nottingham rapidplay

Hi -

I'm signing up to take part in the Nottingham Rapidplay on Jan 25th but I just got some questions.

First off, are any other RHP members going to play?

Second, I am not an English Chess Federation member thus have no ECF rating - will I just get put in the lowest rating bracket?

Third, does anybody have any advice, or can share any experience of what these events are like?

Cheers,

lordgledhill

Hi

Good luck in the Nottingham Congress.

You don't have to be a member of ECF to have an ECF grade, you just need to have played 10 rated games.

You are free to enter any of the The Open, Major, Intermediate or Minor as you are ungraded. As, it is your first congress it might be advisable to play in the Minor and see how you perform.

It is quite tiring playing 6 games in one day, but they are fun. So, good luck and let us know how you get on

I thought minor was just for the youth? I'm 25 and graded about 1400 on here realistically, so do you which grouping do you think would be best?

I'm high 1600s on here and if I remember correctly my actual grade's 73 (42 under the old system). You'll be fine whatever catagory you pick. Best of luck!

Edit: you'll probably also be beaten by kids whatever catagory you pick. It's a fact of chess life.

The sections are limited by playing strength and not by age. You are likely to see kids playing in all of these sections and possibly even the open.

If you play 1400 on here I would say that your OTB strength is likely to be below 100 ECF, so the minor would be ok for you, but by all means enter a stronger section if you want to.