This week, in Philadelphia, PA, USA is the 40th Annual World Open. Perhaps one of the largest chess tournaments on the planet, this week there will be THOUSANDS of chess players from all over the globe competing for HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars! That’s a lot of chess sets, and some very large prizes.
I’ll be one of the chess players at the tournament hoping to win my section and take home a large bounty at the end of the long, grueling week of chess games! I’ll be posting blogs all week long on the on-goings of the tournament, how players are doing, and hopefully getting some tips and advice from some of the greatest chess players alive today!
Here’s a rundown of the tournament:
There are 9 sections in the main event: Open, U2400, U2200, U2000, U1800, U1600, U1400, U1200, U900. This is great, because it means everyone in the tournament will be paired against players around their own strength (I’ve done very poorly in the past in “open” tournaments where I was stuck constantly playing opponents with ratings that were several hundred points higher than me round after round… the fact that I’m playing people only withing 200 points or less of my own rating makes me much more confident, and means the games will be much more fierce).
There are several side events including several Blitz tournaments (games of 5 minute time control), the Senior Amateur championships (open to players with ratings under 2010 and aged at least 50 years old), The Women’s Championship (open to all female players of the world), the Under 13 championships (open to all players aged 13 yrs old or less), and the Under 13 Booster (Open to players aged 13 yrs or less and having a rating of U1000).
Between all the sections and bonus tournaments, there will be over $250,000 in prizes! Top prize for the open section alone is $20,000!!!!! For many of us, that’s a year’s worth of pay for winning 9 games of chess!
Time control for the open section is 40/90, SD/30 w/30sec inc. (which, you’ll discover in a future blog means 40 moves in 90 minutes, then sudden death of 30 minutes using 30 second increments). Time control for all the other sections (for the longer schedules) are 40/2, SD/1 w d/5 except for the U900 section and the Under 13 booster which is G/65 w d/5. These time controls are based on the longest possible schedules (which in most cases is 5 days). The time controls get shorter for players that opt for shorter schedules (either 4 days of chess or 3 days of chess).
Personally, I’m playing a full 5-day schedule so I can have as much time to analyze as possible. With several months worth of income on the line for the top prize in my section, I can’t afford to make any mistakes by moving too fast!
There will also be trophies, which is always good to prove you won your section to your friends even after you’ve spent your winnings!
Stay tuned all this week as I bring you as up-to-date with the events of the World Open as I can.
Have a topic you’d like me to cover or a question you’d like to ask? send me an e-mail at [email protected]
