Tournament Regulations

These regulations apply to chess tournaments held as part of the Sligo Chess & Culture Festival unless otherwise stated on the page for an individual tournament.

Players are also required to comply with the FIDE Laws of Chess, the festival’s Fair Play Policy, Code of Conduct and Terms & Conditions.

Where the regulations for an individual tournament differ from these general regulations, the regulations published for that tournament will apply.

Section Allocation

Players register for a tournament rather than for a particular rating section.

Where a tournament is divided into rating sections, players will be allocated to the appropriate section by the organisers based on the published rating criteria.

For the 2027 festival, section allocation will be based on the applicable January 2027 rating list.

Players are responsible for providing sufficient and accurate information when registering to allow the organisers to identify their applicable rating.

Appeals Committee

A player wishing to appeal an eligible decision must notify the arbiter of their intention to appeal immediately and submit the appeal in writing to the Appeals Committee no later than 20 minutes after the end of the game in which the disputed decision occurred.

Appeals submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

A fee of €10 must be paid when lodging an appeal. The fee will be refunded if the appeal is successful and retained if the appeal is unsuccessful.

The Appeals Committee will consist of three members, with at least one alternate. Members will be selected before the start of the competition. Where a member is unavailable or has a conflict of interest, an alternate may serve in their place.

The decision of the Appeals Committee is final within the tournament and will be communicated to the player.

Pairings

First-round pairings will be published after registration for the relevant tournament has closed.

Pairings for subsequent rounds will be published online and displayed at the designated pairing area as soon as they are available.

Accelerated pairings may be used in the opening rounds of sections with large numbers of players.

Players are responsible for checking their pairings and arriving at the correct board on time.

Playing Venue

For the purposes of the FIDE Laws of Chess, the playing venue consists of the playing area, toilets, refreshment area, designated smoking area and any other places designated by the Chief Arbiter.

The playing area is the tournament ballroom in which the games are played.

Players must not leave the playing venue while their game is in progress without permission from an arbiter.

Leaving the playing venue without permission may result in a penalty in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess.

Access to the playing area is restricted to players with games in progress and authorised tournament personnel. Spectators are not permitted inside the playing area.

A player whose game has finished becomes a spectator and must leave the playing area.

Food and Drinks

Only water is permitted at the board. Water should be kept in a sealed bottle positioned under the table.

Food, chewing gum and other drinks are not permitted at the board. Alcohol may not be consumed in the playing area.

Food and non-alcoholic drinks may be consumed in areas designated for that purpose.

Smoking

Smoking is permitted only in the designated smoking area.

Players whose games are still in progress must not communicate with other people while using the smoking area.

Cigarettes or other smoking materials must not be prepared or rolled at the board.

Personal Belongings

Bags and other personal belongings must not be kept at or beside the playing table.

Players must place bags and other belongings in the designated storage areas within the tournament ballroom.

Players must not access stored belongings while their game is in progress without first obtaining permission from an arbiter.

Electronic devices are subject to the separate requirements of the festival’s Fair Play Policy and must not be stored inside bags in the tournament ballroom.

Appropriate Attire

Players are expected to dress appropriately for a professional chess tournament.

Business-casual attire is encouraged but is not required.

Equipment

Boards, pieces, clocks, pens and scoresheets will be provided by the festival.

Sets, clocks and other tournament equipment must not be removed from the tournament ballroom.

Players must not move clocks to the opposite side of the board without permission from an arbiter.

At the end of each game, players should reset the pieces correctly on the board.

Time Controls

The time control for each competition is published on the relevant tournament page.

Players are responsible for familiarising themselves with the time control before play begins.

Notation

Players must record their moves where required by the FIDE Laws of Chess.

Official scoresheets will be provided.

Personal scoresheet notebooks are not permitted.

Default Time

Unless otherwise stated for an individual tournament, the default time is 30 minutes.

A player who arrives at the chessboard after the default time will lose the game by default unless the arbiter decides otherwise.

Byes

A player may receive no more than one half-point bye per tournament. A half-point bye may be requested for any round of an eligible tournament except the penultimate or final round.

A request for a half-point bye must be made before the pairings for the relevant round have been produced and must be confirmed by the organisers before it is considered valid.

A player may request a zero-point bye for any round by informing an arbiter before the pairings for that round have been produced.

Different bye arrangements may be published for individual tournaments.

Prizes

Prize information is published on the relevant tournament page.

Players must participate in the final round to be eligible for a prize unless otherwise stated in the regulations for the relevant tournament.

A player may receive only one prize in the same tournament.

Where two or more players finish on the same number of points, prize money will not be divided. Final placings and prizes will instead be determined using the published tie-break criteria.

Trophies will normally be presented at the relevant awards ceremony. Cash prizes will normally be paid within two weeks of the conclusion of the tournament.

Tie-Break Criteria

Unless otherwise stated for an individual tournament, the following tie-break criteria will be applied in order:

1. Direct Encounter
2. Buchholz Cut-1
3. Buchholz
4. Sonneborn-Berger
5. Performance

If players remain tied after all published tie-break criteria have been applied, the Chief Arbiter will determine the final placing in accordance with the applicable tournament and FIDE regulations.

FIDE Laws of Chess

The FIDE Laws of Chess apply to festival tournaments except where a tournament’s published regulations provide otherwise within the discretion permitted by FIDE.

If a dispute or issue arises during a game, a player should stop their clock where appropriate and summon an arbiter rather than attempting to resolve the matter with their opponent.

Arbiter decisions are subject to the festival’s appeals procedure where an appeal is permitted.

Fair Play

The Sligo Chess & Culture Festival operates a comprehensive Fair Play Policy designed to protect the integrity of its tournaments and provide players with fair and professional playing conditions.

All players must comply with the FIDE Laws of Chess, applicable FIDE Fair Play regulations and the festival’s Fair Play Policy.

Electronic devices, including mobile phones and smartwatches, are not permitted inside the tournament ballroom unless specifically authorised by the Chief Arbiter. Electronic-device storage is provided at the entrance to the ballroom.

Players may be subject to Fair Play checks before, during or after a round, including routine random checks using electronic detection equipment. The Chief Arbiter or designated Fair Play official may require additional checks where appropriate.

Players must cooperate with authorised Fair Play procedures. Violations may result in penalties under the FIDE Laws of Chess and applicable tournament regulations, including forfeiture of a game or expulsion from the tournament where appropriate.

Players who have a Fair Play concern should report it privately to the Chief Arbiter or designated Fair Play official. Players should not confront another player or make public allegations.

All players are required to read and comply with the festival’s Fair Play Policy before participating.

Code of Conduct

All participants are required to comply with the festival’s Code of Conduct.

Concerns regarding behaviour, harassment, discrimination, safeguarding or other misconduct should be reported using the procedures set out in the Code of Conduct.

Terms & Conditions

Registration and participation are subject to the festival’s Terms & Conditions, which contain provisions relating to entry, payments, refunds, event changes, participant conduct, children and young people, personal property and other conditions of participation.

Personal data is processed in accordance with the festival’s Privacy Policy.