5th Kingston Invitational

The tournament will be a nine-round FIDE-rated Swiss at a time control of 90 minutes + 30-second increment. The first round will start at 3.30pm on Monday 17 August, and round times on the succeeding four days will be at 10am and 3.30pm. A small number of byes will be permitted at the discretion of the arbiters.

The field will comprise a maximum of 64 players and entry is by invitation. There is no entry fee, but we may suggest a good cause for those who wish to make a donation in lieu of entrance fee. Whether to make a donation will be entirely at the discretion of participants. There is no rating floor for entrants, but players with FIDE ratings above 2000 are likely to be given priority. Some wild cards under that rating may be given, especially to Kingston members, friends of the club and juniors.

The winner of the tournament will receive the Kingston Invitational Cup and £500, with £250 to second and £100 to third. The leading junior (17 or under) will receive the Barden Cup (named in honour of Guardian chess correspondent Leonard Barden) and £100. If players’ scores are level at the end of the tournament, a tie-break designated by the arbiters will be used. There will be no play-off.

We are in the process of sending out invitations, but I would also be pleased to receive requests for entry from players who would like to take part. Please email me on stephen.moss@theguardian.com

Details: kingstonchess.com