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I am vague on purpose. I expect lots of replies. I expect subtopics to develop. some will write about chess professionals. I care more about the plight of chess enthusisastes.
It seems to be the goal of organizers of hotel chess tournaments to attrack grandmasters. They lose money on the open section. # of entries * EF < prizes and the give free entry to grandmasters. This is possible becuase the make a huge profit on amatuer sections. Now amatuers are often bared from the top sections. What do we care if across the room there are several grandmasters playing. We focused on our game. If somone truly wants to enjoy the gramdmasters in the tournament they should not play but just watch. Ironically spectators pay nothing. If the profit on every entry fee was the same regardless of which section was entered the entry fees in amatuer sections would be lower and the prizes won be grandmasters would be lower. I have no problem with players who want to support grand masters, but there shuould be more tournaments that a designed for players who dont want to support grandmasters. Who is to blame? We, players rated below 2200, are to blame. We have to stop paying huge entry fees. Fiancially we are better off when there are no cash prizes and the entry fee is under $50.
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I have never played nor watched a chess tournament. Hotel chess tournament? Can someone give me information on this or websit to look up. Who runs these hotel tournament and where are they located??....Ty for any info you have...
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In the old days everybody played in one section and paid the same entry fee. There weren’t accelerated pairings so the first round was pretty much a ‘gimme’ for the players in the top half. The first 3 places got the bulk of the prize money with class players getting a cheap trophy or book. Most everybody including masters were playing for fun. You only saw GM’s at really big opens (US Open, American Open, etc.). Titled players rarely played in small events because they weren’t FIDE rated and I suppose there were financial considerations.
During the Fischer Boom TD’s discovered they could attract a lot more players if they offered substantial prizes, but in order to pay for the prizes they had to charge huge entry fees and divide players into sections. Prior to that most TD’s directed for the love of it and not a few lost money (which usually came out of their own pocket). During the Fischer Boom a few guys became professional TD’s.
Back then because it was a lot of work and no money in it, weekend tournaments were few…not like today where you can play every weekend if you want.
I can remember traveling by bus, staying and playing in a $3.00 a night shabby YMCA in a rundown part of the city. No air conditioning, community showers, squeaky floors and no restaurants nearby. One YMCA had a Walgreen’s down the street that had a lunch counter that served greasy hamburgers, French fries and milkshakes. It was packed with players between rounds. Some players actually traveled a couple of hundred miles to play in those events! I played there several times and even won a book once!
There are advantages and disadvantages to both ways.
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"There are advantages and disadvantages to both ways."
It seems to me that things are better than they used to be but not what I want them to be.
mobe
Go to uschess.org The us open is a good example. Now there are lots of tournaments held at hotels. For example I have played in New Jersey Open. Since you asked for a definition
Hotel chess tournament - an over the board chess tournament held at a hotel. The organizer rents a large room and often many small rooms in additon to a large room. The hotel provides tables and chairs. Chess players bring their own pieces and clocks. Some times the chess organizer provides paper chess boards. The organizer negotiates a dicounted room rate for chess players. The hotel often returns part of the fee for the chess playing rooms or offers the organizer better rates for future events if lots of chess players stay at the hotel. These tournaments tend to last 3 - 14 days. In the past the time control was always slow ie 40 moves/2 hr. Today TD's often offer multiple time controls to accomondate schedules. Players who play preliminary rounds at Game/60 cant play the first 4-6 rounds in half the time. All schedules merge for the final rounds which are typically a slow time control.
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We have already mentioned several changes intended to attract more chess players. Since the bulk of the players dont win money I would think they could demand lower entry fees. The TD/ organizer decides prizes and entry fees. He is financially motivated. If we "vote with our feet" we should get tournaments that are favorable to us. If we insist equal profit from every entry fee The TD will hold the type of tournaments we want.
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I talked to a TD from a large city who occasionally offers tournaments with small entry fees of $10 or $15 and typically first prize $100, 2nd prize $50 plus he usually includes a couple of other small prizes. IF he is lucky he breaks even. I stopped by one last year and there was one master and one expert and fewer than a dozen others who were probably rated under 1600 or so. One the other hand when one of the major organizers puts on a big event at the airport hotel with exorbitant EF’s, expensive room rates, parking and food and offers big prizes players come out of the woodwork. I think guys like you and me might be in the minority on this one!
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