the next round.

Adjudication by arbiter could have been a solution, if permitted, to that long running game in the Guildford tournament last year. But perhaps the result was less than obvious.

[Ian Jamieson]

I’m not an arbiter, FIDE or otherwise, but I don’t see why you can’t FIDE rate games which are adjudicated. As far as I am aware you don’t have to have Increments for games to be FIDE rated and if you don’t have an increment, whether or not you have a quick play finish, you will potentially have some games where arbiters have to rule on draw claims where a player has less than 2 minutes. If these can be FIDE rated I don’t see why adjudicated games can’t be FIDE rated.

I’m not aware however of any competitions before this one which has used adjudications for games which are FIDE rated.

I think you could only do it if specified in advance in the tournament rules. I don’t think you could do it if it hasn’t been specified in advance.

[Alex McFarlane]

From the FIDE Handbook:
2. Laws to be Followed
2.1 Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess or the Regulations for Hybrid Chess Competitions (Part IIIb within the FIDE Online Chess Regulations).

Article 5 of the FIDE Laws of Chess gives the only methods of ending a game. It does not include adjudication!!

And from the Reporting Procedures (for tournaments)
Once satisfied that the tournament was conducted in accordance with all relevant FIDE Regulations, the Rating Officer shall be responsible for uploading the TRF file to the FIDE Rating Server.

I would say that if even one game is adjudicated then the tournament does not satisfy all of the relevant regulations and therefore the ECF Rating Officer should not send ANY of the games played to FIDE for rating purposes.

[Ian Jamieson]

From the FIDE Handbook:
2. Laws to be Followed
2.1 Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess or the Regulations for Hybrid Chess Competitions (Part IIIb within the FIDE Online Chess Regulations).

Article 5 of the FIDE Laws of Chess gives the only methods of ending a game. It does not include adjudication!!

And from the Reporting Procedures (for tournaments)
Once satisfied that the tournament was conducted in accordance with all relevant FIDE Regulations, the Rating Officer shall be responsible for uploading the TRF file to the FIDE Rating Server.

I would say that if even one game is adjudicated then the tournament does not satisfy all of the relevant regulations and therefore the ECF Rating Officer should not send ANY of the games played to FIDE for rating purposes.

Article 5 also does not include all / most cases where an arbiter may have to rule on a draw claim where a player has less than 2 minutes so does this mean that these are not FIDE rateable either? I.e you effectively have to have increments for games to be FIDE rated.

[Alex McFarlane]

Quickplay finishes are mentioned in the Laws of Chess. Adjudications are not.

There are those within FIDE who would argue that quickplay finishes should no longer be rated.

[Reg Clucas]

There are those within FIDE who would argue that quickplay finishes should no longer be rated.

I have it in my head that a few years ago FIDE gave notice that after a certain date, QPF would no longer be rated, but that decision was subsequently revoked. Is that correct, or did I imagine it?

[Roger de Coverly]

or did I imagine it?

There was an ECF proposal around ten years ago referring to what should be allowed for ECF grading.That was more about moble phones, adjudications and adjournments.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6709

[Roger de Coverly]

I doubt that the organisers of the regular congress need worry about losing entries due to the preceding event. Anyone able to play in both, but only wishing to play in one, will probably find it easy to make a decision when they compare the entry fees for the two events, the hotel costs (if staying at the venue) and, to a lesser extent, the prizes on offer.

Both events are now showing their entry lists on chess-results. The regular congress is ahead despite a clash with the 4NCL.

https://chess-results.com/tnr982840.aspx?lan=1

https://chess-results.com/tnr965323.aspx?lan=1

[Keith Arkell]

From the FIDE Handbook:
2. Laws to be Followed
2.1 Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess or the Regulations for Hybrid Chess Competitions (Part IIIb within the FIDE Online Chess Regulations).

Article 5 of the FIDE Laws of Chess gives the only methods of ending a game. It does not include adjudication!!

And from the Reporting Procedures (for tournaments)
Once satisfied that the tournament was conducted in accordance with all relevant FIDE Regulations, the Rating Officer shall be responsible for uploading the TRF file to the FIDE Rating Server.

I would say that if even one game is adjudicated then the tournament does not satisfy all of the relevant regulations and therefore the ECF Rating Officer should not send ANY of the games played to FIDE for rating purposes.

I was trying to grind down a R+P ending in the Sunday morning game at Ennis a couple of years ago. During the game the arbiter began pressuring me to agree to a draw as the next round would begin in about half an hour.
i felt a similar resentment to when I was doing likewise at Islington about 4 decades ago. My opponent, under pressure on the board and the clock, paused the game and called an arbiter over. The arbiter (graded about 120 and clearly oblivious of the concept of grinding an opponent down) called it a draw. I appealed, of course, and got the decision 2:1 after a vote. My opponent had buggered off by then.

Back to Ennis and I soon agreed to a draw as I felt too uncomfortable pressing any further. It was a FIDE rated event with 30 seconds increment, and there was no mention of adjudications in the programme.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"During the game the arbiter began pressuring me to agree to a draw as the next round would begin in about half an hour."

I encountered something similar at Hastings in 1978. My last game in the Third Week Special reached a king and 6-pawn each ending, and I was vaguely aware that the entire room had been cleared except for our table. I decided to have a toilet break as we had reached time-control and one of the organizers pounced and said, "Why don't you agree a draw? We want to go home." I pointed out that if I won the game, I got second prize. I was also aware that if I told him I knew I was winning, he might default me for discussing the game. Stockfish now tells me that I was +6 at this stage. I duly won a few moves later and as the same person handed me the prize, I thanked him and commented that it was worth playing on in won positions and he glared at me. I notice I drew with F Trois earlier in the event, so it must have been a coherent phase of my chess career.

[NickFaulks]

I would say that if even one game is adjudicated then the tournament does not satisfy all of the relevant regulations and therefore the ECF Rating Officer should not send ANY of the games played to FIDE for rating purposes.

Following discussions in Budapest, I would go further and say that any event which even has the possibility of adjudication in its regulations is likely to have its tournament registration rejected.

Personally, I think this is right. When it comes to adjudication ( or even adjournment ), the threat can be stronger than the execution. There are plenty of alternative solutions, so QC is without sympathy for organisers who prefer to ignore the Laws of Chess.