Dear Participants,
On behalf of the all the Tournament Directors (TD) I would like to welcome you to the 2019 Las Vegas International Chess Festival.
As is customary at this Chess Vacation of the Year, our goal is to provide you with the best chess playing conditions and, despite the competitive nature such a money tournament brings, help maintain a friendly and pleasant atmosphere throughout.
If you have an issue during the event, please ask a TD to help you. You should never receive an “I don’t know” answer and each TD is tasked with seeing any issues brought to them up until a resolution is reached. However, if for some reason they personally can’t help you with something, they certainly know a TD that can!
Some Important Rules!
Electronic Devices Policy. Please read the policy that is posted here on our website and also around the playing areas. You should not be in possession of an electronic device, meaning actually carrying a device on you, even if it is turned off. If you happen to bring such a device to your games, please ensure it is turned off and stored in a bag, out of sight. Such a bag must remain at the table the whole time your game is in progress.
Default Time. The default/forfeit time for all games is 30 minutes. Please note this is different from the US Chess standard of 1 hour. If you do not show up within 30 minutes of the start time of your game, you may receive some bad news when you arrive.
Rules. For the FIDE rated sections, the Open, Under 2300 and Under 2100, FIDE rules will be used. For all other sections the US Chess 7th Edition Rules will be used.
Clocks. Please note that we do not provide clocks but we do provide boards and sets. There will be a vendor onsite who can assist you with a clock purchase should you need one. American Chess Equipment have also been kind enough to do some quick videos to help you with setting your clocks for the National Open time controls:
There is also some other useful information on our Frequently Asked Questions page and so I will not duplicate that information here. As we get asked more questions, we’ll try to add the answers there so that everyone can make use of the information.
I look forward to seeing you all in action over the course of the next few days and I wish you the best success in whatever tournaments you are participating in.
Best in Chess,
Chris Bird
Chief TD, 2019 Las Vegas International Chess Festival
