Chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition among multiple serious players.
Today, the most recognized chess tournaments for individual competition include the Candidates Tournament and the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. The largest team chess tournament is the Chess Olympiad, in which players compete for their country's team in the same fashion as the Olympic Games. Since the 1960s, chess computers have occasionally entered human tournaments, but this is no longer common, because computers would defeat humans and win the tournament.
Most chess tournaments are organized and directed according to the World Chess Federation handbook, which offers guidelines and regulations for conducting tournaments. Chess tournaments are mainly held in either round-robin style, Swiss-system style or elimination style to determine a winning party.
History
Although modern chess had been established since around 1475, the first tournament was in Leeds in 1841. There was a knockout tournament in London in 1849 and a tournament in Amsterdam in 1851. The first international chess tournament was held in London in 1851. The London 1851 tournament took place during the Great Exhibition, and would serve as a guide for future international chess tournaments that would follow it. The tournament not only showed the need for time controls but it also clearly demonstrated the drawbacks to the knockout elimination tournament format. It was won by Adolf Anderssen of Germany, who became regarded as the world's best chess player as a result.The number of international chess tournaments increased rapidly afterwards. By the end of the 1850s, chess tournaments had been held in Berlin, Paris, Manchester, New York City, San Francisco, Birmingham, and Vienna. By the end of World War II there were 24 international chess tournaments per year, and by 1990 there were well over a thousand.
Chess Olympiads
An attempt was made in 1924 to include chess in the Olympic Games. However, because it was very difficult to distinguish between amateur and professional chess players, the event was called off. While the 1924 Summer Olympics was taking place in Paris, the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad took place separately from the Olympics, but also in Paris. The Fédération Internationale des Échecs was formed on the closing day of the first unofficial Chess Olympiad. FIDE organized the first official Chess Olympiad in 1927 in which there were 16 participating countries. By the 29th Chess Olympiad in 1990, there were 127 member countries. The Chess Olympiads were held at irregular intervals by FIDE until 1950; since then, they have been held regularly every two years.Computers in chess tournaments
The first chess engine to beat a person in tournament play was the Mac Hack Six, in 1967. Soon after, tournaments were created just for chess computers. In 1970, the first North American Computer Chess Championship was held in New York City, and in 1974, the first World Computer Chess Championship was held in Stockholm. Kaissa, a chess program of the Soviet Union was named the world's first computer chess champion. In 1995, the first World Computer Speed Chess Championship was held in Paderborn, Germany for blitz chess. For a time, computers competed in human tournaments as well, but computers have become so strong that humans are no longer able to compete with them; players now tend to treat them as analysis tools rather than as opponents. Interest remains in computer chess tournaments, especially the World Computer Chess Championship and Top Chess Engine Championship.Rules
FIDE publishes a handbook giving rules for chess tournaments. This includes sections giving the rules of the game, but there are also sections specifying how tournaments are organized and regulated.The chess clock
A chess clock is a clock with two separate time displays of which only one display can be running at a time. The player with the black pieces will initiate their opponent's timer at the start of the game. Thus the player with the white pieces will have their timer running first, and will make the first move. The player or the arbiter may end the game at any time after the player's opponent has overstepped their time limit. If a timed-out clock remains unnoticed, the game will continue as normal. If the game needs to be interrupted, the arbiter shall stop the clock.Due to most tournaments having increment or delay as well as digital clocks being more precise, digital chess clocks are the preferred choice of equipment in tournaments.
Irregularities
If it is found that the starting position of the pieces was incorrect, the game must be cancelled and restarted. If it is found that an illegal move has been made, the game must return to the position directly before the irregularity. For the first illegal move by a player, the arbiter shall give two minutes extra time to his opponent. If a player makes a second illegal move in the same game, the arbiter shall declare the game lost by the offending player. If a game begins with the piece colors reversed, the game should be stopped and restarted unless an arbiter rules otherwise. If a player displaces any pieces, they should place them in the correct locations on their own time.The recording of moves
In games with long time controls, each player is required to record all moves of the game in algebraic chess notation. If, however, a player reaches less than five minutes on their clock, and does not have an increment of thirty seconds or more, they are excused from recording the remaining game moves until the game has been completed. At the conclusion of the game, both players must sign each other's score sheets and turn them to the event organizer if instructed to do so. In fast chess games, players are not required to record moves, as it would take away from important thinking time. The score sheets must be visible to the arbiter at all times.The drawn game
A player must make their own move before offering a draw, and must not stop their own clock and start their opponent's clock before they have made the offer. If a player does not make a move before offering a draw, the opponent can request a move before considering the draw offer. No conditions may be attached to a draw offer. If a player claims a draw according to the rules of chess, the player is allowed to stop both clocks and record the draw claim as long as their opponent agrees to the claim. If the opponent disputes the draw claim, the director may be called to come to a conclusion. If the claim is found to be correct, the game is drawn. Once a player has made a move from a position eligible for a draw, they lose their rights to claim a draw in that position.Quickplay finish
The quickplay finish is the phase of the game when all remaining moves must be made in a limited time. If a player has two minutes or less left on their clock, they may ask the arbiter to adjudicate a draw. The arbiter must decide if the player's opponent is making any attempt to win the game by normal means, or if the position can be won in any way. If the arbiter decides against a draw, the player's opponent will be awarded two extra minutes of time. Otherwise, the game is drawn, and the decision of the arbiter is final.Scoring
Players are granted one point for a win, a half point for a draw, and no points for a loss toward their tournament score. A minority of tournaments use alternative scoring systems such as "football scoring", but they are treated the same as regular scoring for the purposes of Elo rating. Full-point byes are received when a player is excluded from a round because of an extra player. Thus, in tournaments with an odd number of players, a different player will receive a full-point each round. A full-point bye is equal in points to a normal win. Half-point byes can be requested by a player who will be unavailable for a round. If accepted, the player will receive a half-point, as if they had drawn the game. A player who wins by forfeit or default will also be granted one point.Player conduct
Players are not allowed to take any action that will bring the game into disrepute. For example, deliberate attempts at cheating by sneaking a captured piece back on to the board can be punished by this rule, rather than the rules dealing with illegal moves.Players can not make any use of any outside information. This includes advice, notes, and analysis of another chess board. During play, a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or any other electronic means of communication in the playing venue; failure to comply with this may result in a forfeit. Chess may be used for recording matters relevant to the game. Players should not distract or annoy their competitor in any way. Once a player has finished their game, they are considered a spectator. Refusal of a player to comply with the rules may result in penalty, up to and including forfeiture of the game or even disqualification of the player. If two opponents both refuse to obey the rules, the game may be considered lost by both players. In 1976, smoking was banned in a major tournament for the first time.
The role of the arbiter
The arbiter must see that the Laws of Chess are observed and make decisions in the best interest of the competition, but must not interfere with the game otherwise. If a rule is broken, the arbiter may choose from a number of penalties including the following:- warning the offending player
- increasing the remaining time of the opponent
- reducing the remaining time of the offending player
- declaring a game to be lost
- reducing the points scored in a game by the offending player
- increasing the points scored in a game by the opponent
- expulsion of the offending player from the event.