Galway Chess Congress 2020: 20th to 22nd March

Pete Morriss

Entries are now open for the 2020 Galway Chess Congress, which will be held on 20th to 22nd March at the Menlo Park Hotel, Galway. There are three sections, for players of different strengths, so it is suitable for everybody from Grandmasters to beginners. (We have one Grandmaster entered already.) Full information about the tournament is on the Congress webpage, and you can also enter online there. We're looking forward to seeing you in March.

Pete Morriss

The Galway Chess Congress is approaching, and we would welcome your entry.

In particular, if you are rated 2200 or over (ICU) you can have FREE entry, but only if we receive your entry on or before Monday 24 February. And if you are rated 2000 or over, but below 2200, you can have a special discount of €20 off the normal entry fee, but again that offer expires on 24 February. We already have two GMs (from Ireland and Denmark) and an FM (from England) in the top section, and we would welcome some more strong players to join them.

Players with a more humble rating (or none at all) are also very welcome to enter; for those not rated 2000 or above there is an early-entry discount of €10, which expires on 8 March. That is still some time off, but as it is very easy to intend to do something and then forget all about it, why not enter now, whilst it is on your mind?

You can enter, and pay, through PayPal via this link, or by post, should you wish (details are at that link). Alternatively, I will accept entries, and payment, in person at Bunratty, but not when I am playing, please. Full information about the tournament, including information about accommodation at the venue (the Menlo Park Hotel) and elsewhere in the vicinity, is on the Congress webpage.

Thank you. If I show up one minute late, will the basic concept of common sense & discretion be thrown out the window?

sodacat11

Lawrence Howling Pest LOL great name!!

Pete Morriss

Deleted User wrote: »

Thank you. If I show up one minute late, will the basic concept of common sense & discretion be thrown out the window?

In Galway we do attempt to start the rounds on time, as a show of courtesy to the players. However there is a 'default time' of one hour (longer than in many tournaments), so that a player can arrive up to an hour late without thereby losing the game. We do ask players who may be delayed (or not arrive at all) to notify us as soon as possible, and we then try to re-pair games whenever we can; we do recognize that people do not go to the trouble and expense of playing in a chess tournament because they want to spend ages sitting at a board wondering whether or not their opponent will show up.

Pete Morriss

We very much regret that given the widespread concern about coronavirus, and particularly given the government's announcement today (12 March), we feel that we are now forced to cancel the Galway Congress scheduled for 20th to 22nd March. We know that this will be a disappointment to many, but we feel that cancelling is the only responsible course of action at this stage. We are refunding all entry fees.

We may be able to reschedule the 2020 Galway Congress, rather than cancelling it altogether, but we will make no decision about that until it is clear that coronavirus is no longer a problem. That obviously will not be for several months.

Sorry not to be seeing you in Galway, but hopefully we will do so later. In the meantime, stay safe!