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Useful Information & Links for Tournament Players

Below is a collection of helpful resources for players participating in Mechanics' Institute tournaments.

List of topics below:

 

Late Fee, Waitlist, and Refund Policy

Mechanics' Institute Chess Club has a capacity of 80 players. On rare occasions , we may be able to accommodate a few more players by opening up the Annex or the meeting room.

A late fee of $10 is applied at 90% capacity (after 72 registered players) or 24 hours before the event start, whichever comes earlier.

Once the tournament is full, we welcome players to sign up for the waitlist on the Jumbula registration pages. We are monitoring withdrawals and accepting players from the waitlist as space permits. Typically, there are 5-10 players accepted from the waitlist.

Take advantage of our generous refund policy: If you cancel before we pair for Round 1, we will refund you the entry fee one of two ways: full amount (no processing fee!) back to the Jumbula account or with a $5 processing fee back to your credit card. 

 

Play-up eligibility, Play-up fee, and Pairings

Play-up eligibility is determined by a player’s supplemental or actual US Chess rating. Either the supplemental or the actual rating must be within 200 rating points of the lowest rating of a section for the player to be eligible to play up to that section.
We only take converted FIDE ratings to determine play-up eligibility if no US Chess rating is available.
Play-up fees are always determined by the monthly supplemental rating and not the actual rating. Therefore, even if someone has an actual rating that puts them into the section, if the supplemental is under the lowest rating of that section, the player must pay the play-up fee to be in that section.
The pairings are always based on the monthly supplemental ratings in Swiss tournaments. This means that players who might be eligible to play up based on their actual rating will be paired with their monthly supplemental rating. This might give you the impression that they are ineligible in that section, but rest assured, we are checking for those, and if they are in the section, we have determined that they are eligible. This is done to be fair in deciding opponents, color allocations, and full-point byes. Players will continue to have the option to use the actual ratings in the Quads tournament for placement.

 

Custom Payment Page

Players who need to pay outstanding fees—such as play-up fees, partial entry fees, or other tournament-related charges—can do so via our custom payment page.

Make a payment: https://milibrary.org/chess/custom-payment.php

 

U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) Membership

Most of our tournaments are USCF-rated, which means all players must have a valid and current USCF membership.

Check Your Membership Status:

Renew or Purchase a USCF Membership:

 

FIDE-Rated Tournaments and FIDE ID Requirement

Some of our tournaments are not only USCF-rated but also FIDE-rated. To participate in these events, all players must have a FIDE ID.

Obtaining a FIDE ID is free of charge, and we can help you request one through the U.S. Chess Federation.

How to Request a FIDE ID:

Please complete the short form at the link below to provide the required information:

FIDE ID Request Form: https://forms.gle/2qxEVrTJrPrLKQ1i8

If you're registering multiple players (e.g., your children), please submit a separate form for each player, using a unique email address for each one.

Important Notes:

  1. A player may be registered under a national federation if they are a citizen, naturalized citizen, or legal resident of that country.
  2. If you are not a U.S. citizen or resident, we cannot request a USA-affiliated FIDE ID on your behalf. Instead, please contact your country’s national federation directly:
    FIDE Member Federation Directory: https://fide.com/directory/member-federations
  3. The following information will be collected in the form and shared with US Chess for the FIDE registration:
    1. Full name, USCF ID, Date of Birth, Address, Gender (Note: FIDE requires gender to be listed for all players and currently only accepts "Male" or "Female" as valid entries.)

 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. We're happy to help you through the process!