XXXI Pan American Youth Chess Festival - Online Qualifer and Hybrid Final

FIDE Americas has announced that it is hosting a two-stage tournament, the XXXI Pan American Youth Chess Festival, Pan Floripa 2021. There will be an Online Qualifier to be played online on August 7-8, with the Hybrid Final Stage (in-person but also played online) being played at various Tournament Halls within the Americas.

There will be 14 sections in the tournament, Open and Girls for each age category: Under 18, Under 16, Under 14, Under 12, Under 10, Under 8 and Under 6. A player's age as at January 1, 2021 determines their age eligibility for a section. The winners of each section will be declared 2021 Pan American Youth Champions. Direct titles and norms may also be available, to be confirmed by FIDE due to hybrid format. The complete regulations for the event can be viewed at https://panfloripa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FLN_Pan_2021_en_v2.pdf.

OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES

US Chess can register one (1) Official Representative for each of the 14 sections directly to the Hybrid Final Stage. The highest rated player on the July, 2021 US Chess Regular Rating List, who registers for the Online Qualifier by the necessary deadline (July 30, 2021), will be selected as the USA Official Representative. These Official Representatives will not need to participate in the Online Qualifier event but will be responsible for all additional Finals registration fees and all travel and accommodation costs associated with playing in the Hybrid Final Stage. Official Representatives will be notified of their status by August 2, 2021.

ONLINE QUALIFIER

US Chess is accepting entries for the Online Qualifier tournament up until July 30, 2021. This deadline is imposed due to the organizers registration deadline of July 31, 2021.

These will be played online using Tornelo from August 7-8, 2021, with rounds starting at 1:00 pm Eastern each day, although the regulations state each player must login to Tornelo and Zoom at least one (1) hour prior to the tournament starting. Each event will be 9 rounds, using a time control of Game/10 minutes with a 5 second increment.

Registration Link: https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=1417

Important Note! The top 25 players in each section will qualify for the in-person Hybrid Final Stage (see below). However, US Chess cannot guarantee that we will be able to organize a Tournament Hall within the USA. There will be no exceptions to playing the Hybrid Final Stage outside of a Tournament Hall and your entry into the Online Qualifier constitutes acceptance of the notification that no such Tournament Hall(s) exist in the USA at this moment in time, and the possibility exists that no such Tournament Hall(s) will be organized by US Chess within the USA. Participants will be responsible for all additional Finals registration fees and all travel and accommodation costs.

Please note that there is an entry fee of $20, plus an administration fee of $5 (total $25/entry). Each player is permitted to enter only one section based on their gender/age eligibility; you cannot play in multiple sections even if you are eligible to do so.

A current US Chess membership through the end of the tournament (August, 2021) is required for all USA participants. A USA-flagged FIDE ID is required for all USA players. If you do not currently have a FIDE ID, please complete our FIDE ID Request Form at https://forms.gle/2J8rx4QoVsgw7PQx9.

All players must abide by the event regulations and be able to meet all the fair play requirements, please see the official website at https://panfloripa.com/ for more details.

HYBRID FINAL STAGE

The Hybrid Finals will be played at various dedicated Tournament Halls within the Americas from September 4-10, 2021. Hybrid events are played in-person with onsite arbiter supervision, but still played online. Each event will be 9 rounds, using a time control of Game/90 minutes with a 30 second increment. The full schedule for all rounds as well as the full regulations for the hybrid event can be viewed in the regulations at https://panfloripa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FLN_Pan_2021_en_v2.pdf.

Important Note! At this moment in time, US Chess cannot guarantee that we will be able to organize a Tournament Hall within the USA. There will be no exceptions to playing the Hybrid Final Stage outside of a Tournament Hall. Participants will be responsible for all additional Finals registration fees and all travel and accommodation costs.

If you have any questions regarding these events, please contact Chris Bird, US Chess FIDE Events Manager at christopher.bird@uschess.org.