We are pleased to invite all players over 2300 to join us Saturday
April 21st @ 15:00 edt
to give it a try.

Prizes = $400!

First prize is $250 USD.
Second one $100 USD,
and third $50 USD.

Note that this event uses the Swiss pairing system,
and will last 12 Rounds. Should you be disconnected during your
game, your clock will continue to run.

The time control of each game is 3 minutes per
player. All games are rated.

We do have monitors reviewing the games to ensure play is fair.
You are not permitted to use chess programs at any time on WCN.
Note that we will forfeit players we suspect of doing so, at our
discretion.

If your internet connection is unstable, and you are being
frequently disconnected, you may be removed from the tournament.
You may also be removed if your lag becomes unreasonable. A lag value
less
than 600 ms is allowed.

Please do not initiate immediate draws at the start of a game. The
spirit of
the WCN Masters tournament is to showcase you as a top player,
battling
for a victory each game. Drawn games without any moves may result in
being
disqualified from cash prizes.

If a Site Professional wins a cash prize, it will be added to their
monthly
pay report.

If a non-Site Professional wins a cash prize, we will be contacting
you by
email to confirm delivery details. You can also contact Julie Trottier
at
.

Should two players tie for first, both split the cash prize. However,
we
will then ask for a "Best of 7" 1-minute match between the two players
to
determine the title of "WCN Champion".

Should more than two players tie for first, all tied players split the
cash
prize. No further games result.


Winners of the WCN Masters Tournament can also request their prize to
be converted
into WCN Crowns. Each Crown = $1 and they can be used to purchase
Memberships
or Lessons.

To join the WCN Masters Tournament:

Please log in to WCN @ 14:30 edt Saturday, April 21st
Click Play - Tournaments - WCN Masters Tournament

The best of Luck!

WCN website: http://wcn.tentonhammer.com/

Madawaska wrote:

We are pleased to invite all players over 2300 to join us Saturday

We do have monitors reviewing the games to ensure play is fair.
You are not permitted to use chess programs at any time on WCN.
Note that we will forfeit players we suspect of doing so, at our
discretion.

Wow. I wonder how these people think they can
accurately determine whether or not a 2300+ player
is using a chess program. It is much easier with
weak players, like the ones I usually face -- you
just notice that, say, a 1400 is playing exactly like
Fritz.

One example of what I mean would be some of
my early games at GetClub, where the program
was so weak that I was literally able to "play like
a grandmaster", just like the book title! Every
tactic worked, and nearly every game was a sort
of brilliancy, in style, if not in level of opposition.

As if things weren't difficult enough, any 2300+
chess player may be assumed to be clever enough
to attempt to disguise any such cheating by tossing
in some obviously suboptimal moves, here and there.
In view of this it comes off as almost silly to warn
players not to cheat -- as if the warning itself were a
potent anti-venom to computer cheating.

(On the plus side, we now get a superior quality of
chess, due to some of the contestants using programs
to "help" select their moves.)

I can still remember reading about a multitude of
controversies regarding alleged cheating on ICC and
other Web sites. Many claimed to have been
falsely accused, even banned, while others bragged
-- anonymously of course -- about their supposed
exploits in this realm.

Maybe one partial solution would be a test for
entrants, consisting of 2300+ level chess problems
which computers (supposedly) can't solve. But this
would only address *computer program* cheating;
there are, of course, other kinds.

-- help bot