Rules and Conditions

Entry into the tournament is an implied agreement to abide by these rules and conditions.

  1. Organisers reserve the right to refuse entry to a player.

  2. There is no analysis in the playing hall.

FIDE Rules

The competition will be run in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess, which can be found on the FIDE website here.

TIME CONTROL

The time control for both the 2023 Australian Open and the 2023 Australian Minor will be:

90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for all remaining moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.

Pairing system

All pairings will be done with Vega software https://www.vegachess.com/ns/home. FIDE ratings will be used for pairing purposes and prize eligibility.

BYEs

If a player is unable to play a round (for any reason), they must inform the Chief Arbiter. Any player who forfeits a round and does not explain their absence to the arbiters may be withdrawn from the tournament.

Requests for half-point byes must be made before the start of the previous round to the round concerned (i.e. a request for a bye in round 3 must be made before the start of round 2).

If such a request is approved, a player will receive half a point (0.5) for the relevant round with the following exceptions:

1. In the final four rounds (Rounds 8-11), no half-point byes are available.

2. A player may only receive a maximum of one requested (1) half point bye.

Forfeit time

Any player who arrives at the chessboard more than 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the round shall forfeit their game, unless the arbiter decides otherwise.

Mobile phone policy

We will be enforcing a strict No Mobile Phone usage during the event policy. Players and spectators must ensure that all mobile phones and other electronic devices are switched off at all times within the playing venue. This includes tablet computers, PDAs, MP3 players and any other devices that can receive external transmissions. Any player who is found to have such a device on their person shall lose their game.

For non-players who are found to be carrying an electronic device that is not completely switched off, the penalties are as follows: exclusion from the tournament hall until the start of the next round (in the case of player who has finished their game), or for the rest of the day (in the case of a spectator).

Disputes Procedures

An appeal against a decision of an Arbiter must be submitted to the Chief Arbiter before the time that the next round is paired.

The Chief Arbiter will investigate the appeal and make a ruling.

If a player is not happy with a ruling of the Chief Arbiter, then they must submit an appeal in writing to the Tournament Appeals Board. Such an appeal must be accompanied by a deposit of 200 AUD, which may be refunded if the appeal is found to be not entirely frivolous.