Sat 27th - Sun 28th September 2003 Manchester University Refectory
Great Venue Excellent Meals BCF Grand Prix Quadruple points expected

ENTRY FEE £18
Late entry fees Postmarked or emailed after the Sunday before the event £2 Phone Entries £4 (Only accepted the Monday to Thursday before the event. Do not phone after 9.0 pm). Entries on the day £5.
Entry fee reductions MCF Vice Presidents £6 Schoolchildren £5 BCF Direct Members £1
Withdrawal. If you tell us before the day the event starts we will refund your entry fee.

PRIZE FUND First £200 Second £100 Grading Prizes £100 each. Awarded in groups of 15-20 players.

FORMAT Everyone plays in the same section. The tournament is seeded to keep strong and weak players apart except where the weaker players are playing well. This is the third event we have run in this format. It works well. Its advantages are

· The prize fund is proportional to the entries so the congress finances are more secure.

· There is a big money prize for everyone to aim for.

· You have much less chance of having a bye.

TIMETABLE Saturday Rd 1 9.30-1.30 Rd 2 2.00-6.00 Rd 3 6.30-10.30

Sunday Rd 4 9.45-1.45 Rd 5 2.30-6.30 Prizegiving Sunday 6.35

A £2 admin charge will be levied on all prizes not collected at the prizegiving and posted on.

RE-PAIRING Made 30 minutes after the round starts for all players with no opponent.

MOVE RATE 40 moves in 100 minutes, then 20 minutes quickplay.

CONGRESS DIRECTOR Jill Barber 22 Arthog Road Didsbury Manchester M20 6HG Tel (before 9.00pm) 07814-427304.

ACCOMMODATION The nearest hotel is the Grafton Hotel, Grafton Street Tel 0161 273 3092. It is inexpensive and is five minutes walk from the venue.

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ENTRY FORM Full Name ___________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________

Post Code __________ Phone No _________________________ Grade ________

Club ______________________

Entry Fee inc any late fee £_______ Round number if

Late Entry fee £_______ half point bye required

Donation £_______

Entry fee reduction -£______
Total £_______

Send the entry form to the Congress Director Jill Barber 22 Arthog Road Didsbury Manchester M20 6HG. Please make cheques payable to Manchester Chess Federation Congress. Or enter by email and pay when you arrive.

TOURNAMENT CONDITIONS No smoking in the venue. No live mobile phones, pagers etc in the playing hall. The organisers’ decision is final in all disputes. We reserve the right to refuse entries without stating a reason.

VENUE Manchester University Refectory, Oxford Road Manchester. Players are welcome to purchase hot meals etc in the University food hall in the tournament building. The Manchester Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery also have excellent coffee shops and if you finish play early in the morning (Saturday only for the Whitworth Art Gallery) you could try some free culture with your lunch.

DIRECTIONS The venue is a mile south of the City Centre on the west side of Oxford Road opposite Dover Street. By car from the south use the M56. Keep straight on as the motorway ends. Near the city centre follow the signs to “Universities”. Oxford Road is parallel to and east of the road from the M56. From other directions travel along the A57(M) the Mancunian Way and follow the signs to “Universities”. Full directions and maps are available here There is limited parking in side streets to the south and west of the venue. Alternatively, use the University car parks. The Booth Street West (or North West) car park is nearest to the venue.

The nearest train station is Manchester Oxford Road. Turn right on leaving the station and the venue is about 10 minutes walk on the right hand side.

PLAYERS GRADES Players without a grade in the BCF list must quote any other grade they may have eg NW Elo, Yorkshire, Scottish, Welsh, BCF Rapidplay.

To qualify for a prize players without any grade must give details of their playing strength eg any former grade, competitive results, opponents’ grades, in the space below. Such players will be given an estimated grade at the start of round one so we can do the draw. This will be re-estimated after round three for draw and prizegiving purposes.

BOOKSTALL BY CHESS DIRECT, Andrew Butterworth P.O. Box 18 Mexborough South Yorkshire S64 9AR Tel 01709 890565 Web Site Supplier of chess books equipment computers stationery and all your chess needs.