Southwest Collegiate Chess Championships

Running Chess Tournaments
1

The “Southwest Collegiate Chess Championships” is apparently going to be listed in the Grand Prix section of Chess Life, and will award 20 Grand Prix Points (“Enhanced”). According to the TLA, this event, scheduled for February 20-21 in Dallas, is “open to any college student or team.” But according to the Grand Prix rules, all Masters must be eligible to participate, in order to be listed as a Grand Prix: main.uschess.org/images/stories/ … an2010.pdf

Why are the Grand Prix requirements being suspended for this event?

Will other organizers be able to designate tournaments, which do not conform to the Grand Prix Rules, as “Grand Prix” tournaments anyway? Which non-Grand Prix tournaments will be allowed to appear in the Grand Prix Section, and which non-Grand Prix tournaments will not permitted to appear in the Grand Prix Section? What is the process for moving a non-Grand Prix TLA into the Grand Prix section?

If anyone from the Executive Board has some special, inside info which is not available to the general unwashed masses of organizers and players, when would this info be scheduled for general release?

2

Well put, Steve! Let’s just hope it is an oversight, and can be corrected.

All the best, Joe Lux

3

Do Nationals automatically qualify?

Otherwise, it sounds like “Texas grease.”

4

No. The US Open and National Open qualify. Most of the others have restrictions that make them ineligible for Grand Prix points.

5

I don’t happen to have my CL with me. Is there an on-line TLA?

A number of years back the Pan-Am in Chicago had an auxilliary swiss tournament that was open to anybody, and thus could have been considered a GP event even though the main event was limited to fixed-board college teams. If this tournament happens to have an additional Swiss section with $750 of the prizes available to masters then it could enhance that to get up to 20 GPP.

6

This tournament seems in clear violation of Grand Prix rules and should not be listed as a Grand Prix event or the entire Grand Prix tournament system has no integrity. Hopefully Bill Hall sees this (e-mail is going out shortly) and Dan Lucas prevents it from getting into Chess Life.

Mike

7

I would be shocked if this is anything but a mistake. If this error is in the January issue, it should be corrected in February.

Bill Goichberg

8

Grand Prix points are apparently also being offered for online quick chess tournaments (or so say the WCL ads).

9

You do for the monthly GP events. Not the weekly tournaments. They do pay prizes.

10

WCL, as the sponsor of the Grand Prix, gets those monthly events under the ‘Golden Rule’.

11

Joan reports that this TLA is being corrected for the February issue and should be corrected when the TLAs from the January issue are posted online.