Start of the American Cup

by ChessBase
4/20/2022 – Today, the first round of the American Cup, a knockout tournament with special rules, will be played. Almost all top players from the US take part in this event, which is organised by the Saint Louis Chess Center. They fight for a prize fund of 300,000 USD, and the three top seeded players are Levon Aronian (2785), Fabiano Caruana (2781) and Wesley So (2778). The first round starts at 13.00 local time. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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The opening ceremony of the American Cup (18-29 April) was on Monday, 18 April, on Tuesday followed a photo session but the first round will be played on Wednesday.

The event is organised by the Saint Louis Chess Center and consists of two tournaments, an Open Tournament, (Group A), and a Women's tournament (Group B). Both tournaments are 8-player knockout events.

Pairings & Scoring

  1. Each round shall consist of a 2-game match followed by playoff games should they be needed.
  2. Players will be ranked and pairing numbers assigned 1-8 based on their April FIDE classical rating. Any players with the same rating will be listed alphabetically by last name.
  3. Players will be paired 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 in the first round.
  4. If a player loses a match, they shall move to the Elimination Bracket as shown below.
  5. If a player loses a second match, that player shall be eliminated from the Event.

A "no draw" rule will be in effect throughout the Event, including any playoff games. No player may offer nor accept a draw. In the event of a claim for a draw under Article 9.2 of the FIDE Laws of Chess (three-fold repetition) or under Article 9.3 of the Laws (50 move rule), one of the Event Arbiters must be asked by the players to verify the claim.

Time Control

All standard games in the Championship bracket will be played at classical time controls (G/90+30)

All standard games in the Elimination bracket will be played at rapid time controls (G/25+10).

Playoff games will be played with a time control of G/10+5.

Regulations...

The rounds begin each day at 13:00 local time.

Participants Group A:

Levon Aronian
Fabiano Caruana
Wesley So
Leinier Dominguez
Sam Shankland
Sam Sevian
Jeffery Xiong
Ray Robson

Participants Group B

Irina Krush
Anna Zatonskih
Stavroula Tsolakidou
Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova
Katerina Nemcova
Alice Lee
Tatev Abrahamyan
Ruiyang Yan

Originally, Hikaru Nakamura was scheduled to play in the Open Tournament but he has been replaced by Ray Robson. Nakamura is probably preparing for the Candidates Tournament. Otherwise, the best players in the USA are taking part, which now also includes Levon Aronian. In the women's tournament, some young talents are playing alongside well-known names. Alice Lee is 12 years old, Ruiyang Yan is 14.

Schedule

Link

Official page...

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