Welcome to the official UM Chess Tournament, 2005. The tournament is a UM sponsored event which will give our members the chance to compete for the title of top UM chess player 2005. Everyone is invited to take part, the only thing you will need is to know how to play the game.

How it will work
For this tournament, every member taking part is allowed to count two games between them and another member towards their total tournament score, one game as white, and one as black. You can play against someone more than once, but only the actual tournament match results will count, so you could for example decide to have a practice game first and then play the actual matches afterwards. Every member taking part can play every other member taking part. At the end of the tournament, the member with the highest score will win.

Where do the matches take place?
It's up to you what chess system you use to take part, some chess systems allow you to take it in turns over a period of time to play, as oppose to being a 'live' match. You will need to organise with other members when and where you play, but to help out, here are the best Chess systems i've found online that should suit everyone's needs.

Hoyle Chess - Live Matches
http://hoylegames.sierra.com/

Red Hot Pawn - Turn-Based Matches
http://www.redhotpawn.com/

GameKnot - Turn-Based Matches
http://www.gameknot.com

How does the scoring work ?
After a qualifying match has been played, one of the participants will need to make a post to this thread, including who won. The score will then be added to the scoreboard, which will stay pinned at the top. The winner of a match will gain 3 points, if the match is a draw then both participants will receive 1 point each. The match will also be recorded so that points for repeating that match between the same two members with the same colours will be discounted.

I want to take part!
To take part, there are several ways to get started. Firstly, check out the 'Tournament Participants' thread for a list of all the members who have so far expressed an interest in participating. You can either send someone a PM or email to organise a game, or start a thread on the tournament board to see if anyone would like to play with you. Remember to start a thread with the details of the match outcome once you've finished playing.

I have a question which is not covered here
Please feel free to post questions to this thread and I will do my best to answer them. Commonly asked questions will be added to this FAQ.

Thanks, and good luck.

How long are the games?

There is no set time limit for a game, however players who do not move for a long period of time will eventually be timed out and the other player wins.

Will there be a prize for the winner, like being part of a members group, called UM Chessmasters

I'm sure we can arrange something along those lines

I have a question. As white always has the advantage, who decides who plays what? Is there some way we can divide the participants so that they start an equal number of match white as black? Or is it just down to who challenges first?

Updated

Each player will play two games against every other player, one game as white, and one game as black. The scoreboard has been updated now to reflect this.