The Hastings Masters will be a 9-round Swiss, giving norm opportunities.
Rate of Play: 40 moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes to finish, with the addition of 30 seconds per move from the start.
Main prizes: Total prize fund (expected): minimum £10,000. Female, Senior and Rating prizes will be awarded.
Last year’s tournament, featuring 110 participants from 22 federations, was jointly won by GM Alexander Kovchan (Ukraine) and IM Alex Golding (England). Titled players included 7 GMs and 11 IMs.
Round One: 28th December – afternoon; Round Two: 29th December – afternoon; Round Three: 30th December – afternoon;
Round Four: 31st December – afternoon; Round Five: 1st January – afternoon; Round Six: 2nd January – afternoon;
Round Seven: 3rd January – afternoon; Round Eight: 4th January – afternoon; Round Nine: 5th January – morning
The Con Power (7 rounds) and New Year (5 rounds) are aimed at club players as well as those who may not have experience of Congress chess, and will be divided into sections by rating.
Rate of Play: All moves in 110 minutes, with the addition of 10 seconds per move from the start.
Con Power
Under 2050 / Under 1750
Round One: 28th December – afternoon; Round Two: 29th December – morning; Round Three: 29th December – afternoon
Round Four: 30th December – morning; Round Five: 30th December – afternoon; Round Six: 31st December – morning
Round Seven: 31st December – afternoon
New Year
Under 2050 / Under 1750
Round One: 3rd January – afternoon; Round Two: 4th January – morning; Round Three: 4th January – afternoon;
Round Four: 5th January – morning; Round Five: 5th January – afternoon
The Weekend Congress (5 rounds), usually held after the main Congress, will take place between the Con Power and New Year events, with sections for all levels. It is possible to play these three events (Con Power; Weekend Congress; New Year) consecutively.
Round One: 1st January – afternoon; Round Two: 1st January – evening; Round Three: 2nd January – morning
Round Four: 2nd January – afternoon; Round Five: 3rd January – morning
Please note: all sections across all events – Masters, Con Power, Weekend Congress, New Year – will be FIDE and ECF rated.
The Congress venue is Horntye Park Sports Complex, Bohemia Road, Hastings TN34 1EX, which is a 15-20 minute walk from two railway stations – Hastings, and St Leonards Warrior Square. Bus services run from Hastings town centre to a stop on Bohemia Road, close to the complex. There is also on-site parking.
Hot food, sandwiches, drinks and snacks will be available during playing times and between rounds.
Travel
If flying to the UK you may prefer London Gatwick, as there is a direct rail link from the airport to Hastings. The journey time is around 90 minutes. If you are arriving at other London airports, there are trains to Hastings from Charing Cross, London Bridge and Victoria. It is also possible to travel to Hastings from St. Pancras International via Ashford. The journey to Ashford is high-speed.
Please note that there are no trains to Hastings on 25 and 26 December.
Visas
Players needing invitations to support their UK visa applications should please get in touch.
Accommodation
Players should make their own arrangements – there is a wide choice of accommodation in Hastings, to suit all budgets, as well as in neighbouring St. Leonards-on-Sea.
For tourist information not only on Hastings but also on other nearby places of interest, such as Rye and Battle, please see http://www.visit1066country.com
General enquiries: HICCChairman@yahoo.com