USCF 2009 World Chess Live Online Grand Prix

World Chess Live is pleased to return for another year of sponsorship the USCF's Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix. World Chess Live is again offering unique opportunities to earn over-the-board Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix by playing in online tournaments!  USCF members may join online quick-rated tournaments each week on WCL.  Each month, 20 Grand Prix points will be awarded, which count towards your regular OTB Grand Prix totals.  In addition, every tournament is an opportunity for younger USCF members to earn Junior Grand Prix points!

Regular schedule

World Chess Live holds an OGP Satellite tournament each Thursday evening, except during the last Thursday of each month, when the OGP Final tournaments run.  Winners in the Satellites earn free entry into that month's Finals as well as other prizes (see below).

All OGP tournaments require current USCF membership, are USCF quick-rated matches (with a 3 2 time control), and may earn Junior Grand Prix points for qualified members. Only the monthly OGP Final tournaments will also award regular Grand Prix points, 20 each month.

All of these Thursday events start at 8pm server time (U.S. Eastern Time).  No advance registration is required, but you should make sure you have enough crowns in your account before you enter to cover the entry fee.  To join, just log in shortly before the start and click on the Online Grand Prix listing under the Tournaments tab in the Activities window.  Note that your USCF membership number must already be added to your WCL account, which may be done when you first register or later from your account page.

Entry fees

The Online Grand Prix tournaments will normally require an entry fee, which covers the cost of prizes, USCF ratings fees, and other operational expenses. Satellites cost 5 crowns to enter; Finals cost 20 crowns (except for those who win entry tickets by playing in the Satellites).

Crowns are the local units of currency at World Chess Live and are available for purchase from your account page for $1 each or may be won as tournament prizes. They may be used for tournament entry fees, membership fees, chess lessons, or to buy merchandise from the WCL Store.

Weekly Satellite prizes

Nearly half of the entrants in each weekly Satellite tournament will win prizes, with the top 5% being awarded an entry ticket for that month's Finals and the next 10% winning crown prizes.  The top 5% Under 1800 and the top 5% Under 1400 who don't win one of the major prizes will win crown prizes as well.  Finally, one of out every four players who fails to earn a crown prize will win a free month of World Chess Live in a random drawing just for making the effort!

For example, with 40 entrants, the prize structure would look like this:

Note: if a winner of a Finals ticket is unable to play in that month's Finals, the ticket may exchanged for 12 crowns.  The ticket holder must request the exchange at least 24 hours before the Finals' scheduled start time by contacting support@worldchesslive.com.  A player may only win one Finals ticket per month. If a player's score qualifies to win an additional Finals ticket, the next crown prize will be won instead and the ticket passes to the next eligible player.

Monthly Finals prizes

1st Place - 12 Grand Prix points. In addition, each monthly winner will receive an exclusive invitation to compete in the World Chess Live OGP Championship over-the-board tournament to be held at the 2009 U.S. Open in Indianapolis. This elite one-afternoon event will feature a top prize of $1,000!  Note that if a monthly winner has previously won this invitation, it will move down the line to the next eligible player.

2nd Place - 8 Grand Prix points.

Additional prizes will be awarded based upon entry fees collected for all players scoring at least one full point:

All entrants in the Monthly Finals, who score at least one full point, will win a prize, with the top 10% being awarded 40 crowns. The next 15% will get 20 crowns; the next 25% will get 10 crowns; and those in the remaining 50% who score at least one full point will receive a WCL one-month membership extension for each full point scored (half points are ignored). In calculating your group based on these percentages, we'll round upward at or above one-half.

For example, with 20 entrants, the additional prize structure would look like this:

Junior Grand Prix point rules

a) Only USCF Junior and Scholastic USCF members may earn JGP points.

b) To earn points, you must win or draw a game against a higher rated player.

c) 10 points are awarded for a win, 5 points for a draw.

d) A maximum of 20 points may be earned in a single OGP tournament.

e) A maximum of 100 points may be earned in the 2009 Online Grand Prix.

General rules

a) In each OGP Satellite tournament, any ties exceeding the number of available Monthly Finals tickets will be broken by using the WCL Tie Breaks described below. In each OGP Monthly Final, a tie for the ticket to the OGP Championship will also be broken by using the WCL Tie Breaks described below. Crown prizes and USCF Grand Prix points will be divided evenly among the tied players. The completed WCL tournament grid lists players in WCL Tie Break order. The WCL Tie Breaks are sorted within each score by: (1) sum of scores of opponents, adjusted such that if an opponent does not play a round for whatever reason, 0.5 is added to the sum, and (2) average rating of opponents ratings.

b) The use of computer chess engines and databases while playing is strictly prohibited.  Assistance from other players is also prohibited. The games will be monitored during play and reviewed prior to submission to the USCF.

c) The WCL tournament directors may at their discretion make a ruling on a particular game, eject a player from a tournament, reverse results, or refuse to allow a player to join a tournament for any reason including, but not limited to:  failure to show up on time or to start a game on time, concern that the player's Internet connection is not reliable enough for the game to finish in a timely manner, suspicion of chess computer use, suspicion that a player is receiving assistance, or the fact that this player has been caught violating ICC or WCL rules in the past.

d) Prize winners may be denied a prize due to poor sportsmanship, such as dropping out of the tournament without good reason or "throwing" a game once they have been guaranteed a win, as this is not fair to the other players.

Additionally, we reserve the right to retroactively reverse any benefits a player may have gained before, during, or after his or her disqualification due to rules infractions previous to, during, or after the tournament. There is no appeal; WCL’s decisions are final.  Penalties may include, but are not limited to, barring said player from competing in future prize events for an unspecified time period, banning said player from WCL or any other Internet Chess Club, Inc. server, or further sanctions not heretofore mentioned.

Important privacy advisory

Please note that entering any USCF-rated tournaments, such as these Online Grand Prix events, will expose your USCF membership number along with your full name and whatever other personal information the USCF normally makes public, just as if you were playing in an over-the-board tournament. If you prefer to keep your online identity private, you will need to either avoid entering a USCF-rated tournament, or sign up for two WCL accounts, one as your USCF account and the other anonymous.  (A Family membership may be used to purchase a second account at a greatly discounted price along with one full-priced membership.)