(Details courtesy of Nairobi Chess Club)
Club secretary Mehul Gohil announced Nairobi CC’s inaugural Grand Prix and Matchplay series plans Saturday evening to an eager audience. Emphasising that the event and sponsorship are CONFIRMED, he encouraged chess players to register early for a chance to participate.
The Grand Prix format of tournaments will be a first for any chess club in Kenya and is sure to generate a lot of interest amongst players in Nairobi. A total prize fund of KES 40,000 for phase one is bound to create the kind of buzz not seen before in chess circles.
Details are as follows:
EVENT SPONSORS
Ramamurthy Thiagarajan and Mehul Gohil
DATES
Phase one (Grand Prix rapid tournaments):
- 6th November 2011
- 20th November 2011
- 4th December 2011
Phase two (matchplay series):
- January 2012 (further details forthcoming)
VENUE
Goan Gymkhana, Ngara Road
GRAND PRIX FORMAT
There will be 3 separate rapid chess tournaments on the stated dates for phase one. Each rapid tournament will give players a chance to get Grand Prix points depending on their ranking at the end of each one. Grand Prix points earned are cumulative.
A break-down of exact Grand Prix points to be earned per tournament is as follows:
1st Place – 10 points
2nd Place – 8 points
3rd Place – 6 points
4th Place – 4 points
5th Place – 2 points
6th Place – 1 points
The 4 players with the highest number of accumulated Grand Prix points will go through to the matchplay series (phase two). Ties will be broken via Buchholz.
Matchplay will be in the knock out format. The semi-finals will consist of 4 match games and the finals will consists of 6 match games. Ties will be broken via 2 game mini-blitz matches (to be followed by Armageddon blitz game if needed).
PRIZES
For phase one, the prize breakdown per rapid event is as follows:
1st Prize – KES 6,500
2nd Prize – KES 4,000
3rd Prize – KES 2,500
In addition, there will be a lucky dip prize of KES 1,000/- to be awarded at the end of the first phase. Players who participate in all three Grand Prix events will be eligible.
Prize fund details for phase two will be announced at a later date (prize fund for this phase may go higher). However, we can confirm there will be a further lucky dip prize – a 5-issue subscription to New In Chess magazine. Participants who play in at least 2 of the 3 rapid Grand Prix events will be eligible.
OTHER DETAILS
- 3 rapid play tournaments to be held during the month of November. Tournament dates are: 6th November 2011, 20th November 2011 and 4th December (all Sundays) with start times of 10 am.
- 6 rounds per Grand Prix tournament.
- Ties to be broken via Buchholz.
- Entry fee: KES 600 (inclusive of a snack).
- Due to limited number of tables, tournaments will accommodate a maximum of 30 players only. 24 slots will be open for pre-registration via M-PESA payment (first come first serve basis) and remaining 6 slots will be open on tournament day until 2 hours to start of Round 1 (first come first serve basis).
- M-PESA payments to be sent to 0704 179 797.
- Estimate period of play during Grand Prix tournaments: 10am – 6pm.
- Time control – 25 minutes per play.
Details of phase two matchplay series will be announced at a later date.