Rules & Conditions of Entry
The tournament will operate in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess except as otherwise indicated on this website or on the tournament’s congress.org.uk homepage or on the postal entry form. Players entering the tournament agree thereby to abide by these rules and the decisions of the controllers.
It is also a condition of entry that players agree that the tournament organizers may report results to the ECF for rating purposes and publish rating information, results, and games on this website and the Chess-Results.com and Congress Org UK websites.
Kidlington is a 5-round Swiss tournament, with four sections: Open, Major (U2000), Intermediate (U1800), and Minor (U1600).
All sections will be ECF-rated. In addition, the Open, Major, and Intermediate sections will be FIDE-rated, except for games involving a player with a FIDE rating of 2400 or above.
The event is disabled-friendly and wheelchair-accessible.
Organising Team:
Keith Freshwater
Gerard O’Reilly
Raj Panicker
Chief Arbiter: Keith Freshwater
Deputy Chief Arbiter: Fenella Headlong
Controllers: Jon D’Souza-Eva, Lucy Smith.
Contact:
Keith Freshwater
07901 612661 (mobile); freshwak1@kidlingtonchess.org.uk
Prizes (Total prize fund £2690 minimum – may be increased if sufficient entries)
| Section | Open | Major (U2000) | Intermediate (U1800) | Minor (U1600) |
| First Prize | £300 | £250 | £250 | £250 |
| Second Prize | £150 | £150 | £150 | £150 |
| Third Prize | £85 | £85 | £85 | £85 |
| Rating | £50 (U2100) | £50 (U1900) | £50 (U1700) | £50 (U1400) |
| Round 1 Loser | £50 | £50 | £50 | £50 |
| Veteran (60 or over at 6 February 2027) | N/A | £50 | £50 | £50 |
| Junior (under 18 at 6 February 2027) | N/A | N/A | £50 | £50 |
We also have a Team Competition, for teams of four players from any section. Entries (which are free) must be received by 2pm on the first day of the tournament; there is a prize for the winning team of £50.
No entrant may receive more than one individual prize, but a winner of an individual prize remains eligible for a share in the team competition prize.
Prizes will be shared in the event of a tie.
To be eligible for an age-related prize, entrants must supply their date of birth on the form.
Prize monies will be sent out within 7 days of the event by cheque or bank transfer.
Ratings and Prizes
For purposes of eligibility and pairing, ratings will be taken, where available, from the ‘Original’ ECF February 2027 rating list. If you do not have an ECF rating, please give your most recent ECF rating or grade and any other current official rating. If you have none, please provide other evidence of your playing strength, e.g. tournament results.
Please note that:
(i) Only players with an A or K standard-play rating in the ‘Original’ ECF February 2027 rating list are eligible for rating prizes.
(ii) In the rating-limited sections, players for whom we lack rating information based on at least 10 rated games in the last 5 years can receive only half of any individual prize.
(iii) All games in all sections will be ECF-rated. In addition, games in the Open, Major, & Intermediate sections will be FIDE-rated, except for those involving a player rated FIDE 2400 or above.
All pairings will be made with Swiss-Manager.
Entry Fees & Donations
Standard entry fee (for ECF members at the new Gold level or higher): £40.
There is a £10 discount from the standard entry fee for juniors (under 18 on 6 February 2027)
NB. Under ECF membership arrangements there will be no charge for the rating of the games of those who are ECF members at the Gold level or higher, but the tournament organisers will be charged £16.00 (for adults) and £7.00 (for Juniors) for the rating of the games of entrants who are non-members or Bronze-level members of the ECF.
For Bronze-level ECF members or non-ECF members, there is therefore a rating surcharge of £16.00 for adults (£7.00 for juniors). To ensure paying only the £7.00 surcharge, Junior entrants who are non-members or Bronze members of the ECF should make sure to select ‘Junior Not Gold‘ in the drop-down box next to ECF Membership on the entry form.
Entrants who are Bronze-level ECF members, having paid the rating surcharge, will have their membership automatically upgraded to Gold level after the tournament.
Those using the online entry form may pay their entry fee by bank transfer or via PayPal.
Early entries: a discount of £2 may be taken by those whose entries are received by 10 January 2027.
Donations are vital to our long-term survival and are gratefully received. (NB. If you are entering online and wish to make a donation, please click repeatedly on ‘Add’ in the ‘Price details’ section of the online entry form until the box displays the amount you intend to donate.)
Entries Deadline
If places are still available, online entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on Friday 5 February 2027.
It may be possible to consider accepting entries early on Saturday morning if spaces should become available, but this cannot be guaranteed. Contact Keith Freshwater (contact details above).
Byes
You may take a half-point bye in any one of the first four rounds. Please notify us if possible on the entry form or at the beginning of the tournament.
Pairing Requests
If you want to request that we avoid pairing you with (a maximum of two) specific players in the first four rounds, please let us know on your entry form or email entries@kidlingtonchess.org.uk.
NB. We cannot, however, guarantee to satisfy such a request.
Withdrawals
If you withdraw before entries close on Friday 5 February we will refund your entry fee less a £3 administration fee. If withdrawing during the tournament, please notify a controller in person or note it on your result slip.
Special Requirements
If you have any special requirements or any considerations that would help you to take part in this event, please email entries@kidlingtonchess.org.uk. We will do our best to help.
STARTING TIMES OF ROUNDS:
| Round 1 | Saturday | 9.30 am | |
| Round 2 | Saturday | 2.00 pm | (Few games |
| Round 3 | Saturday | 6.30 pm | will last |
| Round 4 | Sunday | 9.30 am | longer than |
| Round 5 | Sunday | 2.00 pm | 3½ hours) |
Rate of Play
All moves in 90 minutes, plus 15 seconds per move increment from move 1.
Any player arriving more than 30 minutes late will be deemed to have lost unless re-pairing is possible. His/her opponent, however, must expect to be paired again if another player is otherwise without a game after 30 minutes. The rate of play is subject to alteration in the case of such re-pairings.
Electronic Devices
A player must not use any electronic device during a game without the controller’s explicit permission. Although players may keep such devices with them at the venue, they must be fully switched off (not merely muted) in the playing area during playing sessions. They must not be carried on the person during a game, but may, for example, be kept in a bag on the floor or in a coat on the back of a chair. These rules apply at all times during playing sessions. In particular, a player whose mobile phone sounds during a game will forfeit the game.
Parking
There is ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) parking at the Exeter Hall site. However, parking is free for those attending events there. IMPORTANT – There are iPads inside the building where drivers need to enter their registration each day. The parking is run by an outside contractor and if you don’t register a fine is likely.
Refreshments
We have engaged a new local caterer, Jack’s, which will provide hot and cold food and drinks.
Bookstall
A bookstall supplied by Chess Essentials will again be available, which will have a range of books, DVDs, sets, and other chess equipment.
Analysis
A separate room will be available for analysis and discussion. Players are urged to use this room for post-game analysis so as not to disturb others whose games are still in progress.
Behaviour
Please treat the premises and the chess equipment with respect, and follow all signs, notices, and instructions of the Hotel, organisers, and arbiters as requested.
Please show respect at all times for other people at the tournament and their property. In particular, players and visitors entering or leaving the playing area are asked to do so quietly and to conduct themselves when in the playing area as quietly as reasonably possible while any tournament games are in progress.
Parental Supervision of Juniors
The organisers and arbiters are unable to act in loco parentis for children. Parents/guardians/carers are responsible for their children throughout the entire duration of this event. In particular, children under the age of 14 must be supervised by their parent or guardian throughout: the responsible adult must remain on the premises, and the child must be able to return to them easily when their game is over. Parents or guardians may arrange to share the supervision of older juniors with other trusted adults known to the junior. However, parents/guardians should note that they are still ultimately responsible for their children and their behaviour at this event.
Disclaimer
In addition to being unable to act in loco parentis, as noted above, the organisers accept no responsibility for any damage, theft, or accident to the person or property of any competitor, visitor, or other person attending the tournament. Nor are they responsible for the effects of actions of anyone else attending the event.
Data Protection
Personal data is held solely for the purposes of the Kidlington Chess Tournament: for the administration of the event, to report results to the ECF for rating purposes, and to publish rating information, results and games to the Kidlington Tournament, the Chess-Results.com, and the Congress.org.uk websites, as well as to inform you by email about our future chess events. (If you do not wish to receive such email, please let the organisers know, so that we can remove you from our mailing list.) We also occasionally post photos of the tournament on the Kidlington website; if this is problematic for you, please contact the organisers.