Are there any specific requirements for tournament venues? This summer we have a free outdoor space that is available with enough tables for over 100 players. Thank you in advance.
I would certainly make it clear it was an outdoor venue in pre-event publicity, but I’ve been to outdoor events and they were fun.
Noise and lighting are somewhat out of your control, and you may need a rain date policy if the weather is bad.
Thank you! Great to know that outdoor events are allowed. Noise and lighting would also be added to the event disclaimers ahead of time. Good thought.
Anybody who doesn’t like the outdoor venue conditions would have the choice not to enter.
Recently it’s been really windy here (gusts up to 40 MPH), I don’t know if a non-weighted set would be affected. Bring some masking or painter’s tape to tape down the edges of board if it’s windy.
We use to meet in a cafe that could be quite noisy - usually had music playing.
We could use the back area for free on Saturdays from 1:30 to 6 – after lunch rush.
I decided to go for rated chess 2 rounds @G/40 – I figured I would at least get 4-10 players who were ok with the conditions. I made sure that the tournament announcement clearly stated the venue will be noisy/music – Most surpassed 10 and for one (30?) we had trickle into the front room. I made sure that before I closed registration that everyone had a chance to bail out if they thought the background noise was too much. One of the I announced on the Saturday morning of the tournament (there was another tournament (all day event) on tat Saturday and I did not want to cut into their attendance) I think I got 12 to play.
I did think of doing an outdoor event, but just seemed too ri$ky for my taste. Some of them did not have very good tables/shelters and none were free. I would take my chances on playing in one as long as it was not in June/July/August.
I have fond memories of playing in a tournament at the Paul Masson Winery in 1974. It was a huge outdoor tournament, and we juniors had a competitive advantage in that we couldn’t enjoy the free samples. For California in the summer, it wasn’t a bad risk for them.
Is this the same event that eventually had to be cancelled after a few years due to a player who passed out from heat exhaustion and dehydration due to over drinking?
Quite a famous outdoor Chess event if so.
Paul Masson has had a long history of association with chess. One of the earliest rulebooks was the small 1973 ‘Paul Masson Edition’ of the US Chess Federation Rules.
Here’s a copy of the front cover and George Koltanowski’s epilogue:
I do not know how many copies of this rulebook were mailed out, much less how many have survived. I mentioned this booklet to someone who collect chess rulebooks, he was unaware it even existed, so I sent him copies of these photos too.
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https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202509213982
https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202510054152
Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco runs outdoor scholastic tournaments at UN Plaza and Union Square. The main issue with UN Plaza on Sunday is that the nearby San Francisco Public Library does not open until noon, the next nearest public restroom is quite a bit of walk…
I’m surprised that there are not rules for venue yet. Well maybe that will be something in the future.
Whenever getting a new venue for tournament, outdoor or not,
the organizer just request the insurance agent to add the owner of new venue as an additional insured, usually that can be done within a couple of business days and at no extra charge.
It would be difficult to write rules that fit all the types of indoor venues currently being used:
Hotel meeting rooms
Churches
Schools
Libraries
Restaurants
Clubs
Meeting spaces used primarily for other groups (like a bridge club)
Common spaces in other buildings
Business conference rooms
Empty store spaces in malls
Private homes
I probably missed a bunch of categories, and the list of possible outdoor venues might be just as long.
US Chess once held an event on the deck of an aircraft carrier that is now a floating museum.
Back in the 1980’s or early 1990’s we held a Wisconsin vs. Illinois state match. I think it was 30 or 40 boards with an average rating of 2000 or some such where you played two games against the same opponent. Anyway, one of our players was a director at a botanical garden. Since it was going to be a summer match he offered an outdoor area at the botanical garden as a playing site. We all agreed. The first round went down fine but early in the second round some musicians with large brass instruments started setting up in a nearby area. Sure enough, they stared playing! Very loudly!! There were a large number of draws in the second round if I remember correctly.