Regulations 2026 | ISLE OF WIGHT CHESS

2026 Isle of Wight Chess Tournament Rules

Last update 13th June 2026:

Please note that organiser reserves the right to make changes to the tournament regulations, structure, or format based on requirements and player numbers. No significant changes are planned after 31st December 2025. Any changes, such as adjustments to round timings, will be communicated to players promptly.

The tournament is organised by: Double Rook Media Ltd.

Tournament Director: David Lightfoot

Tournament contact email prior to play commencing: hello@iowchess.com

Section A: General Rules

Rating

The tournaments will be submitted to FIDE for international rating and the English Chess Federation (ECF) for national rating. It is a condition of playing in the 2026 Isle of Wight Chess Festival that the data submitted at the time of entry will be forwarded to the ECF and FIDE as required to enable the games rated by the ECF and FIDE.

Allocation of Ratings in All Sections

For the Masters section, the FIDE Standardplay Rating (February 2026) will be used.

For all other Standardplay tournaments, following ratings will be used in sequence until a rating is found:

ECF Standardplay Rating (February 2026) – A or K categories only

FIDE Standardplay Rating (February 2026)

For all other Blitz tournaments, following ratings will be used in sequence until a rating is found:

ECF Blitz Rating (February 2026) – A or K categories only

ECF Rapidplay Rating (February 2026) – A or K categories only

ECF Standardplay Rating (February 2026) – A or K categories only

Where a player has neither of these, the organisers will assign an estimate based on all available data on a case-by-case basis, failing which the player will be assigned a rating of 0.

The ratings allocated by this process will be used in the calculation of any relevant prizes. (See Prize Calculation below for more information.)

Rating and Section Eligibility (Updated July 2025*)

Eligibility for each section will be based on a player's ECF or FIDE rating as of 1st December 2025 (FIDE only for the Masters section). If a player exceeds the rating limit for their chosen section, they will be moved to the appropriate higher section. Specifically, players exceeding the 2100 ECF rating limit for the Weekday 2100 section may be accommodated in the Masters section on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the Tournament Director and Chief Arbiter.

Eligibility for the Masters requires a FIDE rating of 1600 or above at the time of entry.

Levels of ECF Membership Required

All entrants who are not registered to ENG must pay a £15 surcharge if they are not Gold or Platinum members of the ECF.

Obtaining a FIDE Identification Number

All entrants must have a FIDE Identification Number at the time of submitting their entry, unless they wish their FIDE nationality to be England. English players without a FIDE Identification Number will have one created at the time the rating files are submitted by FIDE. Please note: At the time of writing, changing this nationality later costs 50 Euros.

Section B: Tournament Specific Regulations

Masters

Number of Rounds 9

Number of Half Point Byes Permitted 2 (but not in the last round)

Eligibility Requirements Players must be FIDE rated >= 1600 at the time of entry

Entry Limit 200 players

Time Control Game/90 + 30’

Default Time 30 minutes

Schedule Round 1 Monday, 16th February 1400

Round 2 Tuesday, 17th February 1000

Round 3 Tuesday, 17th February 1600

Round 4 Wednesday, 18th February 1400

Round 5 Thursday, 19th February 1000

Round 6 Thursday, 19th February 1600

Round 7 Friday, 20th February 1000

Round 8 Saturday, 21st February 1500

Round 9 Sunday, 22nd February 1000

Pairings Published for each Round 2230 on Sunday, 15th February for Round 1, ASAP thereafter

Entry Fee: Variable

Refund Policy (Withdrawals): Will incur a 7% deduction from the total order value. Refunds are not available from 1 February 2026. If more than 7 days’ notice is given for withdrawal after this date, players may transfer their entry to the 2027 event.

£5,900 Cash Prize Fund

£100 Bonus for every Board #1 Win

Outright Tournament Winner Bonus — £500

Placing Prizes
1st Place — £1,500
Free entry and hotel for 2027

2nd Place — £750
3rd Place — £500
4th Place — £400
5th Place — £300

Rating Prizes:

Women's Prizes
Top Woman — £350
Free entry and hotel for 2027

2nd Woman — £150

Junior Prize
Top Junior — £150
Free entry 2027

Rating Prizes
Rating U2300 — £200
Free entry 2027

Rating U2000 — £200
Free entry 2027

Weekday

Number of Rounds 7

Number of Half Point Byes Permitted 2 (but not in the last round)

Entry Limit 200 players

Time Control Game/90 + 30’

Default Time 30 minutes

Schedule Round 1 Monday, 16th February 1400

Round 2 Tuesday, 17th February 1000

Round 3 Tuesday, 17th February 1600

Round 4 Wednesday, 18th February 1400

Round 5 Thursday, 19th February 1000

Round 6 Thursday, 19th February 1600

Round 7 Friday, 20th February 1000

Pairings Published for each Round 2230 on Sunday, 15th February for Round 1, ASAP thereafter

Tournament Sections Under 2100

Under 1700

Entry Fee: £75

Placing Prizes Per Section:
1st Place — £500
Free entry for 2027

2nd Place — £200
3rd Place — £100

Rating Prizes
Rating 1 — £50
Rating 2 — £50

Congress

Number of Rounds 5

Number of Half Point Byes Permitted 1 (but not in the last round)

Entry Limit 200 players

Time Control Game/90 + 30’

Default Time 30 minutes

Schedule Round 1 Friday, 20th February 1800*

Round 2 Saturday, 21st February 1000

Round 3 Saturday, 21st February 1500

Round 4 Sunday, 22nd February 1000

Round 5 Sunday, 22nd February 1500

Pairings Published for each Round 1830 on Friday, 20th February for Round 1, ASAP thereafter

Tournament Sections Open

Under 1900

Under 1600

Entry Fee: £55

Placing Prizes Per Section:
1st Place — £500
Free entry for 2027

2nd Place — £200
3rd Place — £100

Rating Prizes
Rating 1 — £50
Rating 2 — £50

Blitz

Number of Rounds 9

Number of Half Point Byes Permitted 0

Entry Limit 200 players

Time Control Game/3 + 2’

Default Time None; a player has until their time expires to arrive

Schedule All Rounds Wednesday, 18th February 1900 – 2200

Pairings Published for each Round 1855 on Wednesday, 18th February for Round 1, ASAP thereafter

Entry Fee: £20 in advance and £30 on the day

Refund Policy (Withdrawals): Will incur a 5% deduction from the total order value. Refunds are not available from 1 February 2026. If more than 7 days’ notice is given for withdrawal after this date, players may transfer their entry to the 2027 event.

1st Place — £250
2nd Place — £150
3rd Place — £100

Rating Prizes

Rating 1 — £50

Rating 2 — £50

Section C: Prize Calculation

Postal Entries: No postal entries can be accepted.

Prize Calculation

The place prizes in all tournaments will be awarded to the player scoring the most points. There will be no tie-breaks applied, and in the event of a tie on points, the prize money will be shared equally between all tied players.

The rating prizes will be calculated on W-We, where W is the number of points scored, We is the expected number of points based on the difference between the ratings of the players in the game. A player is only eligible for a rating prize if:

The player has not defaulted any games in the tournament, and
The player had not withdrawn from the tournament (see the section on Byes below)

Players allocated a rating of 0 (see Allocation of Ratings in All Sections above) are not eligible for rating prizes.

Where there is a tie for a rating prize, the prize shall be won by the lowest-rated player involved in the tie.

Where a player wins a place prize and a rating prize, the player will win whichever prize is of the higher value.

Prize lists

Full prize lists for each tournament will be published online as soon as possible at the end of the tournaments. The event organisers will contact all prize winners as soon as possible to arrange for the payment of prizes.

Byes

Where byes are permitted by the rules, the request may be made or cancelled either:

By email from Jan 1st 2026, or
At any point before the pairings are published for each tournament. Where the pairings are published as soon as they are available, the request should be made no later than the conclusion of the last game in the round of the tournament being played. Such requests should be made to the Chief Arbiter at the tournament.

Players who miss more rounds than the number of Half Point Byes permitted in each tournament will be withdrawn from the tournament, unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise.

Section D: Registration, Defaults & Pairing Alterations

Defaults

A player who defaults a game will not be included in the pairings for the next round of the tournament, or any subsequent round, unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise. Should this be decided, the Chief Arbiter reserves the right to apply a bond of £50, which will be returned at the end of the tournament if the player takes part in all remaining rounds. A player who defaults a second game in the tournament will be expelled from it, and shall not have the bond returned to him.

All re-arranged games listed below will be rated by both ECF and FIDE.

Late Pairings

The Organisers may permit players to enter (or register) after the pairings have been published for Round 1 of a tournament. In general, these players will score 0 points in the rounds they have missed. However, the player may be paired against another player in this category, who has entered the same tournament, and that game shall be played as though part of the tournament. Should any players remain after this process, then they will be considered available for any of the pairing procedures below once the default time for the relevant tournament has elapsed.

Re-pairings

No re-pairings will be offered in the event of a player defaulting their game, the opponent will win their game by forfeit. If the opponent who wins their game by forfeit wishes to play a game, the organiser will make every effort to find another player to play against them in a ECF and FIDE Rated game.

Section E: Miscellaneous

Appeals Procedure

Decisions made by an arbiter may be appealed to the Chief Arbiter within 15 minutes of the original decision. If a player wishes to escalate the matter further, an Appeals Committee is available. This must be requested in writing within 15 minutes of the Chief Arbiter’s decision.

A £50 bond must be paid, which will only be refunded if the appeal is successful.

The Appeals Committee, consisting of three available members, will deliberate and deliver a decision within 15 minutes. Members will be selected in the following order, based on availability and impartiality:

Electronic Devices

During play mobile phones and other electronic devices, including smartwatches and fitbits, must be completely switched off and placed in a bag below the table or on the table in front of the player. A player must not have any such device about their person or carry it with them during play.

A player will be immediately forfeited if during the game any such device either

(a) makes any sound; or

(b) is found to be switched on; or

Anti-Cheating

Players may be scanned before or after their game.

Parental Responsibility

Parents or guardians are responsible for their children during the tournament. The organisers and helpers are not able to act “in loco parentis” and are not able to take responsibility for any child’s actions, or for the actions of anyone that may affect your child.

Liability

The organisers accept no responsibility for any loss, theft or accident during the tournament.

Right to Refuse Entry

The Chief Organiser reserves the right to refuse entry without being required to state a reason, and to transfer players between tournaments at any time.

Zero Tolerance to Abuse

The Chief Arbiter is empowered to expel a who shows dissent by word or action towards an arbiter, or any member of staff connected with the tournament.

Filming and Photography

The event will have several cameras and a content production team, which are essential for promoting its growth. All photography will be silent and without flash.
Local press may be present at the beginning of some rounds. After the first ten minutes of the round, only accredited photographers approved by the Tournament Director will be permitted to take photographs, these are also chess players. This will be done in a non-intrusive manner to ensure players are not disturbed.
Players on the top four boards in the main hall will be live streamed during certain rounds of the Masters. The footage will consist of a wide-angle shot from above, showing both players seated at the board. If a player does not wish to be filmed, they must inform the organisers before pairings are made, and they will be allocated another table.
Players who do not wish to have their photographs published should also notify the arbiters before the event begins. While we will endeavour to respect this, please note that you may still appear in general wide shots of the playing hall.
Parents may take pictures of the playing hall and their own child from the viewing balcony up to the start of the round.

Cancelation of event

If the event is cancelled or postponed prior to starting, the organiser will refund the cost of the entry ticket in full or give the player the option to move to an event of the same ticket cost. The oganiser is not liable for any other costs incurred. In the event of an “Act of God” or natural disaster such as a storm or any other event which prevents play after commencement, all reasonable efforts shall be made to continue the event at another time or premises or reduce the number of rounds played.

Subscribe to get exclusive updates