2012 BUCA Championship
BUCA Membership Form
Entry Form
Saturday, February 25th & Sunday, February 26th 2012
De Vere Uplands House,
Four Ashes Road,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire,
HP15 6LB
Chief Organiser: Alex Holowczak – admin@buca.org.uk
Chief Arbiter: Neville Belinfante (FIDE Arbiter)
Schedule
| Saturday | Sunday | ||
| Round One | 1230-1500 | BUCA AGM | 1000 |
| Round Two | 1530-1800 | Round Four | 1130-1400 |
| Round Three | 1830-2100 | Round Five | 1430-1700 |
Prize giving will follow as soon as possible at the end of the final round.
Format
The tournament will be a 5-round Swiss for teams of four players. The time control will be 60 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; all games will be played with DGT clocks. The winner after 5 rounds will be determined by match points. Seeding within scoregroups for the sake of pairings will be done by (i) gamepoints (ii) mean ECF grade. Each team shall earn 2 matchpoints for a win, 1 matchpoint for a draw, and 0 matchpoints for a loss. If a team receives a bye, it shall be credited with 2 matchpoints and 4 gamepoints. The team with the most matchpoints at the end of the tournament shall win. If two or more teams are tied on matchpoints, then the tie will be split by (i) The team with the most gamepoints shall be placed higher (ii) If still tied, the gamepoints scored from the bottom-most player in the team shall be removed from the gamepoints total; similar to “board elimination”. The team with the highest remaining number of gamepoints in its total shall be placed higher. If still tied, this process shall be repeated for the next-lowest board and so on, until no boards remain. (iii) If still tied, the team with the higher Sum of Opponent’s Matchpoints shall be placed higher. (iv) If still tied, the place shall remain tied.
Player Eligibility
All students progressing towards an academic qualification at a Higher Education Institute (HEI) are entitled to play for a team. Of course, the team itself must be from a HEI that is a member of BUCA. This competition is open to all players regardless of citizenship or FIDE registration.
Number of Players
Universities may field more than one team. Each team is composed of four players. Teams are allowed up to three reserves in total across their teams. The reserves will be permitted to play in a scratch team. Teams must play in descending grade order, and must be entered on the entry form to that effect. Where players have equal grades, they must pre-determine their order on the entry form, and play in that order throughout the tournament. Players may play for more than one team of a University, so long as across their multiple teams, they remain in the order they declare on the entry form.
Entry Fee
£190. This includes:
• Two single rooms, and one twin room: £158 (Single Room: £48, Twin Room: £62)
• Entry to the tournament: £32 (of which £11.60 is ECF Game Fee)
Entries received after 20th January will incur a late fee of £20. Accommodation cannot be guaranteed after this date. Team lists may be modified after this date. Reserves must purchase extra rooms through BUCA at the above rates as required.
Individual Entry Fee
£60, which includes a single room at £48. Any reserves from teams which enter and individuals who enter without a team will be entitled to form one or more scratch team. Accommodation for such players will be at the above rates. Should an odd number of entries be received, this scratch team will play in the tournament. Failing that, the team shall play graded entries against one another. If an even number of teams enter the tournament, and two scratch teams can be formed, then they shall be entered into the tournament. No scratch team will be eligible for prizes. The organiser shall split up the candidate players into teams of roughly equal strength.
Staying at the Hotel
All entrants must stay at the hotel. If this cannot be done because the hotel is full, then the team bring receipts to the BUCA Treasurer. The Treasurer will then set a fee that ensures the late-entering team pays no less than £210 for the entry in total, to ensure that a team entering on time gets a better deal than a team entering late. It is essential that as many players stay at the hotel as possible in order to ensure the event’s viability.
BUCA Membership
All Universities that field teams must be BUCA Members. BUCA Membership for the 2011/12 is £10 if received before December 31st, 2011, and is £20 if paid thereafter.
Prizes
The winner will receive the trophy and the title of BUCA Team Champion. There will be individual keep-sakes for all members of the winning team, and board prizes. To be eligible for a board prize, players must play a minimum of four games on the same board within their team. The board prizes will be calculated by (i) Tournament Performance Grade (TPG), using the standard ECF system. I.e. a player scores their opponent’s grade plus 50 points for a win, their opponent’s grade for a draw, and their opponent’s grade minus 50 points for a loss, for all eligible games. The 40-point rule is disregarded. The higher the TPG, the higher the ranking. (ii) If tied, players with a higher percentage score shall be placed higher (iii) If still tied, players who have played more games shall be placed higher. There will be a total of four board prizes, and each shall offer a year’s free subscription to British Chess Magazine, the world’s oldest continually-printed chess magazine.
Rules
The FIDE Laws of Chess will apply. The default time shall be 30 minutes, at which point teams will be repaired if possible. A mobile phone that makes a noise shall result in the loss of the game.
Appeals’ Committee
An Appeals’ Committee of three will be formed, the identity of which will be published at the event. Volunteers to be on this Committee are welcome.
Refund Policy
Universities who withdraw any team entries before 28th January will be entitled to a full refund. All potential refunds after this date will be considered on a case-by-case basis at the BUCA AGM.
Entries
Entries should be e-mailed to Alex Holowczak at admin@buca.org.uk. No entry will be accepted without payment of the relevant entry and membership fees. Information for transferring the fees will be provided upon receipt of a completed entry form.