Effective from 1st July 2026
This page outlines the rules and regulations for our FIDE-rated blitz and rapid tournaments.
These tournaments are open to all, both members of the Club and non-members. The organisers reserve the right to refuse entry at their sole discretion.
The entry fees are as follows:
We may offer incentives for titled players to enter the tournament, if we believe this will make the event more popular or enjoyable.
Since the tournaments are FIDE-rated, the full FIDE Laws of Chess shall apply.
FIDE Rapid only: The FIDE Quickplay Finish rules (Guidelines III of the FIDE Laws) shall apply.
Games will be played at the following time limits:
The tournaments will start at 7:30pm, and will be paired according to the Swiss pairing rules. Players arriving late for any round may be re-paired at the Arbiter’s discretion.
The number of rounds will be as follows:
Each round will start shortly after the previous round has concluded; a short break between rounds may be added by the Arbiter.
Players may request a half-point bye in the first round, and any number of zero-point byes in any subsequent round. The Arbiter must be notified before the round is paired.
A player who defaults a game without a reasonable excuse may be excluded from the pairings for later rounds of the tournament, at the Arbiter’s sole discretion.
No tie-breaks will be applied. Players finishing on the same score shall share the same rank.
A player’s rank shall be determined by the number of players finishing on a higher total score. For example, if two players share first place, the next highest scorers are ranked third.
The prizes shall be as follows:
Only entrants who are members of Hendon Chess Club by the start of the tournament, having paid any membership fees due, shall be eligible for the Best Hendon Member prize. The organisers may decide to charge the members’ entry fee for entrants who become Hendon members during or after the tournament, but such entrants shall not be considered Hendon members for the purposes of prize distribution.
Each score group is allocated prizes in turn, from highest to lowest score.
The place prize for each score group is defined as whichever of the first and second prizes is applicable to the ranks in that score group, plus any place prizes left over from higher score groups which have not already been awarded. If the top score group contains more than one player, the place prize for that score group consists of both first and second prize.
If there are no members in the score group, or if the Best Hendon Member prize was already awarded in a higher score group, then any place prize shall be shared equally by all players in the score group.
If there are members in the score group, and there is no place prize for the score group, but the Best Hendon Member prize is still to be awarded, then it shall be shared equally by the members in the score group.
If there are members in the score group and both the place prize and the Best Hendon Member prize are still to be awarded, then:
At the end of the prize allocation, if any part of the Best Hendon Member prize remains unawarded, it shall be shared equally by the highest-scoring members, in addition to any other prizes they have won.
It is expected that sometimes an individual player will receive a higher prize than another player with a higher score and the same membership status. It is also expected that sometimes a non-member will receive a higher prize than a member with the same score (non-members do pay a higher entry fee).
The prize calculator at the bottom of this page can be used to apply these rules in any chosen scenario. Some examples are built into the generator to illustrate different types of outcome.
All participants and attendees are expected to adhere to the Club’s safeguarding policy.