Continental Chess- General Tournament Information
For questions, the easiest way to reach us is through email. We do receive many emails, though, and sometimes fail to reply- in that case, we suggest you repeat your email after about a week. You can also call our office weekdays at 845-496-9658. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally the days it is easiest to call us. From mid-December through early February, and during the World Open, the office will usually be closed; you may be able to reach us at 845-234-0386. You also may be able to reach us at 845-234-0386 during the Chicago Open, Kings Island Open, North American Open, Western Class, Foxwoods Open, or New York State Championship. PLEASE USE 845-234-0386 ONLY DURING THESE TOURNAMENTS OR MID-DECEMBER THROUGH EARLY FEBRUARY. AT OTHER TIMES IF YOU LEAVE A MESSAGE AT 845-234-0386, IT MAY NOT BE RECEIVED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.
For the lowest fee you can ENTER ONLINE, and questions may be sent to chesstour@aol.comnojunk (omit nojunk). An entry form is not required, but one can be found opposite the inside back cover of Chess Life, or printed out at www.entryblank.com.
Complete details of all our tournaments appear in the Tournament Life section of Chess Life and in this website. If you have trouble understanding the symbols or abbreviations, see "How To Get The Most From Tournament Life" on the first page of Tournament Life each month, or click on "How To Get The Most From Tournament Life." If you have any difficulty entering online, click here.
For entries only (no questions), you may also call our answering service at 406-896-2038. The answering service cannot answer chess questions and is intended only for players who already know the details and price of the event they are entering. See the announcement of each tournament for the phone entry deadline- generally for tournaments starting on Friday or Saturday, phone entries are accepted only through Tuesday or Wednesday.
REFUND POLICY: If you cannot attend any of our tournaments, call the tournament location 1 to 2 hours before the first round and ask for the chess tournament. You can apply the entire fee to future tournaments, or obtain a refund of the fee minus a $10 service charge. You may also give notice of withdrawal by writing us at least 8 days before the first round, or by email to chesstour@aol.com at least 48 hours before the first round. NO REFUND, full or partial, is EVER given once you have started playing your game in the first round.
PLEASE ALLOW up to four weeks to receive your refund. Especially during busy periods such as June-August or November-January, we tend to have a large backlog of work: entries, refunds, prizes, rating reports, memberships, invitations, questions, hotel contracts & setup, travel to tournaments, etc. If four weeks elapses and your refund does not arrive, it has probably been overlooked- send us an e-mail pointing this out and we will give it priority.
Likewise, if prizes are available at the tournament and you leave without your prize, don't count on it arriving before four weeks. Often it will be much faster, but our large backlog of work may delay it, especially if we had a recent large tournament.
Bring a set and board to every tournament, plus a chess clock if you have one. We supply no equipment. However, there is a book seller at each tournament who also sells sets, boards, and clocks.
At some of our tournaments for inexperienced players, not enough players provide clocks, and an occasional game must be played without one.
If a tournament announcement refers to a "section," then players in that section play only each other. They never face opponents in other sections.
Provisionally rated players are NOT unrated. If you have a provisional rating (a rating based on 4 to 25 games), it will be used to determine eligibility. For most tournaments, provisionally rated players may win all prizes. For our largest tournaments, there are special prize limits, in sections other than Open, for some provisionally rated players. See the publicity for each event for details.
If you have an old rating- even 20 or 30 years old- you are not unrated. Your old rating is still valid, and will be used. Please enter in advance if possible and give us the approximate date you last played, so we have time to do research on your rating.
If you have a foreign rating or category, you are not unrated. Let us know about your rating or category and we will determine which section you can enter. If you win a large prize in a class section, proof of foreign rating may be required before prize is paid. Note that for the World Open and Chicago Open, most foreign ratings count as 1800 minimum- exceptions are CFC and Jamaica (no adjustment) and FIDE and FIDE (100 points added). Other exceptions may be made at Director's discretion.
Make entry fee checks payable to Continental Chess. Checks are accepted ONLY if mailed by the listed deadline. We do not accept checks at the tournament site. DO NOT MAIL ENTRIES AFTER THE ADVERTISED DEADLINE AS THEY MAY NOT ARRIVE ON TIME.
Please do not send letters to our office regarding a tournament after the published deadline for mailing advance entries, as they may not reach us in time. Likewise, please do not call, fax, or email our office after the published deadline for credit card phone entries. Often there will be no one here, as we have left for the tournament. And even if we are here, the person you need to speak to is the tournament director at the hotel. Call the hotel 1 to 2 hours before the first round and ask for the chess tournament.
For credit card phone entries qualifying for a discount, you MUST ask for the discount when calling, or you will be charged full price. We do not maintain files of players' dates of birth, and have no way of knowing you qualify for the discount unless you say so!
We do not routinely send responses to advance entries. To do so would require much time and force us to hold fewer tournaments. Entry confirmations are not necessary and not provided for mail or phone entries, but if they make you feel better, you should enter online. Online entrants may print out a confirmation immediately after entering, and will later receive a confirming email which may also be printed out.
There are other good reasons to enter online. For most events, it costs less. If you establish a password (optional), it is faster. If you use our secure server, it is safer than entering by phone, as your entry is processed online and we do not receive your full credit card number. You can also pay USCF or state memberships online, or ask for half point byes in round one or the first two rounds. If you are playing round one, though, then we don't want to know about your byes in advance- please request them from the Director at the site.
If you enter by mail and wish to be certain your entry was received, check the advance entry list, which will be posted on this website a day or two before the tournament. PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR EMAIL TO ASK WHETHER YOUR ENTRY WAS RECEIVED- we do not offer this service, as it would be a lot more work for us. If your advance entry is not listed, call the hotel Friday after 3 pm (for events starting that day) and ask for the chess tournament, or tell us in person at least 30 minutes before the round.
There is really little reason to worry about an entry being received. More than 99% of all entries mailed 8 days before the tournament reach us in time.
And even if you show up to find we do not have your entry, you will not be turned away, but can still be a late entry. We always have sufficient space, so all entrants will be accepted. In our 40 years of holding chess tournaments, we have never rejected an entry due to space limitations.
There is no "check-in" required at any of our tournaments. If you have entered in advance, disregard the time listed for registration at the site- you can just show up at the round one game time and start playing.
If you wish to enter at the hotel with a half point bye (a draw without play) in the first round, or the first few rounds, you can do so an hour before your first game. Advance notice is not necessary.
AM I UNRATED? 1) NO, if you have a foreign rating or category. 2) NO, if you have a published provisional rating. 3) YES, if your rating has not yet been published in a supplement (it usually takes 1½-3 months from the date of your 4th game)- but you may ask to play as rated if we obtain a pre-publication rating. For the latest published as well as unofficial pre-publication ratings, see the USCF website.
US Chess Federation membership is required for all our tournaments, and may be paid together with the entry fee.
Please avoid paying your USCF dues separately from the entry fee if possible, as this is more work for us, and may be inconvenient for you as well if you must wait on a long late entry line at a tournament.
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