FIDE WORLD SENIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
PORTO SANTO, PORTUGAL
16 NOVEMBER – 29 NOVEMBER 2024
INVITATION LETTER

1. INVITATIONThe organizers, International Chess Federation FIDE and Portuguese Chess Federation are inviting all national
chess federations of FIDE to participate in the World Senior Chess Championships 2024. The dates are from16th NOVEMBER (arrival) to 29th NOVEMBER (departure) 2024.

2. PARTICIPATION & PRIZES DISTRIBUTION
2.1. In accordance with the FIDE tournament rules, there shall be the following categories:
2.1.1 Open 50+, open to all players who are 50 or older in the year of the tournament.
2.1.2 Open 65+, open to all players who are 65 or older in the year of the tournament.
2.1.3 Women 50+, open to all women who are 50 or older in the year of the tournament.
2.1.4 Women 65+, open to all women who are 65 or older in the year of the tournament.
2.2. With FIDE support the Organizer should ensure representation of all continents and at least 20 players ineach of the categories (2.1.1-2.1.4).
2.3. FIDE Events Commission (EVE) is responsible for exceptional decisions regarding final configuration ofthe categories mentioned in categories 2.1.3&2.1.4 above in cases when requirements of Rule 2.2 are notmet. All decision in this regard must be made at least two weeks before the start of competition.
2.4. The players placed 1-3 in World Senior Championships 2023 in each category shall have personal rights
to participate. In addition, the top 3 players from each category of the Continental Senior Championships
2023 are qualified with personal right and their places cannot be substituted.
2.5. Players, other than Invited Players, shall be classified as Additional Players. All other persons, other thanplayers shall be classified as Accompanying Persons.
2.6. In order to provide appropriate tournament conditions, players must complete carefully the official
registration form and submit to the Organizers by Sunday, 16 September 2024. Further participations may
not be accepted, or an additional fee of 80 € (euros) may be requested according to the FIDE regulations.

3. REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL
3.1. Each player (Invited or Additional) or accompanying person should pay to the Organizers the amount of120 € at the moment of their registration by 16 September 2024. This registration fee is compulsory andrepresents a confirmation of participation otherwise a registration will be invalid and will not be accepted.
3.2. All players and accompanying persons will receive accreditation and badges and free transfer in theofficial arrival and departure days from Porto Santo Airport.
Transfers for all players and accompanying persons on the official arrival and departure days from Porto Santo
Airport is free of charge.
3.3. The deadline for registration is 16 September 2024. After this date, Organizers reserve the right to refuse
or decline late registrations or, if there is availability, a penalty of 80 € for each late registration will bechargedto participants.
3.4. Every registration must include the Federation, FIDE ID, surname, first name, accommodation type,dates of arrival/departure and the passport number of every player and every accompanying person whorequires aninvitation. Incomplete registrations will not be accepted.
3.5. All the travel expenses must be paid by the participants or their Federation.

4. FIDE TECHNICAL OFFICIALS
4.1. The Chief Arbiter will be announced in a due time.
4.2. FIDE Technical Delegate and FIDE Officials will be announced in due time.
5. OTHER REGULATIONS
5.1.Type of Clock: FIDE approved clocks.
5.2. Electronic Devices, Wrist Watches & Pens: Mobile phones, electronic devices, and any other radio
frequency source (except for medical purposes upon authorization provided by the CA), wrist watches (alltypeof wrist watches) and personal pens are prohibited inside the tournament hall.
6. INFORMATION ABOUT VISAS
6.1. Those who need visas must submit their data the latest on 16 September 2024.
6.2. To proceed with the visa application, each federation/player must:a. Request the registration form by e-mail from the Organizing committee
b. fill it out and email it to the Organizing committee via national federation along with pdf scans of theparticipants' passports, which must be valid for more than six months
c. proceed with the payment of the registration fee as it will be communicated by the Organizing
committee
d. at the same time as registering for the tournament, proceed with the reservation and payment of thehotel stay (if there are fees)
6.3. The Organizers will provide VISA assistance according to National laws only after all pre-payments aremade.
6.4. The Organizers are not responsible in case the Portuguese Consular authorities decline to issue visa due topublic order and/or failing to meet all the requirements to obtain the Portuguese VISA.
7. PAYMENTS
7.1. Entries must be submitted through the registration forms by 16 September 2024.
7.2. When registering (by 16 September 2024), the registration fee of 120 € and a minimum of 50% prepaymentof the cost for board and lodging shall be paid through the Organizer bank account given.
Entry fee payments must be done to:
Account beneficiary holder: Federacao Portuguesa de Xadrez
Account holder address: rua sarmento beires n 33 loja A 1900 411 Lisboa Portugal
VAT Number: PT501617078
IBAN account number: PT50003600529910004147551 (payments in Euros)
SWIFT: MPIOPTPL
Bank name & address: Banco Montepio
Av Almirante Reis 108 A 1150-023 Lisboa
Cost of transfer must be paid by sender7.3. Registration fees for late registration, withdrawal or no show shall be charged as follow as per FIDE
Regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/D0401202312
7.3.1 Late registration after the registration deadline – the Registration fee (see Article 3.8) will double. The
organiser is not required to accept registrations made after the deadline. After the late registration noinvited/personal right players shall be accepted with FB accommodation. The mentioned participants will beconsidered as additional players.
7.3.2 Withdrawal after submission of registration (30 to 60 days before the start of the competition) – 75%
refund of the person’s total fees paid to the Organiser.
7.3.3 Withdrawal after submission of registration (15 to 30 days before the start of the competition) – 50%
refund of the person’s total fees paid to the Organiser.
7.3.4 Withdrawal after submission of registration (1 to 15 days before the start of the competition) – 25%
refund of the person’s total fees paid to the Organizer.
7.3.5 Withdrawal after the pairings for Round 1 are published – no refund.
7.3.6 FIDE is entitled to coordinate the refund process in case of extraordinary situations (pandemics, wars,
natural disasters and and similar significant reasons), when it concerns large number of registered people - atleast 1/10 or minimum 50 registered participants, including accompanying people or affects one nationalfederation that cannot participate for reasons that FIDE will confirm as valid. In this case, FIDE approves thefinal refund amount for all such players, and this amount is mandatory for the Organizer. The Organizer has
the right to submit its arguments on this issue to FIDE before making a final decision.
7.4. Each player will be invoiced by the Organizers. Upon payments confirmed, the Organizers will send to theplayers the confirmation of the hotel bookings. Confirmed registrations will then appear on the official
websiteand ChessResults, where players’ status may be checked on a daily basis.
7.5. All payments must be finalized upon arrival. Players will not be paired until all payments and fees aretransferred to the Organizers.
8. VENUE, OFFICIAL HOTEL: BOARD & LODGING
8.1 The venue of the event is 4* Hotel Vila Baleira, Porto Santo Island, Portugal.
The official hotel of the event and rates are all inclusive with Full board open buffet, 3 meals/ day, drinks at bar,snacks:Type of room

Hotel Vila Baleira

Single room

110.00 €Single room see view120.00 €Twin/Double room85.00 €

Twin/Double room see view

90.00 €Apartment 3 person

75.00 €Apartment 4 person

75.00 €Prices are per person per day.
The playing venue is in the hotel.
8.2 Invited players, as per point 2.2 of the regulations, are offered FREE full board accommodation in a single
room from 16 NOVEMBER (arrival day, dinner) to 29 NOVEMBER (lunch, departure day) and they cannot
substitute.
8.3 All players and accompanying persons must be accredited and preferably stay at the official hotel of theevent. Bookings and accreditation are possible only through the procedure described in articles 8.1 to 8.2 above.
8.4 Requests will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
8.5 If needed, the final distribution of hotel rooms will be decided by the Organizing Committee.
8.6 The above-mentioned prices are also understood to be valid on the two days before and after the event toensure the same conditions for participants and their companions.
8.7 As per FIDE Regulations, participants can choose a hotel besides the one offered by the Organizer with atleast a 3-week notice. Players staying in other than official hotel are fully responsible for their daily transfers
to/from playing venue.
9. TECHNICAL REGULATIONS
9.1. The tournament will be played using the Swiss System with 11 rounds. The national rankings will not betaken into account for pairings. The rate of play will be in accordance with the FIDE rules: 90 minutes forthe first 40 moves plus 30 minutes, plus an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.
Default timeis 15 minutes.
9.2. Tie break criteria: a) the games between the tied players (only if all tied have played each other), b)
Buchholz cut 1, c) Buchholz, d) Sonneborn-Berger, e) the greater number of wins, f) Average RatingofOpponents ARO.
9.3. Direct titles available to winners subject to rating criteria
Direct Titles areawardedaccordingtohttps://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01DirectTitles2017

FIDE

regulations

inforce:

9.4. FIDE over the board title norms are also possible for the other players based on their performance and theiropponent’s titles/ratings as per FIDE Handbook requirements.
9.5. FIDE Anti Cheating Measures and guidelines are in effect during the championship.
9.6. At any time, any circumstance or unforeseen situation not covered in these Regulations shall be referredto the FIDE President for the final decision.
10. APPEALS & APPEALS COMMITTEE
10.1. Protests against decisions of the Chief Arbiter or his assistants must be submitted in written form to theChairman of the appeals committee within 30 minutes after the completion of the respective game. The
protestmust be accompanied with the sum of 200 € as a deposit from the signatory. The deposit must behanded to the Chairman of the appeals committee. If the appeal is granted, the sum shall be returned
immediately. If theappeal is refused, the deposit may be forfeited to FIDE.
10.2. Appeals Committee will be announced in due time.

11. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
DayTime

16/11

Arrival

17/11

10:00

Technical meeting

14:30

Opening ceremony

15:00

1st round

18/11

15:00

2nd round

19/11

15:00

3rd round20/11

15:00

4th round

21/11

15:00

5th round

22/11

15:00

6th round

23/11

Rest day

24/11

15:00

7th round

25/11

15:00

8th round

26/11

15:00

9th round

27/11

15:00

10th round

28/11

14:00

11th round

20:30*
29/11

Tournament
activityTime

Parallel activity

21:30

Master classopen foreveryone

21:30

Blitz FIDE rated

21:30

Master classopen foreveryone

Closing ceremony
and gala dinner with local menu

Departure*The closing ceremony might be delayed depending on the end of the last round12. TOURNAMENT PRESS RELEASES AND INFORMATION
Press releases, photos, highlight videos, a selection of games in pgn. format, and general information will be
provided on a daily basis through the social media and official website.
13. PRIZES
13.1.

1-3 places in each category will receive a special designed trophies and gold, silver and bronze medals,respectively.

13.2. Prize fund is 42.500 Euro:

PLACE

OPEN SENIOR
50 +OPEN SENIOR
65 +

WOMEN
50 +

WOMEN
65 +

13000 €3000 €1500 €1500 €1000 €22500 €2500 €1200 €1200 €500 €32000 €2000 €800 €800 €300 €41500 €1500 €400 €400 €51000 €1000 €300 €300 €6900 €900 €300 €300 €7800 €800 €8700 €700 €9600 €600 €10500 €500 €11500 €500 €12500 €500 €13500 €500 €14500 €500 €75 +Special Prize14. SIDE EVENTS
14.1. Master classes and other activities will be announced in due time at FIDE World SeniorChampionships official website.
14.2. Two blitz FIDE rated tournaments will be organized according to the tournament calendar.
14.3. Guests of the 4* Vila Baleira Hotel will be able to enjoy free of charge all the sports amenities in thevillage (tennis and paddle courts, swimming pools inside and outside).
14.4.

There will be an analyses room with snacks and drinks free of charge.

15. Transportation
15.1 There will be direct flights from Lisbon to Porto Santo and some other destinations from Europe(operated by Easyjet). Also, they are 2 daily direct flights from Funchal, Madeira Island to Porto Santo Island.
As an alternative there is a Ferry from Funchal Madeira Island to Porto Santo.
15.2 Transfer from Porto Santo Airport and Ferry Port to Hotel and back will be provided.
15.3 There will be information about travel arrangement at official webpage and helpline by whatsapp to assist
you with the best way to travel to Porto Santo island, Portugal.

16. CONTACT
Official website: http://worldsenior2024.fide.com
Email: worldsenior@fide.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldSenior2024/
Helpline via WhatsApp to assist with information about visas and travel arrangements: +35 193 724 55 07(in English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and other languages)
Tournament Director: IO Dominic Cross