Fourth Lancaster Rapid Play Congress Saturday 18 January 2025 – Prize Fund £1,000 (subject to entries)
Venue – The Centre, St Thomas Church, Marton St, Lancaster LA1 1XX
Contact: Richard Walsh, Congress Director - Email – [email protected]
Sections, prizes and timings
Open – First £130, second £70. Grading prize £50 U2100
Major - U1900 First £130, second £70. Grading prize £50 U1800
Intermediate – U1750 First £130, second £70, Grading prize £50 U1620
Minor First U1500 £130, second £70. Grading prize £50 U1300
Those without an ECF or FIDE rating can win a maximum of £50 except in the Open and are not eligible for grading prizes
Schedule
6 rounds. ECF rated
20 minutes each plus 10 second increments
Opening of congress – 9.45 am
Round 1 – 10 am
Round 2 – 11.15
Round 3 – 12.30
Round 4 – 14.00
Round 5 – 15.15
Round 6 – 16.30
Prizes and close 17.30
FIDE rapid play rules on time penalties for illegal moves etc will apply. Capacity up to 110 entrants. Arbiter decisions are final and by entering this congress you will be bound by this.
Chief Arbiter – Hambel Willow
Assistant Arbiter – Peter Mulleady
How to enter
Entry cost £25 per person for platinum and gold ECF members + £15 ECF fee for bronze or non ECF members. Bank transfer entry only. Entries received after 14 January, if accepted, will require £5 late entry fee. Entries are not accepted on the day. Please pay £25 or £40 by direct transfer to the Lancaster Chess Club Account (plus late entry fee if appropriate).
- sort code 40-03-33
- account number 82357054
Include your initials and surname as a reference so we can match your payment to your entry.
After payment, please send the following in an email to Richard Walsh [email protected]:
ECF Graded players
Go to the ECF database ecfrating.org.uk and find your details. Click on your ECF Code. Forward a link to this to [email protected] together with which section you wish to enter (open, major, intermediate or minor) and your name and rating. Use the priority list below to determine your grade.
Note – if you do not do this you will be treated as an ungraded player unless we can track your details in some other way.
If you would like to take a half point bye in the first round please let Richard know in your entry e-mail. We are not accepting byes in any other rounds.
Ungraded players
Please email [email protected] the following information:
First Name
Second Name
Sex
Date of Birth
Club if any
Screen shots of chess.com and lichess ratings charts
Note juniors can get free gold membership but they need to get this before they enter to avoid paying the extra £15.
The following priority is used for section allocation and seeding.
ECF Rapid Play Grade
FIDE Rapid Play Rating
ECF Standard Play Grade
FIDE Standard Play Grade
Chess.com or Lichess at the organisers’ discretion
Eligibility for grade-restricted sections is determined by the ECF December grading list.
Grading prizes and pairings will be decided using the ECF January grading list.
Entries so far can be found by clicking on this link
Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - Lancaster Rapidplay 2025
There may be a chess stall in the analysis room selling books etc.
Small Print
A player qualifying for two prizes receives only the higher of the two prizes. Prize money is subject to change depending on number of entrants. In the event of a tie for grading prize, the prize is awarded to the lowest graded player. Swiss manager dictates the pairings in all rounds and they are not changed to suit individual preferences. Cancellations – in the event that a player is unable to attend there will be no refund if the withdrawal is made after 1 December 2024, but please let the organiser know so pairings can be rearranged. A half point bye may only be taken in round 1. If you wish to take this up please let the congress organiser know when you enter.
How to find the venue
The venue (The Centre) is just behind the main church building in the centre of Lancaster. Teas and coffees on a self-service basis will be available. There are lots of places to buy food and drink within a very short walking distance.
Getting there by rail or bus
The venue is 10-15 minutes walk from the railway station. Leave the station and walk up to the main road. Turn left and walk towards the city centre. Cross over at the T junction. Turn right. Carry on until you reach Common Garden St where the buses stop. Turn left down the street and turn right at Penny Street. Walk up the hill until you reach St Thomas church and turn left down Marton Street – the Centre is on the right hand side.
There are plenty of buses to Lancaster. Many stop at Common Garden Street. All other buses stop at the main bus station which is 10 minutes walk to the venue.
Getting there by car and parking
From the North
Leave M6 at J34. Turn onto the A683 and travel towards Lancaster for 1.5 miles joining the one-way system at the traffic lights. Choose the right hand lane and continue for approximately half a mile. Keep going past Dalton Square (statue of Queen Victoria) signed Clitheroe. Go straight up to the traffic lights bearing right and turn right. Bear right again taking the right fork down Penny Street. Turn right at Marton Street just after St Thomas Church and the venue and car park are on your right hand side
From the South
Leave the M6 at J33. Travel towards Lancaster on the A6 North for approximately 4 miles. When you go round the roundabout heading close to the city be in the right hand lane as you pass Lancaster hospital. At the traffic lights bear right and take the right fork down Penny Street. Turn right at Marton Street just after St Thomas Church and the venue and car park are on your right hand side
Parking
There is a dedicated free parking area off Marton Street behind the Centre accessed by a slip road. There are around 20 spaces there. The code to access the car park will be 3173 on the day. First come first served. Apart from that there are a number of parking areas in the centre of Lancaster but all of them charge. If you travel south of the city centre you will find free on street parking down side streets but build in plenty of time to find a space and make your way to the venue.