The International Chess Festival "Aeroflot Open 2012" will be held in Moscow from 6 February (the date of arrival) to 17 February 2012 (the date of departure).

The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, which is popular throughout the world, will be held in February 2012 for the eleventh time running. This major event is open to chess players of most varied qualification: from unrated to having a very high rating. As before, the festival is held “under the wings” of our leading air company – Aeroflot – Russian airlines. For the first time the festival will be held in the hotel “Cosmos”, which is one of the largest in Moscow ( over 1700 rooms). The hotel is located in one of the most beautiful and environmentally pure Moscow districts within 20-minutes travelling from Red Square and only 200-m walking from the nearest subway station. This time the festival has the guaranteed prize fund amounting to EUR 150 000 (taking into account the prizes for the Blitz Tournament).

Three Open Tournaments (A, B and C) are made up according to the rating of the participants. Naturally, the greatest interest is aroused by A tournament, requiring from a participant a rating above 2550 and usually boasting a number of extra class players.

In addition to the Open Tournaments, a Blitz Tournament will be held within the festival.

The official accommodation for the participants and also the venue of the Tournament will be at the “Cosmos” hotel.

The Organizers of the Festival are the "Aeroflot-Russian Airlines", the Association of Chess Federations and the Russian Chess Federation.

Type of Chess Festival:

The festival consists of three open tournaments, each of which is a nine round Swiss event.

The Tournaments and Prize Fund:

The total prize fund of the three tournaments is EUR 125 000.

Tournament A:
for chessplayers with a FIDE rating higher than 2549.
Total prize fund Group A: EUR 67 000

1st Prize	20000	6th - 10th Prizes	1700x5=8500
2st Prize	10000	11th - 15th Prizes	1200x5=6000
3st Prize	7000	16th - 20th Prizes	700x5=3500
4st Prize	4000	21st - 30th Prizes	500x10=5000
5st Prize	3000

The winner of the A tournament will be entitled to participate in the round-robin Super Tournament in Dortmund in the second half of July 2012.

Tournament B:
for chessplayers with a FIDE rating less than 2550, but higher than 2299.
Total prize fund Group B: EUR 37500

1st Prize	10000	6th - 10th Prizes	850x5=4250
2st Prize	6000	11th - 15th Prizes	550x5=2750
3st Prize	3500	16th - 25th Prizes	450x10=4500
4st Prize	2000	26st - 35th Prizes	300x10=3000
5st Prize	1500

Tournament C:
for chessplayers with a FIDE rating lower than 2300 or without rating.
Total prize fund Group C: EUR 18000

1st Prize	3500	6th - 10th Prizes	500x5=2500
2st Prize	2300	11th - 15th Prizes	400x5=2000
3st Prize	1500	16th - 25th Prizes	250x10=2500
4st Prize	1000	26st - 35th Prizes	200x10=2000
5st Prize	700

In exceptional cases the Organising Committee has the right to permit a chessplayer to play in a higher rated tournament than his/her FIDE rating indicates.

In case of a tie of 2 or more participants, the prizes are divided according to the Hort system.

The number of prizes in each tournament does not exceed that indicated above in the tables.

Tiebreak systems:

For tournament A and B:

1. The number of games played with Black. Byes and forfeited games will be considered as games played with White.
2. The average of the opponents' ratings minus the highest and the lowest rating.

For Tournament C:

1. The Buchholz score

Explication of the Hort System for the prize distribution.

In cases of a tie of two or more participants will be divided according to the Hort system. The following example will explain this system.

Suppose 4 players share the same place. The four prizes are as follows:1st EUR 10,000, 2nd EUR 8,000, 3rd EUR 6,000, 4th EUR 4,000.

We have to split the amount of EUR 28,000. We split it into two equal parts of EUR 14,000 each.

The first part will be split equally. Each of the players receives EUR 3,500.

The second part will be split according to the ranking after tiebreak.

#1 receives 3,500 + 5,000 = 8,500
#2 receives 3,500 + 4,000 = 7,500
#3 receives 3,500 + 3,000 = 6,500
#4 receives 3,500 + 2,000 = 5,500

Special Prizes:

There will also be special prizes for the best performance among seniors, women and juniors in all tournaments amounting to EUR 2500 in total.

There will also be a prize for the best result shown by an unrated player in section C.

Only one prize can be awarded to a player (the highest one).

The exact distribution of the special prizes will be announced after the second round of the tournament, when the numbers of seniors, women and juniors and the ratings of these players are known.

Attention is called to the fact that for such prizes to be awarded there should be at least 3 players in each of the above categories.

Seniors, Juniors and Women:

A player will be considered a Senior when he was born before 01-01-1952.

A player will be considered a Junior when he was born after 31-12-1993.

Girls born after 31-12-1993 will be considered as Women players.

Time control:

Tournament A:100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from the first.

Tournament B: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from the first.

Tournament C: 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the first.

The participants should keep the record of moves till the end of the game.

The Festival Schedule:

	Tournaments A, B	Tournament C
Arrival and Registration of the Players	Feb.6	Feb.6
Opening Ceremony	Feb.6: 21.00	Feb.6: 21.00
Round 1	Feb.7: 15.00	Feb.7: 9.30
Round 2	Feb.8: 15.00	Feb.8: 9.30
Round 3	Feb.9: 15.00	Feb.9: 9.30
Round 4	Feb.10: 15.00	Feb.10: 9.30
Round 5	Feb.11: 15.00	Feb.11: 9.30
Round 6	Feb.12: 15.00	Feb.12: 9.30
Round 7	Feb.13: 15.00	Feb.13: 9.30
Round 8	Feb.14: 15.00	Feb.14: 9.30
Round 9	Feb.15: 15.00	Feb.15: 9.30
Closing Ceremony	Feb.16: 18.00
Prizes	Feb.16: 19.00 – 22.00
Qualification Blitz Tournament	Feb.16: 10.00
Departure	Feb.17	Feb.16-17

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Appeals Committee

There will be an Appeals Committee of 3 members and two reserve members.

An appeal must be delivered to the non-voting Chairman of the Appeals Committee, Mr. A.Bach, within one hour after the round involved.

Appeals against pairings are not accepted, unless the following rules of the Swiss system are violated:

1. Two players shall not meet more than once.
2. A player can receive only one bye.

A player who appeals has to pay a deposit of EUR 200,which will be returned if the Appeals Committee decides to satisfy the appeal.

Swiss system

The Swiss pairings program used in all tournaments and in the Blitz tournament is Swissmaster 5.5 based on ratings.

16 Feb. 2012 a double nine-round Swiss Blitz Tournament will be held in the same venue ( Hotel “Cosmos”). The prize fund of the Blitz Tournament constitutes EUR 25,000 to be distributed as follows:

1st	7000	5th	1000
2nd	4000	6-10th	800x5=4000
3rd	2500	11-15th	600x5=3000
4th	1500	16-20th	400x5=2000

The Organizing committee reserved the right to pay the prizes in the same currency in which the package were paid for.

The participants of tournaments A and B are admitted without a fee. The other players will be admitted upon the following terms:

• admission fee: EUR 300
• 2 nights at the hotel (single room:EUR 180; double room: EUR 280 for two persons)
• airfare (depending on the zone): See the table

In case of a tie, two games will be played with the same time control to determine the winner. If the tie remains, a sudden death game (5 min v 4 min) will be played and a draw counted as a win for black.

Attention of all potential participants!

This year the Organizing Committee again decided to reimburse the participants for the airport and fuel taxes they have to pay. The whole trip will become cheaper for both the participants and the accompanying persons.

There is an insignificant redistribution of airport cities by zones.

Futhermore, starting from the year 2010, all participants and accompanying persons who enjoy, within this project, the services of the air company Aeroflot – Russian airlines and who have paid for their respective packages, will get their fully paid for air tickets by e-mail.

The earlier you pay the entry fee (also, with a very cheap air ticket) the smaller its amount will be.

The minimal fees are accepted until 1 Dec 2011. All prices are given in EUR.

Payment in USD and Euro should be made to the Interchess Ltd. bank account (see the bank details below).
When paying in USD 1 Euro = 1.5 USD.

Bank details

We kindly request the participants to transfer the payment in EUR or USD for the package to the following account:

EUR:

Bank	CREDIT SUISSE	SWIFT: CRES CH ZZ 80 A
Account (IBAN)	CH07 0483 5056 0205 7200 1
Account name	Interchess Ltd.
CREDIT SUISSE	Paradeplatz 8	Sort Code (Swiss Interbank Clearing): BC 4835
8070 Zurich	Postfach 500	SWIFT: CRES CH ZZ 80 A

USD:

Bank	CREDIT SUISSE	SWIFT: CRES CH ZZ 80 A
Account (IBAN)	CH34 0483 5056 0205 7200 0
Account name	Interchess Ltd.
CREDIT SUISSE	Paradeplatz 8	Sort Code (Swiss Interbank Clearing): BC 4835
8070 Zurich	Postfach 500	SWIFT: CRES CH ZZ 80 A

Visa, tickets and payment

From the tables given below one can see the financial conditions of participation. The price of the package (airfare, transfer, accommodation and entry fee) is given at a discount. A participant who does not need air ticket and accommodation should only pay the entrance fee, which is the same for all participants. The earlier the payment is made the smaller its amount.

We again call the attention of all foreigners who wish to participate in the festival “Aeroflot Open 2012” that in order to get their visas and air tickets in time they should pay for the package no later than Jan 24, 2012.

After the payment is made please send to our e-mail or fax addresses the registration form, including the name and surname, Elo rating, birth date, home address, number and expiry date of your passport, as well as a (scanned) copy of it, your itinerary (with arrival and departure dates). Please name the city in which you want to get your entry visa. The further course of action is this – the Association of Chess Federations receives a confirmation of payment and at once, within a single working day, sends an invitation to start arranging for a visa. Electronic tickets will be sent to the e-mail address you indicate.

Accommodation at the hotel room from 6 to 17 Feb. 2012 is paid for by the package. Those who wish to come earlier and/or depart at a later date should book and additionally pay for their rooms in advance (not later than Feb. 1, 2012). The room prices in the periods from 4 to 6 Feb. and from 17 Feb. to 19 Mar 2012 are:

• single room – EUR 90
• double room – EUR 140 (for 2 persons)

One person may stay in a double room only if he has paid the whole price (EUR 140).

Attention is called to the fact that full packages that have already been paid for are not refundable.

Registration and the package payment details are published on www.aeroflotchess.org

Payments in rubles or US dollars is accepted at the following rates:

EUR 1=RUB 45.00
EUR 1=USD 1.5

e-mail: aeroflotchess@gmail.com

Calculation of the value of the package “Aeroflot Open 2012” (all prices are in euro)

Prices of the packages “Aeroflot Open 2012” and payment period for journalists and accompanying persons

(all prices are in Euro)

The package includes air ticket, accommodation and transfer airport – hotel – airport for a 10-day package, but only a one-way transfer for a 5-day package.

Itinerary	Accommodation	Terms of payment
		till 15.01.2012		from 16.01.2012
		5 nights	10 nights	5 nights	10 nights
No flight	Single room	400	800	450	900
	Place in two-bed room	275	550	325	650
Zone 1 - Moscow - Zone 1	Single room	550	950	600	1050
	Place in two-bed room	425	700	475	800
Zone 1 - Moscow - Zone 2	Single room	575	975	625	1075
	Place in two-bed room	450	725	500	825
Zone 1 - Moscow - Zone 3	Single room	600	1000	650	1100
	Place in two-bed room	475	750	525	850
Zone 1 - Moscow - Zone 4	Single room	650	1050	700	1150
	Place in two-bed room	525	800	575	900
Zone 2 - Moscow - Zone 2	Single room	600	1000	650	1100
	Place in two-bed room	475	750	525	850
Zone 2 - Moscow - Zone 3	Single room	650	1050	700	1150
	Place in two-bed room	525	800	575	900
Zone 2 - Moscow - Zone 4	Single room	725	1125	775	1225
	Place in two-bed room	600	875	650	975
Zone 3 - Moscow - Zone 3	Single room	700	1100	650	1200
	Place in two-bed room	575	850	625	950
Zone 3 - Moscow - Zone 4	Single room	750	1150	800	1250
	Place in two-bed room	625	900	675	1000
Zone 4 - Moscow - Zone 4	Single room	800	1200	850	1300
	Place in two-bed room	675	950	725	1050

Zone breakdown for calculation of the value of the package "Aeroflot Open 2012" (table 2)

Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3		Zone 4
Kaliningrad Kiev Krasnodar St.Petersburg	Astrakhan Berlin Istanbul Helsinki Riga Samara Sochi Stockholm Ufa Vienna	Amsterdam Anapa Antalia Athens Baky Barcelona Barnaul Beirut Belgrade Brussels Bucharest Budapest Cair Chelyabinsk Copenhagen Damascus Dusseldorf Ekaterinburg Frankfurt Geneva Hamburg Hannover Karlovy Vary Krasnoyarsk London Madrid Milan Munich	Nice Nizhnevartovsk Novosibirsk Omsk Oslo Paris Perm Petropavlovsk kamchatsky Prague Rome Simferopol Sofia Surgut Tel Aviv Tehran Tyumen Venice Volgograd Warsaw Yerevan Zagreb Zurich	Beijing Bishkek Delhi Dubai Hanoi Hong Kong Irkutsk Khabarovsk Kemerovo Los Angeles New York Seul Shanghay Tashkent Ulaanbaatar Vladivostok Washington Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk