get staked for chess donkaments.

Not a bad idea, as most tournaments have either 25%, 33%, or even 40% rake.

puke.gif

Lol, we almost always have overlay.

Is that all? From the ones I've looked at, roughly 50% seems to be the industry standard for most tourneys that don't offer a guaranteed prize fund.

In Germany "rake" is totally irrelevant anyway, unless you're competing for the top prizes. You pay ~50-60€ for a 7-9 round open tournament (usually 2h/40+30min) and there's typically around 200€ total in prizes for 20-30 guys in your rating category. If you add hotel costs, you're not in the green even if you manage to win your rating cat.

The upside is that you don't have to worry about cheaters or sandbaggers because there is simply no incentive.

The GMs get invited, free hotel and one meal/day and pay no entry fees. So they are going to come anyways, especially because there's a huge supply of russians who don't have much else to do and try to make a living of open tournaments. It's better than a freeroll because you get a free lunch too

I think the USCF rule is that min. pay-out of prizes is 60% of EF, i.e. 40% rake.

I don't have a rule book and I can't seem to find anything like that online. Can anyone verify this?

If so, 50% rake would mean those tourney organizers are doing something shady.

Seriously, why do you people put up with fees like that. I organize a tournament with my club yearly and we pay out all entry fees, still netting a profit. What range are your tournament entry fees in?

I think that the rule is you have to pay out at least 60% of advertised prizes if the total advertised prizes are above a certain dollar amount ($300?). Only reason I remember this is because a really shady local TD got in trouble one time. Caveat - this may have been a dream I had once and not an actual experience...

ETA - it's apparently 50% guaranteed if advertised is $500


Um, how?

Well, it depends on whether you're a member of the club, in most of the cases I've seen. Example (for a small one-day quad): Entry fee is $20, or $15 for club members. Prize fund is $10 per entrant. So if you're a club member the rake is only 33%, but if you aren't then the rake is 50%. The rake for club members is what keeps it from being "shady", I suppose.

I'd love to know how you do this? I read this as meaning that your prize fund equals 100% of the collected entry fees. And yet the event is profitable? This would mean there is some sort of revenue generation beyond just entry fees. Please do tell what it is

Why do we put with fees like that?

Because we don't have the energy and resources to form our own club which would then have lower rake.

The profits come from selling food and drinks.
This year we have a sponsor willing to add money to the prizepool, yielding an overlay for the players. The entry fee is €30 for a 4 day tournament with 7 rounds, we expect just under 100 players. The location is walking distance from the train station and we do have parking.
Maybe the size is not comparable with the USA, the playing materials are harder to come by or playing locations are more expensive, which is why I asked. Now our tournament is quite low budget and the players in your areas may have other demands for a tournament than players in ours. I don't think the website of the usa chess federation is very helpful, which is why I am interested to hear from you what a typical tournament getting organized looks like.

For lower rated players only (like myself). My opponent just played Qc2 in this blitz game.

The first move for black is obvious, but what is the follow up and the side variations (there are only a few)?

Black to play and lose.

Rf8 Rxf7 takes, takes check, Rf8 Qc7 and queen the b pawn looks easiest

g4 looks better than Kh3 because f3 solidifies the king. If h5 there then there;s Qxh5 because the queen is on c5

I thought it was quite a neat position. These white to move and win puzzles are so tiresome, as if you never lose in chess!

I liked Rb5. Its quite the quiet move which is quite nice since I think the art of swindling certainly rewards quietness. Quite quaint.

Who's up for quiche?

Prepare to jizz yourself. I played this move in a 3min blitz (but lost on time but no one cares...)

Oh yeah, black to play

I'm guessing you played Rf3. is it actually any good?

Doesn't White have a flashy move of his own in reply?

And after ?