Rules Overview

 

The 2021 UK Chess Challenge takes part over three stages

1) Megafinals (online)
2) Gigafinals (online)
3a) Terafinal preliminaries (online – FIDE conditions)

3b) Challengers (over the board at Daventry Court Hotel)
3b) Terafinal ‘Elite’ (over the board at Blenheim Palace)

Players must play in each stage (*) and qualify for the next stage by meeting the qualifying score.

All the events take place online on lichess.org except for the very final stage – the Terafinal Elite – which will take place over the board.

(*) A fast track option is available to some players with sufficiently high grading. The main qualification for the Terafinal Elite is via the online Terafinal preliminaries – however 2 qualification spaces per section will also be available via the Challengers event. Players who qualify directly from the Terafinal preliminary are not permitted to play in the Challengers.

Key Dates – Main Championship

Terafinal preliminary (Online)

Saturday 4th September
10:00 – 13:30 Under 10s
15:00 – 18:30 Under 12s

Sunday 5th September
10:00 – 13:30 Under 8s and Under 18s
15:00 – 18:30 Under 14s

Challengers (Over the board – Daventry Court Hotel)
Saturday 18th September
Sunday 19th September

Terafinal Elite (Over the board – Blenheim Palace)
Saturday 9th October &
Sunday 10th October

Gigafinal Dates

Saturday 3rd July
10:00 – 13:00 Under 14s and U18s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 12s

Sunday 4th July
10:00 – 13:00 Under 10s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 8s

Saturday 17th July
10:00 – 13:00 Under 8s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 10s

Sunday 18th July
10:00 – 13:00 Under 12s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 14s and U18s

Megafinal Dates

Saturday 12th June

10:00 – 13:00   Under 14s and U18s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 12s

Sunday 13th June
10:00 – 13:00 Under 10s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 8s

Saturday 19th June
10:00 – 13:00 Under 8s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 10s

Sunday 20th June
10:00 – 13:00 Under 12s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 14s and U18s

Saturday 26th June
10:00 – 13:00 Under 8s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 10s

Sunday 27th June
10:00 – 13:00 Under 12s
14:00 – 17:00 Under 14s and U18s

Key Dates – Blitz Championship

Open to Season Ticket and Inner Circle ticket holders only. Players can compete in as few or as many preliminaries as they like. Their top 3 Arena scores will contribute to their final score which will determine the qualifiers for the final.

Wednesday 9th June, 18:00 – 19:00 – Blitz Preliminary 1
Wednesday 16th June, 18:00 – 19:00 – Blitz Preliminary 2
Saturday 19th June, 18:00 – 19:00 – Blitz Preliminary 3
Wednesday 23rd June, 18:00 – 19:00 – Blitz Preliminary 4
Wednesday 30th June, 18:00 – 19:00 – Blitz Preliminary 5

Wednesday 14th July, 18:00 – 20:00 – Blitz FINAL

Key Dates – Variants Championship

Open to Season Ticket and Inner Circle ticket holders only. Players can compete in as few or as many events as they like. Their top 5 Arena scores will contribute to their final score which will determine the final standings.

Tuesday 8th June, 18:00 – 19:15 – Chess 960
Tuesday 15th June, 18:00 – 18:45 – 3 Checks
Sunday 20th June, 18:00 – 19:00 – King of the Hill
Tuesday 22nd June, 18:00 – 19:00 – Antichess
Tuesday 29th June, 18:00 – 19:15 – Crazyhouse
Tuesday 6th July, 18:00 – 18:45 – Atomic
Saturday 10th July, 18:00 – 19:30 – Horde
Sunday 11th July, 18:00 – 19:00 – Racing Kings