Updated: 02/02/24 – 0713:49 hrs

2023-24 Season

No major shocks in the prelims, with the matches going to the form book. Mind you, Tom Wardlaw (1440) gave Vladyslav Drabych (1660) a scare, drawing his match, but only to lose out on the tie-breaker!

Round 1 draw now updated with some juicy ties! Deadline for round 1 is Thurs 11th April 24!

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Entries are now being taken for the Castlehill OTB Random Knockout 2023-24.
Closing date for entries is Sunday 29th October 23.
Please check the revised and updated rules for more information.

ENTRIES (so far)

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2022-23 Season

Well, apologies for late updates, but I just fell behind with all that was going on in the club and in my life!
Congratulations to Alisdair McLeod (1531) the new Castlehill OTB Random Knockout Champion 2022-23! Unfortunately, due to Rishi`s family moving to Glasgow, Rishi could not play his final match against Alisdair, leaving Alisdair the last person standing! Rishi is the runner-up and we wish him, Ananthi and family all the best in their new adventure! We will miss Rishi at Castlehill, but hopefully he will continue his chess journey wherever he is, and we will be keeping an eye out to see how he does!

Once again congratulations to Alisdair McLeod!

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The Q/Final draw is now up, but we still have 4 matches outstanding form round 2.Two of those matches have dates, the other two have still to confirm. The deadline for the Q/Finals is Thursday 15th June 23.

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The 2nd round draw id now up and the deadline is Thurs 27th April 23. There are a few matches still to be completed in round one, but dates have been set so all should be okay. Contact your opponent ASAP to get a date for the match.

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Due to the very busy chess calendar, OTB and Online, I have extended the deadlines for this competition. The new deadline for the 1st round is Thurs 16th March 23. Any matches not played by this time will be defaulted.

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The draw is now up with a fantastic 34 players entered! Please read the rules and contact your opponent ASAP!

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Season 2021-22
Congratulations once again to junior sensation Rishi Vijayakumar J10 as he added the Random Knockout title to a growing list of Castlehill titles this year! An amazing performance and unfortunately for Ramit, Rishi was on fire! Mind you finishing runner-up is a fantastic achievement for Ramit Kanodia J14, one he should be proud of!

Who knows what’s in store for Rishi, but we are a very lucky club to have him as a member! The world is his oyster it seems and next up is the FIDE World Cadets Championship 2022 between 15th – 28th September in Batumi, Georgia (Black Sea)! We all wish him well, but most of all enjoy the experience most of us will never have!

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Congratulations to Rishi Vijayakumar J10 and Ramit Kanodia J14 for winning their semi-final matches and not only reaching the Random Knockout final, but it`s also an all junior final!

I don`t think that has happened before and what an achievement by both players! Andy Rowe put up a good fight against Rishi, but he just could not finish him off and Rishi showed his growing confidence with a cool finish to the game. Colin Young was doing well against Ramit, but time was an issue and in the end this proved the deciding factor as the bells rang for the final time and Colin was terminated!

Good luck to both players in the all junior final!

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There are still two Q/F matches to be completed, but the semi-final draw is now up on our website. Tournament favourite, Rishi Vijayakumar is still in the competition and will face either past winner, Andy Rowe or newbie junior, Scott Xu. Colin Young will face either, Ramit Kanodia J15, or Daniel Coleman. Now who has the easier semi-final?

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Entries closed and first round draw done!

Good luck everyone!

Random Knockout  Entries: Closing date for entries is Sun 13th March 2022
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Entries (so far) – 12/03/22  –  13:36hrs

PRELIM – Deadline Thurs 1st Feb 24

Q/FINAL – Deadline Thurs 20th June 24

SEMI-FINALS – Deadline Thurs 25th July 24

FINAL – Deadline Thurs 29th Aug 24

OTB RANDOM DRAW KNOCKOUT RULES – Revised & Updated – AGM 7th Sept 23

GENERAL

1. Participation in this event therefore means acceptance of the Club Constitution, General rules (see relevant documents) and competition rules herein.
2. FIDE rules of chess apply except were amended herein by Castlehill Chess Club.
3. All matches will be played on a “CLUB NIGHT” on club premises, unless permission is granted by the competition organiser to play another night and place.

ELIGIBILITY

4. All players must be paid up members of the club. The committee and competition organiser can grant an exception to this rule under certain circumstances (Example: new member joining late in the season?).

GRADING

5. Each player shall have a grading, using the following order below:
6. a) Chess Scotland published standard grading; b) Chess Scotland live grading; c) Chess Scotland published allegro grading; d) Chess Scotland live allegro grading; e) Another national association or FIDE grading, accordingly converted; f) Estimated grading given by the Internal competition organiser.
7. All games results played will be sent for grading to Chess Scotland.

FORMAT

7. The closing date for entries will be set by the competition organiser and these will be displayed on our website.
8. The Random Draw Knockout will be a straight knockout with a random draw (no seeding) done after every round. The winner of each match goes through to the next round. In the event of a draw see tie-break rules.
9. The draw will be made by the competition organiser and emailed to all players; published on our website and on the club notice board (if one has one!). In all rounds the first player named has white.
10. All matches will be a fixed a date by default (Randon Knockout night). The match shall be played on that date unless prior agreement by the internal competition organiser.
11. Any matches not played by the deadline will be defaulted by the offending player or players, unless an extension is granted by the competition organiser.
12. When the draw is published, “BOTH PLAYERS” must make a serious attempt to contact their opponent or risk defaulting the match. In the event of any problems, players must contact the internal competition organiser.

TIME-CONTROL

13. Time-Control used is 75 minutes each player (only one time control).
14. Matches should start at 7:30pm, unless both players have agreed a different time (venue time limits permitting). In the event of an opponent not being present, clocks “MUST” be started 15 minutes after 7:30pm or the agree start time.
15. If a player is still not present after 30 minutes have passed on their clock, they will be defaulted unless their opponent and competition organiser are happy to reschedule (time permitting!).

PLACINGS

16. The winner will be the last person left in the competition after all matches/rounds have been competed.

TIE-BREAKS

17. Players to play on the same night, another game with colours reversed.
    Time-Control – All moves in 10 minutes both players.
18. If still tied, a 5 – minute blitz with colours reversed.
19. If still tied, lower graded player wins
20. If still tied, toss of coin.

TROPHIES

21. Random Knockout Champion & Runner-up.

CONTROL

22. The competition organiser and/or committee may make amendments deemed appropriate to ensure the smooth running of the tournament.