Cork IS running this year

Have not heard that. did he say why?

It would have been very near to the Easter tournaments anyway. Cork is a very good tournament but the Metropole Hotel sure knows how to rip people off with its exorbitant single room supplement. No harm if they get a new venue.

Retd.LoyolaCpt wrote: »

Cork is currently scheduled for the 5-7 October (provisionally). UCD will be running an event on 18th March.

The October date could work very well. Galway used to have this slot, but there was a long gap from the COD to Limerick.
With St Andrews now on the calendar and Cork possibly moving to October, it will give much more early season events when people are keen to play.
Any word on whether there will be a Galway Congress this year?

Is the commons inn hotel a suitable alternative?

Cork Congress is definitely running this year 5-7 October in the usual venue. Entry on the ICU website, full details on the flyer on the Cork Chess Club website. Can't post links myself.

The Metropole is offering a room rate for congress attendees €99 single B&B, €109 double/twin B&B. If The Metropole doesn't suit there are a load of other Hostel, B&B and Hotel options in the immediate area (Coburg Street, MacCurtain Street, Wellington Road & Summerhill North).

Just a reminder that the discounted rate for Cork is Sunday!

https://www.icu.ie/events/975

€50 entry fee is a bit steep! So get the entries in on or before this Sunday!

sodacat11 wrote: »

Not a huge entry for the Cork Congress yet which is surprising considering that it is usually very well attended. I would have thought that the recent Irish Championships and the current Olympiad would have whetted people's appetites for chess as well as Cork offering the chance to brush off the cobwebs before the leagues begin. There is no doubt that a lot of players in the 1900 - 2200 bracket are simply afraid to lose rating points by entering tournaments where they would be among the higher seeds but it is hard to fathom why the rest of the chess world has become so lazy about supporting weekenders.

The lack of fide rating and the tightly packed schedule are what would put me off playing a tournament like this, even if I wasn’t attending a family birthday that weekend. There’s also the simple fact that accommodation in ireland is expensive. A three night stay at the Cork venue will cost the same as my 10 night stay at the Malta Open this November, which is not only fide rated but 3 rounds longer with a stronger field and better schedule. This is not the organizer’s fault of course, they can’t make the hotel any cheaper, but they will have to offer more attractive conditions such as what is offered at the Limerick Open, which I am playing myself at the end of next month, or the Gonzaga Classic.

sodacat11 wrote: »

The Malta Open sounds very interesting. Have you played in it before? Is the hotel nice? Do many people bring their wives/partners with them?

I will send you a PM as to not derail the thread.

reunion wrote: »

Personally I think September/early October is a bad time for a tournament. People have just started school/come back from holidays and are just setting back into routine/still thinking of sunshine at weekends. 

Accommodation wise there are plenty of options around cork. Kilkenny is equally as expensive for accommodation and I'm not sure why you'd need 3 days accommodation!

I would not be playing Kilkenny either for pretty much the same reasons but I will be playing in Malta so it's not really a decision.

Yes, I suppose you could only stay the 2 nights and it would be cheaper but I prefer to enjoy the Sunday evening rather than rush home. However for what is being offered I still don't see it being worth it compared to other events.

eclipsechaser wrote: »

I thought the twin-room deal with The Gresham was pretty reasonable given that it's quite a nice hotel.

Yeah the twin room deal is good but the price for a single room stinks.

Hopefully people bring some friends!

Does anyone know if Filip Sand is playing the Masters section? It's the default option when paying so my guess is he should be in the Minors?

Will Pat Twomey play up or will there be an odd number in the Masters?

sodacat11 wrote: »

Seems silly to allow such a low rated player in if it is going to mean that five players who are eligible to play are going to have to take a bye. This is exactly the sort of nonsense that puts people off supporting a tournament.

His National rating is 1900+ which is being counted.

There are now 60 entries, with 20 in the masters so Numbers have ticked along well in the last week.