Congress Terms & Conditions
Here you'll find all the essential details regarding grading, discounts and general conditions for the 57th Rhyl Chess Congress 2026
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Grading
The Congress will be graded by the WCU, ECF and FIDE federations.
WCU/FIDE members are graded for free in all UK Tournaments.
ECF : Gold or above members can have their games graded for free by the ECF by notifying the GPA administrator, via the online form on the ECF site under "Rating". Please give a week's notice. The GPA administrator's email address is: gpa@englishchess.org.uk
Please see more information relating to non-Gold ECF members in the "Ungraded players and Grading Fees" section below.
Grade restricted sections
ECF grades and their equivalent WCU grades will be used to determine who can play in what section.
Eligibility for grade restricted sections will be determined by the July 2026 WCU/ECF grading lists.
Ungraded players and ECF Pay to Play Grading Fees.
Players without a grade must provide full information about all results and any grades previously held. Ungraded players will not be eligible for grading prizes, in addition ungraded players may win only half the value of prizes except in the open section.
Please note that an extra £15 has been included within the entrance fee for Un-Graded players and ECF Bronze members to allow for the ECF "pay to play" rating fee.
ECF bronze members and ungraded players will therefore have their Congress games graded by the ECF as a result of the CONGRESS paying the "pay to play" ECF grading fee on their behalf.
ECF Gold and Platinum members are graded by the ECF for free when competing in any UK non-ECF Tournaments.
In the event that WCU Players wish to have their games graded by the ECF, please note that an extra £15 will be payable.
Junior entrants
Junior entrants must be under 18 on 01/09/2026 to qualify for a £10 discount if entered by 31/08/2026.
Byes
A one half point bye may be claimed only once and only when completing the entry form. Please see the entry form for further details.
Please note no byes are allowed for the final fifth round.
Prizes
All prize winners will be contacted soon after the event to arrange for prizes to be awarded. Names will be collected to use on our website for future events.
Open Section:
1st £200, 2nd £100, 3rd £50 and two grading prizes totalling £50
Major and Minor Sections:
1st £150, 2nd £100, 3rd £50 and two grading prizes totalling £50
All the above prizes will be guaranteed irrespective of entrant numbers.
In the event that more than 100 entries are received, the guaranteed prize money will be increased by 50%.
So, please help this Congress to be successful and encourage your friends to enter.
Chief Arbiter: Peter Purland
Our chief Arbiter's decision is FINAL in relation to any appeals that are lodged during the playing session
Further Important Terms and Conditions
A FIDE ID is required for FIDE-rated tournaments.
Players without a FIDE ID must contact their own federation if they do not wish to be registered as Wales within FIDE.
The Arbiter reserves the right to transfer players between sections at any time.
All moves to be recorded until your clock goes under 5 minutes remaining.
Missing players will be defaulted after 30 minutes from the start of the round and players maybe re-paired.
A player qualifying for 2 prizes receives only the higher of the 2 prizes.
The Swiss Manager software used dictates the pairings in all rounds and will not be changed to suit individual preferences.
No smoking or Alcohol will be allowed within the playing hall and other site playing facilities.
Only hot food purchased on site can be eaten on site.
The Organisers take no responsibilities for children, a parent or guardian must remain on site at all times and ensure that children are properly supervised at all times.
Refunds may be given at the discretion of the organisers.
The organisers accept no responsibility for any damage, theft or accident to the person or property of any competitor, or visitor at this event.
Entry is complete only when funds have cleared into the Congress's bank account.
No prize giving will be staged on the day.