Details 14/15

Hastings Masters
A nine-round accelerated Swiss Pairing tournament Monday 29 December 2014 to Tuesday 6 January 2015

This event will provide opportunities to qualify for titles and for the FIDE Rating List. Such ratings go down to 1000, thus it would be reasonable for any player graded over ECF 50 to aspire to a partial FIDE Rating here.
Rate of Play
40 moves in 100 minutes, followed by 20 moves in 50 minutes, followed by all remaining moves in 15 minutes, with the addition of 30 seconds for each move from the start.
Entry fees
GM, IM, WGM, WIM Free FM, WFM £30
Players with FIDE Ratings: 2100 and above £70
Below 2100 £110
Players without FIDE Ratings: ECF190 (Elo 2120) and above £120 Below ECF 190 (Elo 2120) £140
The entry fee will be reduced by 50% for players aged under 21 or over 60 on 01.09.2014 and for registered disabled players. All English entrants are required to be Gold or Platinum members of the English Chess Federation and must quote their membership number when entering. Other entrants are required to have a reference number on the FIDE database or to obtain a FIDE Identification Code from their International Rating Officer.
Prizes
£2000, £1200, £750, £500, £350, £250, £200, plus Horntye “Winner of Best Game” Prize + trophy.
The winner will hold the Golombek Trophy for one year.
Plus £200 each for …
The highest placed female player
The highest placed player who is neither a GM nor IM
Best relative FIDE rating performance by a player rated under 2200.
The two highest placed eligible players not already qualified will be entitled to play in the British Championship in 2015. In addition the highest placed and SCCU affliated county qualified player, wins SCCU Individual Championship + £100 and the Glenroy Cup 2014-2015. Champion also qualifies for British Championship 2015. If Champion is already qualified the place will be awarded to highest placed SCCU player not already qualified.

GM Chris Ward will provide commentaries on the games in progress, starting at 14.45 each afternoon

Alan Hustwayte will present a prize for best performance against rating

Hastings Masters games will be shown on this website daily. Names of entrants to this an all other tournaments will appear from the start of October. The final cross-tables of all tournaments will be displayed.

ANNOUNCEMENT APPLICABLE TO ALL TOURNAMENTS — FIDE regulations strongly discourage players from bringing mobile phones or other electronic devices into the playing venue. Please leave them outside the venue unless there is a real need to carry such a device.
If you need to bring in such a device, you must declare it on the entry form, stating the telephone number and paying a penalty of £1, which will be given to a local charity. Hastings Pier Charity – Reg. No.32211R
The possession of an unregistered device during play will be a serious offence and will lead to at least a default in the current game.
The Committee extends the smoking ban to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes.

Rate of play – applies to all tournaments other than Masters
All moves in 110 minutes, with an extra 10 seconds for each move. Each player must keep score until the time remaining on his clock has dropped below 5.00 minutes. Once a player has stopped scoring under this rule, he does not need to resume scoring if his time then increases to above 5.00 minutes.
Default time
Players arriving 30 minutes or more after the start of a session in any tournament shall lose by forfeit, unless the arbiter decides otherwise.
Refreshments while at the board
Players should confine their refreshments to tea, coffee and cold drinks

Christmas Morning Tournament
Monday 29 December 2014 to Friday 2 January 2015
A 5 – round Swiss tournament over five days. This event will be in graded sections of approximately 16 players below ECF 200 (Elo 2200)
Entry Fee: £36 (Juniors £32) Prizes (for each section): £130, £80, £50 plus a grading prize of £30

Christmas Afternoon Tournament
Monday 29 December 2014 to Friday 2 January2015
A 5 – round Swiss tournament over five days. This event will be in graded sections of approximately 16 players below ECF 200 (Elo 2200)
Entry Fee: £36 (Juniors £32) Prizes (for each section): £130, £80, £50 plus a grading prize of £30

New Year Tournament
Monday 5 January 2015 to Tuesday 6 January 2015
A 4 – round Swiss Tournament over two days. This event will be in graded sections of approximately 16 players below ECF 200 (Elo 2200).
Entry Fee £32 (Juniors £28) Prizes (for each section) £120, £75, £50 plus a grading prize of £30

HASTINGS WEEKEND CONGRESS
Friday 2 January 2015 to Sunday 4 January 2015 First round 19.00hrs
Major Tournament – FIDE Rated.
All English entrants are required to be Gold or Platinum members of the English Chess Federation and must quote their membership number when entering. Other entrants are required to be members of a national federation affiliated to FIDE. Open to players below ECF 180 (Elo 2040)
Entry Fee: £36 (Juniors £32)
Prizes: £300, £200, £100, plus a Rating Prize of £50 for those with a published FIDE rating below 1900.
Minor Tournament
Open to players below ECF 150 (Elo 1800)
Entry fee: £36 (Juniors £32)
Prizes: £300, £200, £100, plus a grading prize of £50 for players below ECF 135.
Under-120 Tournament
For players below ECF 120 (Elo 1560) or with no previous experience of competitive chess Entry £20 (Juniors £18)
Prizes: £100, £75, £50, £25 plus grading prizes of £25 for players graded below ECF 100 and ECF 80.
Players may take a ½ point bye in any round except the last. Requests for such byes must be stated on the entry form

THE MAUREEN CHARLESWORTH TROPHY
The Maureen Charlesworth Trophy will be awarded for the most meritorious performance by a local player. Further details will appear in the programme.