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2018 Fall Chess Classic

This event has already taken place. All information below is for reference only.

Event Details

Oct 10, 2018 - Oct 18, 2018

The 2018 Fall Chess Classic is the third of four tournaments each year featuring international chess professionals. The Fall Chess Classic is comprised of two 10-player Round Robin tournaments. Over the course of 10 days, these competitors will battle for more than $30,000 in prize money and gain valuable experience in top-level events.

The Quarterly Strong Tournaments here at the Saint Louis Chess Club were created so strong international masters and newly minted grandmasters could participate in strong round robin tournaments in which to test their mettle against players of similar levels and to learn from these experiences. These tournaments are very rare. Generally, organizers are more interested in hosting elite events with big names such as Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So or Magnus Carlsen. Opportunities in the U.S. are rare grandmasters at the 2600 level.

Tournament Crosstable

Wins / Draws / Losses

Standard Scoring

1 Win

½ Draw

0 Loss

Rank	Name	Fed.	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	GM Dreev, Aleksey	RUS	2649	x	1	½	1	1	½	½	1	½	½	6.5
2	GM Bruzon Batista, Lazaro	CUB	2653	0	x	1	½	1	0	½	1	½	1	5.5
3	GM Kuzubov, Yuriy	UKR	2652	½	0	x	½	1	½	1	1	½	0	5.0
4	GM Lenderman, Aleksandr	USA	2630	0	½	½	x	½	1	0	1	1	½	5.0
5	GM Robson, Ray	USA	2682	0	0	0	½	x	½	1	½	1	1	4.5
6	GM Akobian, Varuzhan	USA	2641	½	1	½	0	½	x	½	½	0	1	4.5
7	GM Hammer, Jon Ludvig	NOR	2662	½	½	0	1	0	½	x	0	½	1	4.0
8	GM Hansen, Eric	CAN	2629	0	0	0	0	½	½	1	x	1	1	4.0
9	GM Sethuraman, S.P.	IND	2673	½	½	½	0	0	1	½	0	x	½	3.5
10	GM Swiercz, Dariusz	POL	2669	½	0	1	½	0	0	0	0	½	x	2.5

Rank	Name	Fed.	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	GM Gabuzyan, Hovhannes	ARM	2592	x	½	1	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	7.0
2	GM Moradiabadi, Elshan	USA	2534	½	x	1	½	½	0	½	1	½	½	5.0
3	GM Zierk, Steven	USA	2506	0	0	x	½	1	1	½	1	½	½	5.0
4	GM Ashwin, Jayaram	IND	2495	0	½	½	x	½	1	1	½	½	½	5.0
5	GM Azarov, Sergei	BLR	2565	½	½	0	½	x	½	1	0	1	½	4.5
6	GM Holt, Conrad	USA	2561	0	1	0	0	½	x	1	½	1	0	4.0
7	GM Chandra, Akshat	USA	2471	1	½	½	0	0	0	x	0	1	1	4.0
8	GM Boros, Denes	HUN	2439	0	0	0	½	1	½	1	x	0	1	4.0
9	FM Jacobson, Brandon	USA	2443	0	½	½	½	0	0	0	1	x	1	3.5
10	FM Yoo, Christopher Woojin	USA	2402	0	½	½	½	½	1	0	0	0	x	3.0

The Players

Additional Info

Ashwin Jayaram

Invitational Rating: 2495

Christopher Yoo

Invitational Rating: 2404

Eric Hansen

Invitational Rating: 2629

S.P. Sethuraman

Invitational Rating: 2673

Ray Robson

Invitational Rating: 2682

Dariusz Swiercz

Invitational Rating: 2669

Lazaro Bruzon

Invitational Rating: 2653

Yuriy Kuzubov

Invitational Rating: 2652

Aleksey Dreev

Invitational Rating: 2649

Jon Ludvig Hammer

Invitational Rating: 2662

Alex Lenderman

Invitational Rating: 2630

Var Akobian

Invitational Rating: 2641

Sergei Azarov

Invitational Rating: 2565

Steven Zierk

Invitational Rating: 2506

Hovhannes Gabuzyan

Invitational Rating: 2619

Brandon Jacobson

Invitational Rating: 2443

Denes Boros

Invitational Rating: 2439

Conrad Holt

Invitational Rating: 2561

Elshan Moradiabadi

Invitational Rating: 2548

Akshat Chandra

Invitational Rating: 2471

Schedule

Day	Time	Groups A & B
Wednesday 10-October	10:30 AM	Player Meeting
Wednesday 10-October	11:00 AM	Round 1
Thursday 11-October	1:00 PM	Round 2
Friday 12-October	1:00 PM	Round 3
Saturday 13-October	1:00 PM	Round 4
Sunday 14-October	1:00 PM	Round 5
Monday 15-October	1:00 PM	Round 6
Tuesday 16-October	1:00 PM	Round 7
Wednesday 17-October	1:00 PM	Round 8
Thursday 18-October	11:00 AM	Round 9
Thursday 18-October	5:00 PM	Playoff *

* All times listed are CDT (GMT-6).

Prize Fund

**Fall Classic A Prize Fund**
Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1^st	$6,000	6^th	$1,500
2^nd	$4,000	7^th	$1,000
3^rd	$3,000	8^th	$1,000
4^th	$2,000	9^th	$1,000
5^th	$1,500	10^th	$1,000
Total Prize Fund		$22,000

**Fall Classic B Prize Fund**
Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1^st	$4,000	6^th	$800
2^nd	$2,500	7^th	$600
3^rd	$2,000	8^th	$600
4^th	$1,500	9^th	$500
5^th	$1,000	10^th	$500
Total Prize Fund		$14,000

Regulations

Format Summary:
The 2018 Fall Chess Classic shall be a 10-player tournament paired as a Round Robin.

Prompt Arrival: Players are expected to arrive promptly for their games. Players not at their board at the beginning of each round may receive a fine of $500 to be deducted from their prize for each occurrence. Players more than 30 (thirty) minutes late for a round shall forfeit that round. Players who withdraw or forfeit a game may not receive any prize money.
No Draws: A 30-move draw rule will be in effect throughout the Event, including any playoff games. Player may not mutually agree to a draw in less than 30 moves.
No Cell Phones: No cell phones or other electronic devices shall be allowed in the tournament area. Any violation of this policy will result in a fine of $500 to be deducted from Player’s prize for each occurrence. In addition to the fine, a violation involving a cell phone or other electronic device that emits any noise during a game shall result in forfeiture of that game. If a violation occurs in subsequent games, the same penalties shall apply.
Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds (increment) per move starting from move one.
Notation: Due to the 30-second increment, Players are required to maintain an accurate and legible score sheet at all times during all games, and are required to keep their notation up-to-date.
Chief Arbiter Discretion: In the event of an unexpected occurrence, the Chief Arbiter reserves the right to make all decisions in conjunction with or on behalf of the CHESS CLUB.
Playoff Procedures: The following tie-breaks will be used for the purposes of the crosstable and any special prizes or trophies: 1. Direct Encounter (if applicable), 2. Most Blacks, 3. Koya System, 4. Sonneborn-Berger, 5. Won Games. If two or more Players are tied for first, a playoff will be held to determine final standings among all tied players. An Armageddon Game is defined as follows: White shall start with 5 minutes with a two-second increment and black shall start with 4 minutes with a two-second increment. Black shall be declared the winner if the game ends in a draw.
- Two Players: The tie will be broken with a two-game rapid match (G/10 +2 delay). If the contest is still undecided, the match will be decided by an Armageddon Game.
- Three or Four Players: If there are three or four Players tied for first, the Players shall contest a rapid round robin (G/10 +2 delay). If no clear winner is produced, the remaining tied players shall contest a blitz (G/3 +2 delay) a) round robin (if three or four players remain tied) or b) 2-game match (if two players remain tied). If the contest is still undecided, the match will be decided by a series of Armageddon Games.
- More Than Four Players: If more than four players are tied for first place, a combination of math tie-breaks and playoffs will be used to determine the winner. The format if more than four players are tied for first will be determined by the Arbiter and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.