1. ORGANISERS

1.1 The Vietnam Chess Federation under auspices of FIDE.

2. CATEGORIES, SYSTEM AND RATE OF PLAY

2.1 There will be 12 age-groups: 6 in the Open section and 6 in the Girls section.

2.2 The tournament will be an 11-round Swiss system.

2.3 National rating will not be used for the pairings. Only FIDE ratings will be used.

2.4 Rate of Play: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.

3. RANKING AND TIE BREAK SYSTEM

3.1 The final standing is determined by the number of points scored.

3.2 Tie-Break:

3.2.1 Direct Encounter (only if all tied players have played each other)

3.2.2 Buchholz Score

3.2.3 Buchholz-Cut

4. APPEALS COMMITTEE

4.1 The Appeals Committee will consist of

4.1.1 IO Ignatius Leong (FIDE General Secretary)

4.1.2 IA Dang Tat Thang (Organising Committee)

4.1.3 GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili (FIDE VP)

4.1.4 Mr. Sergey Yanovskiy (Russia)

4.1.5 FST Michael Khordakovsky (USA)

4.1.6 Reserve 1: Mr. Kevin Jurrius (South Africa)

4.1.7 Reserve 2: GM Darryl Johansen (Australia)

4.2 Protests against decisions of the Chief Arbiter or his assistants, must be submitted in written form to the Chairman of the Appeals Committee within 30 minutes after completion of the playing session. The protest must be accompanied with the sum of US$100 as a deposit from the signatory. The deposit must be handed to the Chairman of the Appeals Committee. If the appeal is successful, the sum shall be returned immediately. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the deposit will be forfeited to FIDE.

5. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

5.1 The 2008 World Youth Chess Championship will be held from 19^th October (day of arrival) until 31^st October 2008 (day of departure) in Vung Tau, Vietnam. The chief Arbiter after consultations with FIDE and the Organisers may make changes to the tournament schedule. Such changes will be announced in due time.

Sunday    19 October 12:00 Arrival of Delegations 
                     19:00 Opening Ceremony
Monday    20 October 09:00 Technical Meeting
                     15:00 1st round 
Tuesday   21 October 15:00 2nd round
Wednesday 22 October 10:00 3rd round
                     17:00 4th round 
Thursday  23 October 15:00 5th round
Friday    24 October 15:00 6th round and Social Talent Nite
Saturday  25 October     Free day
Sunday    26 October 15:00 7th round
Monday    27 October 15:00 8th round 
Tuesday   28 October 15:00 9th round 
Wednesday 29 October 15:00 10th round
Thursday  30 October 10:00 11th round
                     18:00 Closing Ceremony 
Friday    31 October 12:00 Departure of Delegations 

6. PRIZES

6.1 In every category, the top three players, after tie-break, will be awarded with trophies, medals and the following gifts:-

1^st place – Laptop Computer

2^nd place – Ipod Video

3^rd place -- Wooden Chess Set

6.2 Prizes will also be awarded to those who finish 4^th to 10^th places.

6.3 For each category, the top 3 players of the 3 top Federations will be awarded team medals based on the total final ranking (after tie-break) of these 3 players. Federations with less than 3 players will not be eligible for a team award. In case of any tie, the tie-break scores of each player shall be considered.

6.4 The best 3 Federations will receive additional prizes based on the overall ranking in the Championships. Ranking is by number of gold medals, followed by the number of silver medals and then the number of bronze medals. If a tie cannot be broken, then the total points of medallists will be taken for tie-break.
1^st Federation – 30 Clocks
2^nd Federation – 20 Clocks
3^rd Federation – 10 Clocks

6.5 All players and arbiters will be given diplomas for participation.

7. ARBITERS

7.1 Chief Arbiter: IA Nguyen Thi Anh Thu (Vietnam)

7.2 Deputy Chief Arbiter: IA Prof. Rathinam Anantharam (India)
Deputy Chief Arbiter: IA Mauny Mauny Lwin (Vietnam)

8. ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS

8.1 Players must be seated at their respective tables BEFORE the start of each round. Once the start has been announced, any player who is NOT SEATED shall immediately be declared to have lost by default.

8.2 Only the players, arbiters and federation delegate (one delegate per chess federation) shall be allowed in the playing area, except with the express permission of the chief arbiter,

8.3 Players who have finished their games shall be considered as spectators for the rest of the round and are not allowed to stay in the playing area.

8.4 All electronic devices are strictly forbidden in the playing venue. If a player’s mobile phone rings in the playing venue during play, that player shall lose his game according to the Laws of Chess.

8.5 In case of pre-arranged games, both players will be penalised.

8.6 All players are assumed to have read the Tournament Regulations and are obliged to obey them.