The Peter Rooke Cup has an interesting history. Peter Rooke was actually a postman who was a very keen chess player in the Teignmouth but sadly died as the early age of 48 in the 70's. His widow kindly donated money for a trophy and it was actually Trevor Thynne's late father who came up with the idea of a 8 board competition. As the total grading is limited for the event, it makes for interesting strategic decisions on player choice! For example, strength in the higher boards can make it more challenging for the lower boards but having 8 players of similar strength can make it tougher for the higher boards.
Format: Teams of 8 players with total team rating < 14000, based on the ECF standardplay ratings that in force in the month prior to the month the event is held. (See ‘Note on ratings’ below.)
A jamboree format will be used, i.e. each player will face opponents from a mixture of teams. There will be two rounds – one starting in the morning (11am) and one in the afternoon (approx. 2:30pm).
Time control: 80 minutes + 10 seconds increment per player for each game. (Please note: A player must record moves until his/her clock falls below 5 minutes for the first time.)
Entry limit: A club may enter up to two teams. As the capacity of the venue is limited, entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Board fee: A fee of £4 per player (i.e. £32 per team) will be payable on the day towards the cost of the venue hire, with the remainder covered by DCCA.
Refreshments: Light refreshments will be available throughout the day.
Prize: The winning team will be awarded the DCCA “Peter Rooke” trophy for the season.
Note on ratings: For this event, a player’s ECF standardplay rating must be used. Ratings not fitting this specification – including all ‘estimated’ ratings and ratings based on other months – must be pre-agreed with the Competitions Secretary well in advance of the event. Players are expected to play in rating order but can play 'out of order' up to 50 rating points.
