ChessCube SA Open 2009
FIDE rated event over the internet!
Report by Chessdom.com
The ChessCube SA Open 2009 will take place 3-11 July, 2009. In a world first for chess, some of the matches will be played online. This is a format many internet chess players have been waiting for – an online event being played simultaneously over 2 continents, yet officially recognized and rated by FIDE!
From Melbourne, Australia, behind the computer screens will be GM Gawain Jones (GBR, ELO 2550), IM Puchen Wang (NZL, ELO 2453), IM Mirko Rujevic (AUS, ELO 2282), and IM Leonid Sandler (AUS, ELO 2332) on standby. On the other end of the computer terminal at Cape Town, South Africa, will sit their opponents (randomly paired each round).
“Having these players compete in the tournament from another location using the Internet is a world first. Each Australian player will use a computer to connect to ChessCube and play their game, and will be supervised by the arbiter on that side. Similarly the players paired against them in Cape Town will play their games online using a computer, and will be supervised by an arbiter on this side,” commented Mr. Mark Levitt, founder of ChessCube.
The remote players are in contention for all prize money and titles – similar to local players. The best part of all, FIDE have agreed to officially rate the games played over the Internet.
ChessCube powering the community and the SA Open
ChessCube as a playing platform has been bringing innovative ideas into online chess playing for the last couple of months, turning into one of the busiest and most populated web chess servers with player peaks reaching over 3000 players online simultaneously, and a growing base that has eclipsed half a million users. The platform has turned into something that the chess world has been missing at previous online chess communities – it is a place where one can socialize and have fun at the same time.
Now ChessCube are taking a step further and create a tournament, part of which will take place online, and will be officially recognized by FIDE.
More about the SA Open
The SA Open will be an 11 round Swiss tournament using the FIDE approved Dutch pairings. The time control will be 90 minutes for the whole game plus an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The tiebreaks used to form the final rankings are (a) Median Bucholz, (b) Sonneborn-Berger, (c) Performance rating, (d) Cumulative score. The official site of the event is www.saopen2009.com
The official list of participants in Cape Town will be released soon.
Stay tuned for more information and see you online at ChessCube!
This is a very interesting idea.
FICS and ICC rule!
I wonder if they are allowed a chess board near their computer to copy the moves on the internet and think over the board (of course not to move and analyze).
The players will be allowed a physical board next to the computer. This board may not be used for analysis and must mirror the position on the computer.
This can spare a lot of travel expenses, jet lag, leave more money for prize fund, etc. Why didn’t this happen a long time ago!?