2008 Pan American Continental

2008 Pan American – Continental Championship (Boca Raton, Florida, USA)

(Qualifier to the 2009 FIDE World Cup) November 1 – 7, 2008

I. INVITATION

The Confederation of Chess for America (CCA), the United States Chess Federation (USCF), and Chess Educators, LLC are pleased to invite all National Federations of the Americas to the 2008 Pan American – Continental Championship.

The 2008 Pan American – Continental Championship will be held at the Marriott Boca Raton Hotel, located in Boca Raton, Florida in the United States of America from November 1-7, 2008. Please see the schedule for round times.

The Miami International Airport, Ft. Lauderdale Airport as well as the West Palm Beach Airport are all on the Tri Rail system and offer rides to the Deerfield Beach station on Hillsboro Blvd. for a nominal fee.

The hotel will provide complimentary transportation from the Deerfield Beach station on Hillsboro Blvd. to the Hotel. Please call: 561-392-4600 – for transportation to the Hotel.

The event was planned in Boca Raton and to take place prior to the Chess Olympiad in Dresden to allow players from different countries in the Americas to participate in the Championship as well as in the Chess Olympiad.

The Marriott at Boca Raton is in an excellent location near Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, FL. Traveling to Europe from Miami is also convenient and should be taken into consideration.

II. GENERAL CONDITIONS

This event will be following the rules and regulations written in this invitation. In case of any omissions, the Regulations for the Pan American- Continental Championship will be in effect. These regulations can be found at www.fideamerica.com.

ONLY FIDE RULES APPLY FOR THIS EVENT

Characteristic: Each National Federation may register as many players as it wishes. These players must have a minimum FIDE rating of 2000 or USCF rating of 2100.

Tournament Format: 9 Rounds, Swiss System.

Time Control: The time control shall be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an additional 30 seconds per move from move one.

Tie Breaks System: One player qualifies to the World Cup From This Event

1. If it’s a two players tie for one qualifying place for the World Cup, these two players will play two games, 15 minutes per player with 10 seconds increment from move one. If after these two games, there is still a tie, then they shall play a three games match, 5 minutes per player. If the tie remains, they will play an additional three games match until the tie break is decided.

2. If three or more players tie for one qualifying place for the World Cup, a single round robin tournament shall be played, starting with 25 minutes on the clock, an additional 10 seconds incremental per move. If the tie remains, then the tie-break system of the main Swiss tournament will apply.

3. The tie breaking system of the main Swiss tournament will be as follows:

a) The result of their particular game, if applicable.
b) Progressive
c) Progressive with cuts
d) Bucholz
e) Drawing of lots

4. The tie break system will not apply for monetary prizes, which must be divided among the players who tie for those places.

TITLES, PRIZES AND OTHER CONDITIONS:

Titles:

The GM, IM, WGM, WIM titles norms can be earned in internationally rated tournaments played according to FIDE regulations. Continental Championship’s regulations apply for this event.

PRIZES:

• 1st Place 4,000.00
• 2nd Place 3,000.00
• 3rd Place 2,000.00
• 4th Place 1,500.00
• 5th Place 1,000.00
• 6th Place 900.00
• 7th Place 800.00
• 8th Place 700.00
• 9th Place 600.00
• 10th Place 500.00
• 11th Place 200.00
• 12th Place 200.00
• 13th Place 200.00
• 14th Place 200.00
• 15th Place 200.00

Top player 18 years old or younger (age at the time of registration in the tournament) $300; Top women player $300; Top player over 50 years old or older (age at the time of registration in the tournament) $300. No player can win more than one monetary prize, in the event that a player has the option to win two prizes, she or he will have to choose only one prize.

Additional Information:

The following seven players have the right for accommodations in a double room and a $50 stipend for meals, per day:

• GM Julio Granda Peru
• GM Alexander Ivanov USA
• GM Varuzhan Akopian USA
• GM Darcy Lima Brazil
• IM Eduardo Iturriazaga Venezuela
• GM Fernando Peralta Argentina
• IM Everaldo Matsuura Brazil

III. COSTS AND CALENDAR

Entry fee: $175 due by September 30. Entry Fees received after September 30 are $200.

Make Checks Payable to: Checks must be payable to Chess Educators, LLC and mailed to P.O. Box 160 New York, NY 10028.

On-line Registration & Payment: On line registration and payment is available at ChessEducators.com.

Deadline for Registration:

Registration Fee: $175.00 by Sept. 30, 2008, after Sept. 30, 2008 Registration Fee is $200.00.

Hotel registrations for all players should be made directly with the Hotel. Hotel Link is provided at Chesseducators.com.

Reservations must be made directly with the hotel by October 15, 2008. Room rate $120 per night. Rooms are for up to four people, but only with double beds.

If you need assistant with a letter for the purpose of applying for a VISA to enter into the United States of America, please request this information to us in advance.

DO NOT LEAVE FOR THE LAST MINUTE.

We will be glad to assist with this process, which should be requested only by National Federations.

CALENDAR:

• Saturday, Nov. 1st

Arrival Day

• Sunday, Nov. 2nd

Technical Meeting - 9 a.m.
Opening Ceremony - 9:45 a.m.
Round 1 - 10 a.m.

• Monday, Nov. 3rd

Round 2 - 10 a.m.
Round 3 - 5 p.m.

• Tuesday, Nov. 4th

Round 4 – 10 a.m.

Round 5 – 5 p.m.

• Wednesday, Nov. 5th

Round 6 - 10 a.m.
Round 7 - 5 p.m.

• Thursday, Nov. 6th

Round 8 - 5 p.m.

• Friday, Nov. 7th

Round 9 - 10 a.m.
Play Off (if necessary) - 5 p.m.
Closing Ceremony - 5 p.m. (if no play off) , 7 p.m. – (if play off)

IV POSTING INFORMATION AND PAIRINGS

Tournament information and pairings will be available on-line.

The hotel has internet access in each room.

The pairings will be published in the official tournament web site at: www.chesseducators.com

More information will be posted in the US Chess Federation Website at uschess.org and the US Chess Trust Website at uschesstrust.org.

In addition, the pairings will be posted at the official hotel.

V. HOTEL

Reservations must be made directly with the hotel by October 15, 2008. Room rate $120 per night. Rooms are for up to four people, but only with double beds.

For more information please contact Beatriz Marinello at Beatchess@aol.com and/or Beatriz@chesseducators.com

We are looking forward to seeing you at this exciting event !

Please let us know how we can assist you with your travel arrangements and during your stay in United States of America.

Yours for Chess,

Bill Hall
US Chess Federation
Executive Director

Beatriz Marinello
Tournament Organizer

Click Here to Download the Tournament Invitation - 2008 Pan American Continental Championship Invitation

If you have any questions – Please contact the Tournament Organizer - Beatriz Marinello at Beatriz@ChessEducators.com.