REGULATIONS 

1. INVITATION

The Government of Vietnam, the People’s Committee of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province and the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF), have the honour to invite all the FIDE member federations to participate in the World Youth Chess Championships 2008 (under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16 and under 18 years old – open and girls) which will take place in Vung Tau, Vietnam, between October 19th (arrival) and October 31st 2008 (departure).

2. PARTICIPATION

2.1 All participants including parents, coaches and accompanying persons are obliged to stay in official hotels. They must be accredited by the Organisers and shall have access to playing venues, the hotels and to activities in the programme.

2.2 Every National Federation can register one player in each category (under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 years old, open and girls). This total of twelve (12) Official Players plus one Accompanying Official shall be hosted by the Organisers. A player must not have reached his 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, or 18th birthday, respectively, on January 1st of the year 2008.

2.3 The players placed 1-3 in the previous World Youth Championships, and the respective Champions of the Continental Youth Championships, shall have the personal right to participate in the World Youth Championships of the corresponding age-category or a higher age-category if the stipulation of Art. 2.2 above is met. Such players shall also be classified as Official Players.

2.4 Other than Official Players, other players shall be classified as Additional Players. All other persons other than players or the Accompanying Official shall be classified as Accompanying Persons. A Federation may register any number of Additional Players and Accompanying Persons but they shall be responsible for their costs of board and lodging.

2.5 The official Registration Form (attached) must be completed and sent to the Organisers before August 15th 2008.

3. FIDE ENTRY FEES

3.1 In accordance with the FIDE regulations, an entry fee of 70 € (Euros) is payable for every Official Player and must be sent directly to FIDE by the National Federation before the event.

3.2 In accordance with the FIDE regulations, an entry fee of 140 € (Euros) is payable for every Additional Player and must be sent directly to FIDE by the National Federation before the event.

4. REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL

4.1 The deadline for registration is August 15th 2008. After this date a penalty of 100 € (Euros) for each late registration will be charged to participants. However, organisers reserve the right to decline late registrations.

4.2 The Registration Form must include the FIDE ID, surname, first name, international rating and FIDE title and the passport details of every player and every accompanying person. It must also include the name, details and phone number/ address/ fax/ email of the head of the delegation. An identity photo (2x3 cm) must also be sent for each participant (All players, coaches, accompanying persons) before August 15th 2008. The photo can also be taken on arrival at the Hotel at the cost of 3 € (Euros).

4.3 All players, coaches and accompanying persons must pay to the Organisers the amount of 100 € (Euros) at the moment of their registration (before August 15th 2008). This Organisation Fee, which covers transportation from and to Airport, identification badge and organisation costs, is compulsory and represents a confirmation of participation.

4.4 By August 15th, the participating National Federation must advise the Organisers on the list of Official Players, Additional Players and one Accompanying Official. If a person pays deposit and not participate the amount is not refundable.

4.5 A player registered in an age-category lower than his/her own, due to a mistake in specifying his/her birthday will see his/her registration suspended until rectification.

4.6 Airport Transfers: Vung Tau is a touristic city and its nearest airport is in Ho Chi Minh City. From Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau by ferry takes 75 minutes or by land transport in less than 3 hours. Participants will be taken to Vung Tau by air-conditioned coaches from the Airport. Participants choosing to land in Hanoi City should take the domestic flight to Ho Chi Minh City which is about 2 hours flight.

4.7 All the travel expenses are the responsibility of the participating National Federation. The Organisers will inform Federations concerning special discount tickets if such arrangement could be successfully finalised.

5. INFORMATION ABOUT VISAS

5.1 Those who need assistance with their visas must return the VISA FORM before August 15th 2008.

5.2 The Organisers will supply official letters of invitation only after all the payments are effected (Organisation Fees and Costs of Board & Lodging for every member of the delegation). Accreditation Card will be sent to the participating Federation and this shall be used as identification at the airport whereupon Visa shall be issued. The cost of Visa is 23 € (Euros)

6. PAYMENT

6.1 BANK TRANSFERS. When registering, the above mentioned Organisation Fee of 100 € (Euros) and the costs of board and lodging must be transferred to the following account:

All bank commissions must be paid by sender; although even if ithese are paid by the sender, there is usually a transfer cost on receiving side (15 €uros) for each transfer - this will also be charged to sender.

6.2 CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS may be made to Intchess Asia Pte Ltd.

6.3 As soon as the payment transfer is confirmed, the Organisers will send to the participating Federation the confirmation of the hotel reservations. Also all confirmed registrations will be declared on the official web site, where Federations may check their participants’ status on a daily basis.

6.4 Players will not be paired until all the payments are effected to the organisers.

7. HOTELS - BOARD & LODGING

7.1 The Organisers have booked 24 hotels (all fully air-conditioned) in Vung Tau. Attached is the Hotels List – providing details like; the hotel category, number and type of rooms available and the rates. A map of Vung Tau showing all Official Hotels and the Playing Venue is also provided. These hotels are situated within a radius of maximum travel time of 10 minutes to the main playing venue, the Vung Tau Sports Stadium. If necessary, Palace Hotel will be the secondary Playing Venue for older age-groups.
7.2 The organisers provide free board and lodging inclusive of three meals to all Official Players and the Accompanying Official for each Federation from October 19th (including dinner) to October 31st (including breakfast) in twin/triple rooms in 3-star hotels. These 3-star hotels are spacious and clean. Free wireless connection is available in most of the hotel guest rooms.

7.3 Federations who wish to upgrade must pay the price difference according to the Hotels List. Special arrangements can be made for those accepting 2-star hotels.

7.4 Additional Players and Additional Accompanying Persons must pay for their costs of board and lodging in advance. The payment will be done only in Euros.

7.5 If a participating Federation does not send a player in any age category, they cannot substitute this for another age category.

7.6 Costs for Board & Lodging. Although the deadline for registration is August 15th, if a Federation pays the entire cost of board and lodging and the Organisation Fees before July 15th, they will be given a 5% discount only on hotel costs.

7.7 Rooms will be booked on the principle of FCFS (First Come First Serve Basis). We advise Federations when choosing the hotel of their choice to name 3 hotels in order of priority.

8. TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

The tournament will be played using the Swiss System with 11 rounds. The national rankings will not be taken into account for pairings. The rate of play will be in accordance with the FIDE rules: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Official tie-break rules of FIDE will be adopted.

9. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

10. PRIZES

10.1 In every category, the top three players, after tie-break, will be awarded with trophies, medals and the following gifts:-
1st place – Laptop Computer
2nd place – Ipod Video
3rd place -- Wooden Chess Set

10.2 Prizes will also be awarded to those who finish 4th to 10th places.

10.3 For each category, the top 3 players of the 3 top Federations will be awarded team medals based on the total score of these 3 players. Federations with less than 3 players will not be eligible for a team award. In case of any tie, the tie-break scores of each player shall be considered.

10.4 The best 3 Federations will receive additional prizes based on the overall ranking in the Championships. Ranking is by number of gold medals, followed by the number of silver medals and then the number of bronze medals. If a tie cannot be broken, then the total points of medallists will be taken for tie-break.
1st Federation – 30 Clocks
2nd Federation – 20 Clocks
3rd Federation – 10 Clocks

10.5 All players and arbiters will be given diplomas for participation.

11. APPEALS COMMITTEE

The Appeals Committee will consist of 5 members and 2 reserves chosen from among the participating delegations.

12. TOURNAMENT BULLETIN

Daily Bulletins will be given free to all players and the Accompanying Officials. Additional bulletins will be sold.

13. SOCIAL TALENT NITE

All participating Federations are encouraged to nominate at most one performing group or single to perform on Social Talent Nite – it could either be singing, dancing or a short act - and may be in any language. This is a traditional activity in the ASEAN Age-Group Chess Championships in the past 9 years.

Depending on the number of performances, at least 5 attractive prizes will be awarded.

14. JOURNALISTS

All journalists who wish to participate in the event should contact the Organisers and should be accredited. The press room will have ADSL internet connection as well as other facilities.

15. STANDS

Anyone who wishes to rent a promotional stand on location should contact the Organisers for rental conditions. No one will be allowed any promotional space (except FIDE) to have a stand for merchandise or other services, without approval of the Organisers.

16. SEMINARS

During playing sessions, seminars will be conducted for Trainers and Arbiters simultaneously. Full details will be announced on the FIDE website in July.

17. WEATHER CONDITIONS

In October, the weather of Vung Tau is warm and around 30º C. There may be rain showers.

18. ELECTRICITY

The standard voltage in Vietnam is 220 Volts. The plugs used for appliances are twin round plug.

19. CURRENCY & EXCHANGE

The local currency is the Vietnamese Dong. The exchange rates as of April 2008:-

20. CONTACT INFORMATION