[**International Chess Open - Madagascar 2015*]
1. International Open Chess in Antananarivo – Madagascar 2015 (Open event)
The Madagascar Chess Federation (FMJE) has the honor to invite all players affiliated to FIDE to participate in the 2015 Chess Open International de Madagascar. The event will be held from the 5th to 9th August 2015 in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
2. Playing Venue
The tournament will be held in Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar, at the Centre Culturel Malagasy (IKM) – Antsahavola - Antananarivo. Official tournament accommodation facilities will be available from 5th until 9th August 2015.
3. Participants
In accordance with FIDE regulations, the 2015 Chess Open International de Madagascar is open to all players from Federations affiliated to FIDE.
Countries with a direct airlink via Air Madagascar include La Réunion, Mauritius, South Africa, Comoros, Kenya, France, Thailand, and China.
4. Tournament Regulations
It is intended that the tournament will be played in accordance with FIDE regulations as a 9 Round Swiss System tournament.
Time control will be 90 minutes for the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one (1).
Pairings for all rounds will be published on www.chess-results.com
Swiss Manager will be used for all tournament pairings.
Draw offers will not be allowed before Black’s 25th move.
Tie-Break
In case of a tie for the over-all winner or other places, the tie will be broken as follows :
o Player with the highest wins
o Direct encounter
o Buchholz Score
5. Awards and Prizes
The tournament will offer a minimum of 2,300 USD in Cash Prizes.
1st = USD 700 ; 2nd = USD 500
6. Tournament Schedule
The proposed tournament schedules is as follows. Any changes to the schedule will be communicated before the start of the 1st Round.
Dates Time Activities
4th August, Tuesday All day Arrival of foreign based players and accompanying persons
5th August, Wednesday
14:00hrs Opening Ceremony
14:30hrs 1st Round
6th August, Thursday 08:30hrs 2nd Round
14:30hrs 3rd Round
7th August, Friday 08:30hrs 4th Round
14:30hrs 5th Round
8th August, Saturday 08:30hrs 6th Round
14:30hrs 7th Round
9th August, Sunday 08:30hrs 8th Round
14:30hrs 9th Round
21:30hrs Awards and Prizes-Giving
7. Chief Arbiter & Appeals Committee
The Chief Arbiter for the tournament will be FA Randrianomenjanahary Ravolalaina.
The Appeals committee will consist of 3 members and 2 reserves chosen from amongst the participating players. Any appeals should be submitted in writing to the Chief Arbiter within half an hour (30min) after the end of the affected round together with a 100 000 Ariary refundable deposit. In cases where an appeal is upheld this sum will be immediately returned.
8. Board and Lodging
The first two GM’s / IM’s (with FIDE ratings over 2400) who enter will receive full board and lodging on a sharing basis for the duration of the tournament.
The first two GM’s will also be entitled to a travel stipend in the amount of EUR 500 towards their travel costs.
Accommodation for other players, officials and accompanying persons can be arranged at the official tournament hotels at EURO 35 per person per day (sharing) or EURO 60 per person per day (single room). This rate includes 3 meals per day (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner).
To make use of the official hotels, bookings must be received before 31st July 2015, which will be the deadline. After this date, participants will be responsible for their own accommodation arrangements.
Players, officials and accompanying persons who wish to arrive before 4th August 2015 or depart after 9th August 2015 are expected to arrange their own accommodation or make their own arrangements to pay the hotels directly for the additional days.
9. Registration Fees – For foreign based players officials and accompanying persons
The registration and entry fee for foreign based players is 60 Euros and should be paid into the FMJE account before the 31st July 2015. Registration fees will not be refunded for any player, official and / or accompanying person who does not make it to the tournament after paying registration.
The registration forms can be found below. Players or federations wishing to participate should complete the registration form on or before the 31st July 2015 and return them by e-mail to fmje.mad123@gmail.com in order to confirm their entries.
Registration fees will entitle all foreign based players, officials and accompanying persons to :
- Free transfers (to and from) Ivato International Airport or the bus terminal on arrival and departure.
- Shuttle to various places in the city depending on the Shuttle schedule.
- For players, free bottled water during all rounds.
- Free bulletins after each round for players and coaches.
Entry Fees – Local players
The entry fee for locally based players is 30,000 MGA and this should also be paid into the FMJE account before the 31st July 2015.
BANK DETAILS
BANK : BNI MADAGASCAR BANK SWIFT CODE (BIC) : CLMDMGMG ACCOUNT HOLDER : FEDERATION MALAGASY DES JEUX D’ECHECS “FMJE” ACCOUNT NUMBER (IBAN) : MG46 00005 00001 12788800200 16 BANK ADDRESS : 74, Rue du 26 juin 1960 – 101 Antananarivo – MADAGASCAR
(For all payments, please send proof of payment, with reference of your country, your Federation name and the names of players, officials and accompanying persons being registered.)
10. Travel Arrangements
All travel arrangements and costs of transportation to and from Madagascar are to be taken care of directly by the tournament participants.
The organizers will meet all participants and accompanying persons at Ivato International Airport provided that a full itinerary for each participant and their accompanying persons is communicated to the organizers in advance (not later than 31st July 2015).
Players, officials and accompanying persons will be taken to their respective lodging places after 13:00hrs (which is the standard check in time for lodges and boarding facilities in Madagascar).
11. Visas
Note that visas are free of charge.
We will avail an official invitation to any delegation that requires one, in order to facilitate applications for players coming from countries that need special invitations.
It is advisable that you carry an invitation letter when entering into Madagascar and visa documents when travelling.
12. Local Currency
The local currency is the Ariary (MGA). Currently, 3,500 Ariary is approximately equal to 1 euro (3,500 MGA = €1.00) and 3,200 Ariary is approximately equal to 1 US dollar (3,200 MGA = $1.00).
Foreign participants and officials are advised to change foreign exchange through the banks or foreign exchange offices which operate in most malls or shopping centers.
Banks open every day except on Saturday and Sunday.
Delegates and visitors are advised to change their money into the local currency (Ariary), as most transactions are carried out using the Ariary currency.
Note that Visa and MasterCard’s are accepted in some shops.
13. Deadline
The registration form (see page 5) must be filled out and returned to the host address by no later than the 31st July 2015. This date is the registration and payment deadline.
FMJE reserves the right to accept or reject any player who registers late.
Players who arrive unannounced or register later than 31st July 2015 will cover their own costs if participation is rejected.
