PCA World Cup 2024 – Qualification Stage 1

Welcome to Premier Chess Academy, USA  World Cup 2024 information page. First of all, congratulations to all of you as you are getting a once in a life time opportunity to play a Chess World Cup and that too with in Premier Chess Academy internally! We understand you all are thrilled, so do we but please do understand that we have to follow knock outs and tournament rules. Kindly support us as we think it’s not about winning but it’s about giving your 100% & you are already a winner if you do that. We have purposefully not kept a winning prize (only certificates) based on our past experience to avoid any wrong routes to be taken. So buckle up, relax and enjoy the games!

Qualification Round will be conducted on Lichess platform under swiss tournament rules in three categories: Beginner, Advance Beginner and Intermediate-1 & above.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Kids who joined Premier Chess Academy before November 07th, 2024 are eligible to play the tournament.

KEY DATES OF STAGE 1

Category 1 : Beginner, Category 2 : Advanced Beginner, Category 3 : Intermediate-1 & above : November 09th, 2024

ACTION REQUIRED : Before November 07th, 2024

1. Please check to make sure your kid is in the team – “PCA Official Tournaments” on Lichess-> Community -> Teams -> My Team.
2. Parents are requested to fill this Registration Form to confirm entry.
3. If you don’t find the kid in the Lichess Team, Please contact your coach or Swapnil Raj (swapnil@premierchessacademy.com) before November 07th, 2024.
4. No new entries will be accepted as list is finalized & won’t be adding any kids to the team after November 07th, 2024.

PRE-REQUISITE FOR GAMES

• Ensure you are using “chrome” browser. Set your Google Chrome Browser as Default Browser (Go to your Control Panel →All Control Panel Items →Default Browsers →Set your default program →Web browser → Google Chrome)
• Login to Lichess and save password in chrome. So no need to enter password again.
• Go to your Lichess →Preferences →Game Behaviors →Pre-moves →No and Promote to Queen → Never

TOURNAMENT RULES

• Platform: Lichess, Each kid will use the same Lichess ID throughout the qualification tournament.
• Rounds: 5 rounds (Swiss League) for Category 1,2 & 3
• Days: 1 day (please refer to the schedule above)
• Time Control: 10 min + 2 sec increment from move 1
• Walkover Time: Till the time finish.
• Tiebreaks: Lichess tie-break will be used
• Illegal Activities: Taking any help from a book, device, or person is strictly prohibited. If any player found doing so will be disqualified from the event.
• Anti-Cheating: Use of external assistance is not allowed. All the games will be thoroughly analyzed for anti-cheating purposes. If any player founds using an engine will be disqualified.
• Team names and kids selected result will be declared after checking games for fair play.
• Disqualification: If any player conceals his identity (different identity) or misbehaves with arbiters, players and organizer will be expelled from the event without any prior notice.
• Discussion during Game/Analysis: Analysis or discussion with other players is not allowed in any case.
• Spectators: Spectators are not allowed in playing arena. Parents, Teachers, Coaches, Managers are all spectators and they are not allowed in playing room.
• Lichess Standings will be considered for the final selection of Top 50 kids per category in North America & Top 20 kids in Non-US per category.
• A player is allowed to use only one Lichess Account throughout the tenure of the league. If the account gets closed/flag red for any reason, the player will not be allowed to participate in further rounds. If players account gets banned post the event, the results will be adjusted to forfeit the winning in all the rounds.
• For any questions, please email to swapnil@premierchessacademy.com

WHAT’S NEXT AFTER STAGE 1

1. Selected Top 50 kids per category in North America & Top 20 kids in Non-US per category in Stage 1 will play Stage 2 Qualification to select top 6 kids for final event.
2. Qualification will be conducted to select 8 Teams.
3. We will club countries on the basis of Time Zone & Number of Kids.
4. Top 6 kids will be selected after Stage 2 of Qualification (5 Playing, 1 Reserve).
5. Countries will be clubbed so unique name will be provided by the organizer.

KEY DATES AFTER STAGE 1 (DETAILS TO FOLLOW)

1. Qualification Round Stage 2 : November 10th, 2024
2. Quarter Final : November 16th, 2024
3. Semi Final : November 23rd, 2024
4. Final : November 24th, 2024

DISCLAIMER

• Applicable only for Premier Chess Academy enrolled kids.
• Premier Chess Academy reserve the right to choose the winner based on the overall performance.
• Participation for this event is voluntary for kids and parents. By participating in the event, the parent/kid agrees to the terms and conditions put forth by Premier Chess Academy Corporation, USA.
• No bias will be involved as the winner will be declared with the tournaments links.
• Premier Chess Academy currently uses Lichess platform for tournaments and won’t take any responsibility for platform related ranking or issues.
• Premier Chess Academy reserves the right to cancel the event due to any reasons if decided by the management.
• Premier Chess Academy won’t take any responsibility for any legal issues coming out of this promotional events.
• Image uploaded is not a representation of all the countries PCA operates & it’s just for illustrative purpose.