Introduction

The Dutch chess club Paul Keres will organize the 49th Utrecht Open Chess Championships (OKU) in 2024. The tournament will be held from Friday May 10 until Sunday May 12 and will be played at the Berenschot office in the south of Utrecht.

Setup

Players will be divided into three groups according to FIDE- or national ELO-rating. Group A is only for players with a rating of 1900 or higher, Group B is only for players with a rating between 1700 and 1950, while Group C is only for players with a rating below 1750. The organization may deviate from these rules in exceptional cases. All groups will play a six rounds Swiss tournament following the FIDE-regulations.
The rate of play will be all moves in 110 minutes + 10 seconds added time per move.

It is possible to take up to two byes in rounds 1 to 4. These two byes in rounds 1-4 will be counted as a draw, and they need to be requested before the start of the tournament. Any other byes or absences will result in an automatic loss of the game. Bye-requests should be communicated to the organization before the tournament starts.

Rating

All results will be communicated to the Dutch chess federation, but not to the FIDE.

Schedule

Prize money

If a tie occurs, prizes are split.

There will also be four rating prizes; 40 euro each for the best players with a rating below 2200 and 2000 in group A, below 1800 in group B and below 1600 in group C.

Entry and contact information

The entry fee of the tournament will be:

At this moment, the entry fee cannot be paid. We will inform you later about the payment.

Registration Form

You can also contact tournament director Jan Jaap Janse by mail or by phone: +31-624395397.
On entry, please give your name, full address, date of birth, club and Elo-rating (KNSB and/or FIDE). Also indicate whether you wish to receive a bye in one of the first four rounds, and which group you like to play in.

Location

The OKU will be held at:
LIFE gebouw (Berenschot)
Van Deventerlaan 31-51
Utrecht (Papendorp)

You can get a simple lunch in the playing venue. Paying electronically is possible. On Friday, you can have lunch close to the playing venue. During the whole weekend, there are a lot of possibilities to eat at the other side of the bridge (20 minutes walk).

Route

You can reach the playing venue from Utrecht-city by the Prins Clausbrug (bridge). Are you coming from highway A2: take exit 8a (from western/southern direction) or 8 (from northern direction). Coming from highway A12, take exit 16. Keep in mind to follow Ring Utrecht-West or Ring Utrecht-Zuid when approaching the city.

Public transport

From Utrecht Central Station, there are multiple options to reach the Papendorp area within 10 minutes. It takes a 10 minute walk from the bus stop to the playing venue. Check 9292. The venue is accessible by public transport even on Sunday morning.

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