February 24-25, 2018
Sponsored by the Alberta Chess Association
Tournament Format
Depending on the number of entries per section, most likely a 5-round Open Swiss. Sections with fewer than 6 players may be combined with other sections. All sections are CFC rated. CFC membership is not required. ACA junior membership required($1/year). All participants must be residents of Alberta.
Time control: Game in 90 minutes with a 30-second increment beginning from move 1.
Byes: Up to two half-point byes in rounds 1-4 if requested prior to start of round 1
Approximate Schedule:
Saturday, February 24
On-site registration: 9:15 am – 9:45 am
Opening ceremony: 9:50 am – 10:00 am
Rounds 1-3: 10 am, 2 pm, 5 pm
Sunday, February 25
Round 4-5: 10 am; ~1 pm or ASAP
Tie-Breaks: immediately after round 5
Award ceremony: immediately after the completion of each section
U-8 and U-10 groups may follow their own schedule.
Prizes in each section
1st place: $1,000 towards a trip to the 2018 Canadian Youth Chess Championship + Trophy
2nd place: $100 of professional chess coaching + Trophy
3rd place: Trophy
Top girl: Trophy
All other participants will receive ribbons.
Hotel Rooms: The cutoff date to book rooms at the Sheraton Cavalier is 5 PM Feb 10. To book a room, identify yourself as being with the Alberta Youth Chess Championship 2018. Rate: 1-2 people, non-smoking double Queen: $119/night + taxes/fees. Rates increase with more adults (kids under 17 do not count). Call (403)291-0192 to book.
Tie-break procedure: In case two or more players are tied for places 1-3 or best girl, the following tie-break procedure will apply:
1) Head to head result. This will only apply if all the players in a tied group played each other.
2) Tie-break match. If two players are tied, they will play a two-game match. If the tie is for first place, a two game match will be held with the time control of Game/10 minutes + 5 seconds per move. If the tie is for second, third or best girl prize, the time control will be Game/3 minutes + 2 seconds per move, each. If more than two players are tied, they will play a round-robin tournament with the same time controls. If the tie is still not broken, the procedure will be repeated; however, if only two players are tied, they will only play one game with the colours determined at random. If the tie is not broken for the 1st place, they will repeat the procedure but with the Game/3 minutes + 2 seconds/move time control.
3) Tie-breaks for all other places will be determined by the following criteria:
a) Head to Head
b) Buchholz (total scores of opponents)
c) Sonnenborn-Berger (total scores of opponents beaten plus half the scores of opponents drawn)
d) Cumulative score after each round
e) Total wins
Move Recording: Moves must be recorded at all times by both players. Assistance through notation “cheat sheet” can be provided to inexperienced participants.
JUNIOR DRAW RULE (adopted by the ACA board on January 13, 2018)
In junior only events, the draw offer and acceptance is only allowed once both players have played 30 moves. Players must prove they have each played 30 moves by showing it on their scoresheets. For games without scoresheets, allowing the draw will be at the TD’s discretion.