In theory they at least give the impression that they will put forth a strong effort to avoid letting anyone waltz in with a fake ID and take down the 40 grand no questions asked.

I do NOT post this in order to claim that it won't happen anyway, but rather to further the discussion of what would be involved in successfully sandbagging this tournament. How easy is it for that "obscure European GM" to obtain a fake passport in the name of someone else that happens to have an U1500 FIDE rating (since they will use FIDE+100 for your prize eligibility)?

Interesting news:

The... WORST... evaluated move???

It's bizarro houdini. The worst move is the best move.

The tournament could still be ruined by people with fake ID's.

Okay they won't get paid, but the tournament results will have been all messed up.

BTW, If someone wants to really play in this tourney but is worried about the high fee, they could try asking to be staked on 2+2 in the staking forum or possibly here.

Hahaha. You'd probably need to be a foreign GM to get any action. This is going to be the greatest sandbaggery of all time.

Players can not sandbag for this event.

Your highest rating from now (December) until the event in October is used. Also CCA ratings may be used.

But what if you sign up for the 1st time ever for a USCF rating at the beginning of the new year?

If there is ONE player in the U1600 section that plays at a 2000 level I will be completely shocked.

I don't believe in miracles.. neither should you

Then your highest rating from the moment you start your membership til October is used.

You're trolling right?

40k is at stake.

It doesn't matter how much is at stake. By my statement I don't mean people with fake ID's or using computer assistance. I mean actual legit guys rated below 1600 who play at 2000 level. The only remotely plausible exception could be some very talented youngsters. Apart from that, it is not going to happen, that's why sandbagging rules are there.. If you think there are tons of guys just "hiding" in the US waiting to unleash their 2000 playing strength while they are 1500 you are trolling. People who know how play chess.. play chess! In tournaments! And they get ratings! According to their strength! Woohoo! What you guys are saying is simply a conspiracy theory, nothing more. It is extremely extremely extremely improbable that even one such case happens..

There's a guy in my tiny little club out on the middle of nowhere that had never played a rated game in his life, but is definitely Class A strength. He came out of his first tournament (where he was super nervous) with a 17xx provisional rating, which popped up over 1800 after his second event. I'm pretty sure he'll never be rated below 1800 again in his life. His objective strength before the first event was, imo, around 1850 (we have a 2100 expert in the club to measure him against, and he absolutely crushes the expert in blitz, and is competitive in long games, but consistently loses them.) He's a tactical monster, trained on ICC, who never had the inclination to delve into tournament play.

No, 1850 is not 2000, but it's also extremely unlikely that this guy I know personally was anywhere near the strongest unrated player in the country when I met him. I think it's pretty safe to assume that there are a relatively large number (at least hundreds of them, I'd guess) of 2000+ level players nationwide who have never played a rated game, for whatever reason.

Will the $40,000 prize be enough to entice at least one of these expert level unrateds into a sandbagging attempt? It would be incredibly easy for one of them to play a few tournaments between now and October, to get an established rating, and throw a game or two in each event to make sure their rating stays below 1600.

Will one of them actually do so? Maybe, maybe not. I think it's pretty plausible that the U1600 section could end up with one player in the field who has a true objective strength of 2000+. Just one? It's not guaranteed, but it's definitely possible. Ruling it out completely as a "conspiracy theory" is, imo, too strong.

I just hope enough people sign up that this potential trainwreck gets a chance to leave the station so we can see what happens.

Great post. I agree 100%.

I highly doubt they'll get 1500 entries by march 31st.

I'm not going to wager on it but I feel the chances of this event running are even as steep as 10 to 1.

I don't really like their marketing. Huge prize fund chess tournaments doesnt benefit the players most of whom won't "win big". It's to the benefit of the organizer/promoter cashing those fat checks.

There's also nothing on the website about info of the prizes being based on X entries. I really would like to know the vig they are going to be taking. I imagine it'll be at least 30%. Meaning a 1k entry is 700 towards prizes and 300 towards fee. But tournaments aren't described as such so people get misled.

If the tournament is run, they're starting at a base vig of 33% for the first 1500 entries, and the vig on top of that is $1000 per additional entry. The million dollar prize fund is "guaranteed", but with no provisions for it to increase if more players register, so if they get exactly 1500 players then they keep half a million (plus any additional entry fees from late registrants who have to pay more, minus any expenses involved in running the tournament which will probably be a sizable chunk, but probably not anywhere near $500k, I'd guess). Any additional entry fees paid if the field is larger just go straight to the bottom line profit for running the event.

Or at least that's how I read it.

If this tournament DOES end up running, and if the response is positive and indicates that people would be interested in more high stakes tournaments, then I'm definitely going to work with my state federation to put together an event to oblige them, and see if we can't run one big tourney and fund every club in the state for the next decade with the profits.

A guy ( or girl ), also would need to know how to travel well, and not be intimidated by the 1k entry fee.

I think a good poker player who travels pretty regularly would have an edge in that regard.

I hope they can pull something off with some real legitimacy. Las Vegas is a great place to try this. I wonder if that is because a chess tournament with prize pools runs into illegal gambling laws in some states. That would be cool to have a satellite on 2+2.

Grunching the thread (had forgotten there was a chess subforum here at all), but ...

2+2 satellite? That'd be sweet, like a 4 handed 250$ satty

I now have an excuse to not go over 2200. I've been between 2150-2199 USCF for like 6 years now without going over once. Now there's a chance for my constant WIL chokeage to be rewarded.

Chess players are known for being super busto, so I kinda suspect there's gonna be an overlay. But this has probably been discussed already, so I'll shut up and read the thread.

Edit: I played in that Ashley HBGlobal tournament, in Minnesota. It was pretty cool. I mincashed.

I also mincashed the HB tourney and I think that was the last one I played, might have to start playing on the internet again and get stomped U2000

edit - lol 1806 stupid played too well at HB!

I didn't even notice until now this stuff about the top four placings being determined at rapid chess. Seems crazy to me.

However, fast schedule and fast time controls are kind of appealing to me. I'd say I'm maybe 50-50 on attending (would be playing likely using my 2094 FIDE rating, so U2200).

Nice post BJJ!

and yet.. I am unconvinced

I mean.. 2000 is really, really, really good. To have 2000 strength without ever having played in any tournaments and getting a rating sounds almost impossible to me, honestly. If I didn't know you, even your example would sound far fetched to me, because 1800 is also already really really good. But since you are not a liar, I have to admit that such instances exist. Yet it goes against every ounce of logic in my brain.. Why the hell would someone spend so much time on chess to become so strong and yet NEVER play in any tournaments? This baffles me

I guess the time will tell which one of us was right, even though I admit that you are now closer to being right than I am Let's just hope that the tournament happens!

It happens, I'm proof. Not to brag, its just that, for me anyway, i didnt play chess til i was ~18. and now pickd it back up the last couple years and believe my ceiling is above 2000. Yet i have never played a rated tourney. Brag: Murray state chess champ tho, and beatn plenty of masters n blitz. O and i plan on goin to the tourney

I know an unrated guy who's broken 2300 in ICC 5-minute and 3-minute