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Last updated 12 April 2024
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- 12 Apr 24 | ICCF Grading List 2024/2 Published
- The second quarterly list of 2024 is published on the website today. Look under publications/grading list to see the web page, or go to members/downloads for the pdf version. For further information, please contact Alistair Maxwell.
- 12 Apr 24 | SCCA Magazine 165 Published
- The first e-mag of the 2024 set is being distributed by email today. As usual, members will be asked to download their e-mags from the secure Members' page on the website, while complimentary e-mags will be attached to the email. Download times will be about the same as last quarter. If you have any problems with this edition, please drop me an email at: webmaster and I'll do what I can to help. Enjoy the read!
- 11 Apr 24 | ICCF 9th WebChess Open
- ICCF is delighted to announce the start of the 9th WebChess Open tournament on the server. This announcement is posted on the ICCF website and distributed to all national federations. Working in collaboration with ICCF, the Non-Title Tournament Commissioner, Giorgio Ruggeri Laderchi, will organise the tournament.
- The WebChess Open Tournament is a tournament open to all correspondence chess players worldwide, with or without any previous ICCF experience. The tournament is played over three rounds (preliminary, semi-final, and final). Winners from each group in each round advance to the next round.
- After standard tie-breaks in ICCF rules [1.3.4]: the player with the lowest average rating on the commencement of play. After tie-breaking, if necessary, a small number of best placed 2nd place players will qualify for the final semi-final stage.
- The preliminaries will start on 15th June 2024. The semi-finals will start in June 2026 (sooner if all preliminary groups are completed). The semi-finals will be played with Silli System, if necessary. The final will start in June 2028 (sooner if all semi-final groups are completed).
- All games will be played by webserver with the triple block system. Time control will be Triple Block (Duration of Tournament: 700 days; Initial Clock: 50 days; Initial Bank: 50 days; Increment: 5 days). Please note – without guaranteed time in the preliminaries and in the semi-final and final with guaranteed time.
- All games will be rated with title norms possible. Title norms are not available in the preliminary round.
- Entry Fee: 6,00 Euros per entry. Entries: Multiple entries are allowed.
- Although the number of preliminary groups each player may enter is unlimited, no player will qualify for more than two semifinal groups (or one semifinal group, if played with Silli System) or more than one place in the final.
- Registration: New players to ICCF can enter 1 section for free. They have to register directly at www.iccf.com. All extra entries should be paid if they wish to enter more than one section. They should send their contact information: name, email address, and country to Giorgio Ruggeri Laderchi / NTTC ([email protected]). Players may use Direct Entry (DE) or registration via the national federation (MF).
- Each preliminary and semi-final group winner will receive a voucher prize, value to be confirmed before the start of the preliminary round. It is expected that these we are around 20 and 50 Euro respectively, but the actual amount will depend on entries, and the final shall have a 2.000 Euro prize fund (900 Euro for 1st place, 700 Euro for 2nd place, 400 Euro for 3rd place (prizes will be shared on equal points). All prizes will be given only after the completion of each stage.
- [Rule 1.3.1] Any promotion to a higher section or (other-than-norm) prize or event-related title in an ICCF event requires a plus score from all non-cancelled games, no matter the final placement in the completed section (that is, no matter if first, second, third or fourth place).
- Registration Deadline: The closing date for all entries is 31st May 2024. Pairings will be issued as soon as possible after that date.
- All chess players are heartily invited to enter this tournament, both for the enjoyment of games and for friendly contact/communication with players worldwide.
- 9 Apr 24 | Counties & Districts Correspondence Chess Championship 2024
- Russell Sherwood of Wales, on behalf of the Joint British Committee (formerly BCCA) is pleased to announce the 2024 Counties and Districts Correspondence Chess Championship.
- As in the past the event will be made up of 3 Divisions of teams of 8 players, using the Hutton pairing system. As each player only undertakes 2 games, this is an ideal event for both new and experienced players.
- The closing date for entries is the 7th of April, with an expected start date of the 21st of April, leading to an end date of 22/02/2025 with any remaining games going to Adjudication. The entry fee is Ł15 per team and entries should be sent to the Tournament Organiser, Russell Sherwood, who will confirm payment options.
- Players in established teams should contact their team captains. New players wishing to take part should contact Phil Beckett (ENG) , David Kilgour (SCO) or Russell Sherwood (WLS) for encouragement and advice on possible teams. As a reminder, place of birth, education or residence are all valid qualification reasons for team membership.
- 16 Mar 24 | Rudolf Kolesknikov Memorial Team Tournament Announced
- Non Title Tournament Commissioner Giorgio Ruggeri Laderchi has made the following announcement:
- ICCF is glad to announce the VII ICCF Team Tournament for players rated <2300 – in memoriam Rudolf Kolesknikov.
- All ICCF member federations (that are not currently suspended) are invited to enter their teams to this event, which will be played on the ICCF webserver over two rounds: semi-final and final. The first three teams in the final will receive medals.
- Each federation may enter two teams. All players in a team must be rated <2300 on the ICCF rating list 2024/2 or on the current FIDE list. In addition, all players must be full members of the federation they represent or be registered on the ICCF server for the country of the federation they represent for the duration of the tournament.
- The preliminaries will start on July 1st, 2024. There will be 6 players in each team. A maximum of 3 players may be replaced during the tournament.
- Further tie-breaking procedures: After standard tie-breaks in ICCF rules, the team with the lowest average rating on the commencement of play.
- The right to be promoted from the semi-final shall be determined by the ICCF Non-Title Tournaments Commissioner and approved by the Executive Board at the start of the tournament. The intention is to have a 13 Team final.
- The entry fee will be at the rate of €4 per player, i.e. €24 per team. There will be no further entry fee for the final.
- Time control will be Triple Block (Duration of Tournament: 700 days; Initial Clock: 50 days; Initial Bank: 50 days; Increment: 5 days). Please note – without guaranteed time in the semi-final and in the final with guaranteed time.
- Team entries have to be sent by the national federations to the Non-Title Tournament Commissioner Giorgio Ruggeri Laderchi ([email protected]) not later than June 10th, 2024. No replacement or board change will be allowed after that date, unless exceptional circumstances occur.
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All entries should include the following details:
- board order
- name and ICCF code of the players
- name, ICCF code and e-mail address of the Team Captain
- If you are interested in organising a team and/or taking part in a team, please contact: David Kilgour by mid-May, 2024.
- Rudolf Kolesnikov (1938–2023)
- Rudolf Kolesnikov was born in Tbilisi, prize-winner of tournaments held in Tbilisi and Lviv. FIDE International Arbiter (2001), Honoured Coach of Ukraine (2006). He started playing chess at the age of 10 and was in the youth national team of Georgia in 1953. After graduating from the Tbilisi Institute of Railway Transport Engineers, he was assigned to the Lviv Railway, where he worked until retirement.
- Organiser and arbiter of many correspondence tournaments in Ukraine, ICCF IM (1991), ICCF IA (1999). Captain of the national team in the 5th European Team Championship (preliminaries and final).
- Actively engaged in the popularization of chess, the author of more than 600 articles in almost fifty printed mass media. In 1990, he was accredited as a correspondent of the Lviv Railway newspaper in Novi Sad at the 29th FIDE Chess Olympiad. The author of the books "Correspondence chess in Ukraine" 1994, "My memorable face-to-face and correspondence meetings" 2019.
- 1 Mar 24 | SCCA 2024 Domestic Events Started
- Many thanks to Mickey Blake who has initiated all our major domestic individual and team events again this year. You can access the
x-table links via the following pages:
championship;
premier;
open A;
open B;
open C;
league 1;
league 2; and
league 3.
Challengers fixtures for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 are arranged in mini-tables on the SCO-Challengers page of the webserver.
- 29 Jan 24 | ICCF Qualifications from former Zones Championships
- There have been enquiries from players about what will happen in the transition period with qualifications earned in former Zones Championships. This note confirms that:
- qualifications from the former EU Zone are transferred to the Super Regional EU Championships
- qualifications from the former World Zone are transferred to the Super Regional RoW Championships
- In special cases qualifications from the former Zones Championships may be transferred crosswise, i. e. qualifications from the former RoW Championships may be transferred to the Super Regional EU Championships and vice versa. This is the case when a NF moved from the Rest of the World to Europe or vice versa.
- qualifications from the former EU Zone are transferred to the Super Regional EU Championships
- qualifications from the former World Zone are transferred to the Super Regional RoW Championships.
- In special cases qualifications from the former Zones Championships may be transferred crosswise, i. e. qualifications from the former RoW Championships may be transferred to the Super Regional EU Championships and vice versa. This is the case when a NF moved from the Rest of the World to Europe or vice versa.
- All qualifications earned in the former Zones Championships will expire 3 years after the end of the tournament in which they were earned.
- ICCF Officials:
- Leonardo Madonia; Super-Regional Tournaments Commissioner
- Alberto Martello; Super-Regional tournaments Commissioner - Deputy RoW
- Austin Lockwood; Super-Regional tournaments Commissioner - Deputy Europe
- Uwe Staroske; World Tournament Director
- 29 Jan 24 | SCCA Best Game Prize 2023 Reminder
- Just to confirm that this year’s judge will be IM Valer Eugen Demian of Canada, and we’ll announce the winning entry by end-March. There are still a couple of days left for you to send your submissions, so please direct them to me at my president email address. The main stipulation is that games must have been completed in 2023. Multiple entries are allowed. If you do enter, good luck!
- 27 Jan 24 | Maigonis Avotinš Memorial Event
- The well-known and much liked Latvian ICCF delegate Maigonis Avotinš who died shortly after the ICCF Amsterdam Congress in 2023, is to be commemorated in an event organised by fellow Latvian Artis Gaujens. The playing format will probably be the Silli system, 10 games/player, but the total number of players isn't yet known. It is hoped to start in early February. Please indicate your interest as soon as possible via David Kilgour.
- 25 Jan 24 | SCCA Magazine 164 Erratum
- One of our sharp-eyed readers has pointed out a typo in the Hawkes File article of magazine 164. If you download mag164.pdf from the secure Members' page on the website at your convenience, all should be well. Apologies for the slip!/dd>
- 10 Jan 24 | ICCF Grading List 2024/1 Published
- The first quarterly list of 2024 is published on the website today. Look under publications/grading list to see the web page, or go to members/downloads for the pdf version. For further information, please contact Alistair Maxwell.
- 10 Jan 24 | SCCA Magazine 164 Published
- The fourth e-mag of the 2023 set is being distributed by email and post today. As usual, members will be asked to download their e-mags from the secure Members' page on the website, while complimentary e-mags will be attached to the email. Download times will be about the same as last quarter. If you have any problems with this edition, please drop me an email at: webmaster and I'll do what I can to help. Enjoy the read!
- To all Correspondence Chess Friends,
- As 2023 has ended, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to you and all those dear to you for an extremely healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year. I also sincerely thank all officials and delegates for their devoted work on behalf of ICCF during the last year.
- The new rating system adopted by Congress has been implemented, and the first ratings using the new system have been published.
- As for all other projects, ICCF needs more volunteers for our projects, and I ask all Member Federations to help us by relaying this message to their members, who will be ready to give some of their spare time.
- Let me extend my best wishes for the New Year again. 2024 will bring satisfaction to all your personal and professional endeavours.
- Amici Sumus,
- Eric Ruch
- ICCF President