Welcome to PSPB Petro Shatranj Online Challenge

PSPB, one of the giants who promote Chess in India, has come up with a unique idea and organized an online chess event for the employees and their family members. The employee, spouses, and children of PSPB member organizations and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas are invited to participate. The one of a kind of an event where participants from below organizations will compete against each other to win maiden Petro Shataranj Online Challenge.

The event will be organised and managed by ChessBase India on Playchess server between August 24, 2020 and August 26, 2020. The registration is closed.

How to register for the tournament?

 Step 1: Create a Playchess ID

To participate in this event please ensure that you have a valid Playchess id. You can create one here for Free. You need to activate your account by clicking link on the registered email id. In case you don't receive the notification then use your personal email id(if you used corporate ID before). Without activating it you can't play the event.

Step 2: Download the free Windows software of Playchess 

Next, you have to download the free native Windows software from here. If you have Mac OS or Mac Computer, then you must use some VMWare to run it as Playchess Desktop Client has native support on Windows OS only. The tournament cannot be played via mobile or tablet device. All players must have the latest version of the Playchess software.

Step 3: Registration

To participate in the event, you must submit your entry via the google form here. Make sure the information you submit is accurate because this would be very important for the smooth functioning of the event. Send relevant proofs to  playchess.chessbaseindia@gmail.com and events@pspb.in 

After we validate the proofs, we will send you confirmation on your entry. Please note, age group participants also need to send parents employee-id proof.

Step 4: Using Playchess software

After you install the Client in step 2, you must log in using the credential that you have created in Step 1.

After you log-in, double click on PLAYCHESS.COM. and look-out for Rooms on your right-hand bottom side. The tournament will take place in the Vishy Anand Arena in the ChessBase India room. Registered players should be online and logged in to Playchess at least 45 minutes before the start of the respective tournament.

Once you are in a Vishy Anand Arena, click on the ‘Players’ Tab (right-hand top corner) and then click on ‘Join Event’. The Sysop (Tournament Director) will accept your entry. 

Note: The Playchess id, while registering and playing the tournament should be the same.

Step 5

Once you are in the room, please wait for the tournament director to begin the event at a scheduled time. Few important points to note,

- Once you are in the room, just wait. Please be patient and stay in the room even if your game finishes. Your next round will start automatically.

- We request all players to check their internet connection before the tournament. The minimum requirement is at least 2 mbps broadband.

- If your internet connection is weak, we might not allow you to participate. It is important to complete the event on a scheduled time and the lagger may slow down the event. It is recommended to play on a wired connection, playing on mobile internet can cause stability issues and disconnection.

- Each player is responsible for their internet connection, organizers will not be held responsible for any player's connectivity issues.

- No phone calls/messages will be entertained once the tournament begins. And all queries must be resolved before the tournament.

- As this is a swiss league event, all participants will play all rounds.

- The decision of the Tournament Director will be final

- All games will be thoroughly checked for cheating/impersonation. Anyone adopting any unfair means will be reported to the PSPB management and respective organizations. They will also be removed from the tournament and will not be allowed to participate in future events on Playchess. 

Let's play the game fairly and let the deserving talent win!

PLAYERS FAIR PLAY PLEDGE:

1. I will play Chess because I want to and not because others or coaches want me to.

2. I will play by the rules of chess and in the spirit of the Game.

3. I will not use any aid, any engine, any assistance and support from anyone. Let my game do the talking!

4. I will respect my opponents.

5. I will do my best to be a true individual player representing my organisation.

6. I will remember that winning isn't everything - that having fun, improving skills, making friends and doing my best are also important.

7. I will acknowledge all good plays and performances - those of my team and my opponents.

8. I will remember that the officials are there to help me. I will accept their decisions and show them respect. ·

Schedule of the tournament:

We are conducting two separate tournaments:

1. Age Group Tournament:

The Age group event will be conducted on August 24, 2020 and August 25, 2020.

All the players registered Under 20, Under 16 & Under 12 will compete against each other in this swiss league event. All the participants will play all the rounds. So if you lose the game, do not get disheartened. Play all the rounds and learn from this experience. We are sure that this event will introduce you to the real world of Chess!

Details of the online tournament:

Date: Monday 24th & 25th August 2020

Time: 3:30 p.m. IST (All the registered players must gather at the venue by 2:45 pm. No query will be entertained in case of the delay)

Time control: 10 mins + 0 second increment

Number of rounds: 7 (4 rounds will be conducted on August 24th and 3 rounds will be conducted on August 25, 2020)

Venue: Vishy Anand Arena in Playchess

Games: Players are requested not to leave the Vishy Arena in any case. All the rounds for the day will be conducted back-to-back and there will be no breaks.

The event is scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm sharp and will be completed roughly by 5:30 pm. Please ensure all set-ups are in place and check if you are able to perform step 3-4 as mentioned above. Please do not keep anything for the last minute. We appreciate it if you resolve all the queries one day before the event. We expect co-operation and support from each participant to help us in conducting the event smoothly.

Final winners will be declared based on the points scored after completion of all the rounds.

2. Open Category Tournament:

The open category event will be conducted on August 24th, 25th and 26th, 2020. The event will be conducted in two phases.

Phase 1 - A Swiss League event - All the players will play all the rounds. After completion of all the rounds, the top 16 players will be played in the knock-out event on August 26, 2020.

Phase 2 - A Knock-out event: On August 26, 2020 a Blitz knock out event will be conducted and it will be live-streamed on ChessBase India YouTube Channel. Isn't it exciting!

Phase 1 - A Swiss League event:

All the players registered for an open category will compete against each other in this swiss league format All the participants will play all the rounds. So if you lose the game, do not get disheartened. Play all the rounds and learn from this experience. We are sure that this event will introduce you to the real world of Chess!

Details of the Swiss League tournament:

Date: Monday 24th & 25th August 2020

Time: 6:30 p.m. IST (All the registered players must gather at the venue by 5:45 pm. No query will be entertained in case of the delay)

Time control: 10 mins + 0 second increment

Number of rounds: 10 (5 rounds will be conducted daily on August 24th and 25th, 2020)

Venue: Vishy Anand Arena in Playchess

Games: Players are requested not to leave the Vishy Arena in any case. All the rounds for the day will be conducted back-to-back and there will be no breaks.

We appreciate if you resolve all the queries one day before the event. We expect co-operation and support from each participant to help us in conducting the event smoothly. Please ensure all set-ups are in place and check if you can perform steps 2-4 as mentioned above. Please do not keep anything for the last minute. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm sharp and will be completed roughly by 9:00 pm. 

After completion of all 10 rounds, we will declare the top 16 participants. The top 16 will play in a knock-out event on August 26, 2020.

Phase 2 - The Knock-out event: August 26, 2020 - 6:30 PM onward

The top 16 players from the swiss league event will compete against each other in a know-out format.

Details of the Knock-out tournament:

Date: Monday 26th August 2020

Time: 6:30 p.m. IST (All the players must gather at the venue by 5:45 pm. No query will be entertained in case of the delay)

Time control: 5 mins + 0 second increment

Venue: Vishy Anand Arena in Playchess

Games: As this is a knock-out event, winners will proceed to the next round.

Tie/Draw: In case any game ends in a draw in the knock-out stage, we will reverse the colors of the players and will conduct one more round with similar time control. If the second game also ends in a draw then higher ranked in the swiss league event will be declared as a winner. 

Once we complete the swiss league event, we will coordinate with the winners separately and will help them to understand the format better.

Prizes

Chess Webinar on August 22, 2020:

PSPB has also organised Chess Webinar on August 22, 2020 at 12:00 PM. ChessBase India will be hosting the event and it will be moderated by IM D.V. Prasad. PSPB has invited GM Abhijit Kunte, GM K. Sasikiran, GM Abhijit Gupta and IM & WGM Padmini Rout to share their success story. If you have any question for the expert, please send it to us via below link.. Also during the webinar IM Sagar Shah will explain the structure of the tournament and other technical aspect of the event. So do not miss the event!

To join the webinar click here. You can send your questions here.

Additional details on the event

1. The event will be conducted in two stages.

2. In the first stage of the event, all the participants will play 9 or 10 rounds (depending on the number of registered participants) in a Swiss league format (where all players play all rounds, despite any result of the game).

3. Each round in the first stage will last for around half an hour (10 mins per side + Break between each round).

4. If you win a game, you get 1 point and every draw earns a half point. If you lose the game, you don’t get any point. After completion of all rounds top 16 players with higher points, will be selected to play in the knock-out event.

5. The second stage will be a knock-out event. The winner of the knock-out event will be declared as a final winner.

6. Detailed schedule will be communicated with the registered participants separately and could be different as mentioned above.

7. Few important points to note,

- The tournament can only be played using laptop and desktop setups

- The Pairings and the final standings are system driven and no manual intervention is possible. Hence we request kind cooperation from all the participants.

- We request all players to check their internet connection before the tournament. Minimum requirement is at least 2 mbps broadband.

- Each player is responsible for their internet connection, organizers will not be held responsible for any players connectivity issues.

- No phone calls/messages will be entertained once the tournament begins. And all queries must be resolved before the tournament.

- All games will be thoroughly checked for cheating/impersonation. Anyone adapting any unfair means will be removed from the tournament and will be reported to PSPB management.

- No new entries will be accepted post the official closure of the registration on August 21, 2020.

Confirmed entries for the event:

In case your name is not appearing or registered under incorrect category, please reach out to us on 9870630758.