The UMBC Chess Club, in partnership with the USCF, presents the ***** 1996 Pan-American Chess Championships on Baltimore's Inner Harbor ***** DATES: December 27-30, 1996 (Friday-Monday) EVENTS (three separate 6-round events): Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championship Pan-American Scholastic Team Championship Pan-American Open Each team consists of four players and up to two alternates, all from same campus. Any individual may enter the Open; anyone not playing with a team (including any coach, alternate, or individual chess player) is encouraged to enter the Open. The Intercollegiate and Scholastic Team Championships are separate 6-round team Swiss systems. The Open is a 6-round individual Swiss system. SITE: Renaissance Harborplace Hotel 202 East Pratt Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA Tele: (410) 547-1200 (800) 468-3571 Fax: (410) 539-5780 Single or double - $79/room Triple or quad - $89/room Located on Baltimore's beautiful Inner Harbor, the four-star hotel is adjacent numerous attractions and eating places, including an inexpensive food court. PRIZES (all unconditionally guaranteed): Intercollegiate $1000-600-400-200-100 + 19 trophies [Stay tuned--We hope the winning team will once again be given a free trip to Peru.] Scholastic Trophies to top five teams + 10 more trophies [Top scholastic team wins four scholarships to UMBC (1 full, 3 partial).] Open $400-200-100-50 + $250 in class prizes trophy to top university faculty player and to top scholastic coach + 6 more trophies ORGANIZER: Dr. Alan T. Sherman (Faculty Advisor, UMBC Chess Club) Dept. of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering UMBC Baltimore, Maryland 21228-5398 USA sherman@cs.umbc.edu Tele: (410) 455-2666 Fax: (410) 455-3969 Comments and suggestions are welcome! HOST USCF AFFILIATE: UMBC Chess Club http://www.umbc.edu/chess/ ARBITERS: Daniel B. Burg (Chief), National Tournament Director Sam Conner (Intercollegiate Team), National Tournament Director Darwin Dave (Scholastic Team), Senior Tournament Director Allen Beadle (Open), Senior Tournament Director ROUNDS (same for all events): 1. (Friday, December 27): 6pm 2-3. (Saturday, December 28): 10am, 5pm 4-5. (Sunday, December 29): 10am, 5pm 6. (Monday, December 30): 9am Players arriving early are invited to explore the Inner Harbor, including the Maryland Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center. TIME CONTROLS (same for all events): 50 moves in 2 hrs; then sudden death in 1 hr.* Thus, each game will finish within six hours. (*approved by the USCF College Chess Committee in December 1995) TRAVEL: Fly to the BWI (Baltimore-Washington International) Airport, ride Amtrak to Baltimore's Penn Station, or drive to Baltimore via Interstate 95, 70, or 83. There is ample parking at hotel, which is conveniently located off the main downtown exit (#53) from I-95. Fly via Southwest Airlines, the official airlines of the 1996 Pan-Am's: 1 (800) 435-9792. The hotel is a short taxi or shuttle bus ride from BWI, and an even shorter taxi ride from Penn Station. ENTRY FEES Intercollegiate Team: $120 first team, $100 each additional team. Scholastic Team: $80 first team, $60 each additional team. Open: $30 adults, $15 juniors. An additional late fee of $5 per player will be charged for any entry received after December 13, 1996. **Stay tuned for an entry form** SPONSORS: Uptronics, Inc. Southwest Airlines For information on how to become a sponsor, please contact the organizer (Alan Sherman). ELIGIBILITY Any college in the world may enter the Intercollegiate Team Championship. Any primary or secondary school may enter the Scholastic Team Championship. Each school may enter any number of teams. Any person or computer may enter the Open. To enter the Open, it is not necessary to be connected with any school; everyone is welcome. Each team member or alternate must be an undergraduate or graduate degree-seeking student (full-time or part-time). Each player must be registered for the fall 96 or spring 97 semester and be making progress toward the degree. All players of a team must be from the same campus. Non-degree students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty are not eligible as team members; they are encouraged to play in the Open. Players from different campuses of the same unversity system may not play on the same team. Each team will be required at time of registration to submit a signed letter from the school's registrar certifying team eligibility. For more details on eligibility, see the guidelines of the USCF College Chess Committee. CHALLENGE TO CLUB ORGANIZERS Start working toward bringing a team or teams to the 96 Pan-Am's. Many college chess clubs find the Pan-Am's the most exciting event of the year. Investigate sources of funding. For example, at many universities, funding is available through the Student Government, the Office of Student Activities, or the President's Office. Submit a budget to the Student Government and write a letter to the President. Participation in the Pan-Am need not be expensive. For example, a team could drive in one car or van. With four people per room, the hotel cost is only approximately $22/person per night. By registering with the State of Maryland as a tax-exempt organization, all state hotel taxes can be avoided.* There are several ways to select a team. At UMBC, we hold a selection tournament early in the fall semester. Our tournament, the UMBC Championship, is open only to UMBC students. To qualify for our team, students must play in this 5-round Swiss system. We find this method is the fairest procedure (ratings can be unreliable), and we find it helpful to require students to demonstrate a commitment to the team by playing in the tournament. Our tournament also determines the university champion. Other schools may prefer to select the team solely by USCF ratings or through a double round-robin playoff. *To obtain a Sales and Use Tax Exempt Certificate, contact: State of Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury Sales and Use Tax Division 301 W. Preston Street Baltimore, MD 21201-2383 Tele: (410) 225-1300, (800) 492-1751