16 th ASEAN+ AGE - GROUP CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015

The Singapore Chess Federation , under the auspices of the A SEAN Chess Conf ederation (ACC) and the Asian Chess Federation ( ACF ), have the honour of inviting all Asian national chess fede rations to participate in the 1 6 th ASEAN+ AGE - GROUP CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015 to be organised in Singapore from 8 th June (arrival) to 17 th June (departure) 2015. General Regulations & Rules 1. The Championships shall be governed by t he se Rules. Participation 2. 1 There shall be 14 categories; namely Under - 0 8 , Under - 1 0 , Under - 12 , Under - 1 4, Under - 16, Under - 18 and Under - 20 with separate events for Open and Girls. 2.2 Entitled to participate are players who shall not have reached the respective age before 1 January 2015. 3. There shall be 2 categories for Senior>50 and Senior>65. Such players must reach the required age during the year 2015. 4 . Asian national chess federations shall have the right to se nd as many players as they wish but they are responsible for all their own expenses. System & Pairing 5 . Where possible, each category shall be conducted in the Swiss System of 9 rounds. 6. In the last 2 rounds, where possible, players from the same Federation and who have scored more than 50% shall not be paired to play each other. 2 /5 Time Control 7 .1 Standard Chess: Each player has 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment. 7.2 Rapid Chess: Each player has 25 minutes to complete the game. 7.3 Blitz Chess: Each player has 5 minutes to complete the game. 8. Schedule: 8 June 2015 2030 hour Technical Meeting 9 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Round 1 1530 - 2030 hr Round 2 10 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Round 3 11 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Round 4 1530 - 2030 hr Round 5 12 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Round 6 13 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Round 7 1530 - 2030 hr Round 8 14 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Round 9 1500 - 1900 hr Social Evening and Medal Awards for Standard Chess 15 June 2015 0900 - 1430 hr Rapid Chess Rounds 1 to 4 1530 - 1930 hr Rapid Chess Rounds 5 to 7 16 June 2015 0900 - 1400 hr Blitz Chess 1500 - 1900 hr Closing Ceremony 17 June 2015 Before 1200 hour Departures Designation of the Winners 9. The final ranking order of the players is determined by the number of points scored. If at the end of the tournament two or more players are tied for the first place or for any prize, the tie shall be broken as in accordance to the following: - 9.1 Direct Encounter 9.2 Bu chholz Cut 1 9.3 Buchholz 9.4 Greater Number of Wins with Black Pieces 9.5 Greater Number of Wins Medals 10. 1 Medals: Shall be awarded to the top three positions in each event and category. (See 10.3) 10.2 Team Medals: Shall be awarded based on the total score of the top three players of a Federation. Federations with less than 3 players shall not be eligible for a team award. In the case of a tie, the tie - break scores of each pl ayer shall be determined. (See 9 .1) 10 .3 Individual Medals: Where the re is a tie, not more than 3 players shall receive the same colour medal. For each category, not more than 5 medals shall be awarded. Examples: If 2 players tied for first and 2 players tied for third, then, 2 Gold Medals shall be awarded, and there shal l be no Silver, but 2 Bronze Medals shall be awarded. If 3 players tied for first, then, no Silver and Bronze Medals shall be awarded. If more than 3 players tied for first, then, the 3 highest players based on the tie - break shall receive the Gold Medals and the Silver and the Bronze Medals shall not be awarded. 3 /5 10 .4. In the determination of FIDE Direct Title Awards applicable to Standard Chess only, the tiebreak shall be used in case of more than one Gold, or more than one Silver or more than one Bronze were awarded. FM/WFM titles are awarded to the winners (regardless of ASEAN or Non - ASEAN players) of the youth categories. In the case of a tie, after the tie - break, only the top three finishers shall be awarded. CM/WCM titles are awarded, after the tie - break, to Silver and Bronze Medal winners, and not more than one title shall be awarded for each (2 nd /3 rd ) position. IM/WIM titles are awarded for the ASEAN U - 20 category. Certificates 1 1 . Certificates shall be awarded to players who finish in the top 3 positions. 12 . Certificates of Participation shall be given to players, FIDE accredi ted trainers, managers, and the appointed Technical Officials. Appeals 1 3 . The Appeals Committee shall comprise 3 per sons appointed during the Technical Meeting. 14 . A protest against the decision of an Arbiter must be submitted in writing to the Chief Arbiter, within 15 minutes after the end of the relevant playing session. 1 5 . A protest fee of USD 10 0 shall be payable to the Organizer which is refundable if the p rotest is upheld. The Appeals Committee may also decide to refund the fee if it considers the appeal was not frivolous. 1 6 . The decision of the Appeals Committee is final, binding and takes effect immediately. Medical 1 7 . From the duration of arrival a nd until departure, the Organizer shall insure the participants against accidents and the need for medical services including cost of medicines in case of acute illnesses, surgical operations, etc. The Organizer shall not be responsible for medical service s needed for treatment of chronic or other illnesses which already existed before the arrival at the Competition. Visa 18 . All players and accompanying perso ns who require a visa to enter Singapore must send a copy of passport (page with photo and key in formation) to the Organizer before the deadline of 15 April 2015 after which the Organizer shall not be responsible. Playing Venue & Official Hotel 1 9 . The Playing Venue & Official Hotel shall be the NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY which is about 45 min utes’ drive from the international airport. 2 0 . All players and accompanying persons must be accredit ed and stay at the Official Venue . Please bring your own bath towel. 2 1 . The rate for twin sharing room is USD 75 per person p er day inclusive of 3 meals. For single room, the rate is USD 90 . 2 2 . The Organizer shall provide free board and lodging (in twin share room) for one official per federation . (Two officials in the case of ASEAN federations with more than 20 players). 4 /5 Fin ancial Regulations 2 3 . T he Entry Fee for players is USD 250 . If registration and payment are submitted before the deadline of 15 April 2015, there will be a 20% discount (USD 200). 24 . All officials and accompanying persons must pay a Registration Fee of USD 125 to the Organizer. The Registration Fee is to include the costs for airport transfers, Accreditation Cards, Certificates, etc. If registration and payment are submitted before 15 April 2015, there will be a discount of 40% (USD 75). Registration o f Participation 2 5 . Before 1 5 March 2015 ), a federation shall register its intention to participate with the Organizer. This is a Preliminary Registration and should indicate the number of players and other participants. 26 . Before 15 April 2015 , the participating federation shall submit its Final Registration of participants. The birthdate of each player must be given and must correspond with the birthdate given in his passport or other travel document. All travel documents must also be submitted if v isas are required. The Organizer shall not be responsible for late submission and application for visas. 27. All players are also required to send their passport photo size in jpeg file to the Organizer for preparation of name plates. All accompanying per sons must have identification tags (with photo) for admittance into the Opening Ceremony, Social Night and Closing Ceremony. Registration and Payment 28 . Organizer: Singapore Chess Federation C ontact Person: IA/IO Ignatius LEONG email: fideleong@gmail.com Tel: (65) 96337946 29 . All Bank Transfers are to be made to: - Name of Accou nt: SINGAPORE CHESS FEDERATION Name of Bank: DBS Bank Address of Bank: 6 Shenton Way, Singapore SWIFT Code: DBSSSGSG Account Number: 0 01 – 043184 - 6 Social Night 30. It is a custom of the ASEAN Age - Group that each Federation from ASEAN shall send some players participating in these Championships to perform a show of their choice. Please bring your own musical instruments and/or CD/DVD for use in the show. Prizes will be awarded. Seminars 3 1 . Arbiters and Trainers Seminars will be held from 2 to 6 June 2015. ASIAN SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015 32. These Championships are also held in Singapore from 30 May to 8 June 2015.

PACQUIAO VS MAYWEATHER FIGHT OF A CENTURY CANCELLED?

An alleged report regarding the cancellation of scheduled boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is now circulating on social media sites. The main reason was believed from the latest rumored knocked-out of Mayweather during a sparring session last week with former world champion Zab Judah (sparring partner) at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas. According to the report, Mayweather was not totally recovered mentally from that knocked out.

Mayweather is now undergoing mental health assessment to determine whether he can fight Manny in the so-called ‘The Biggest Fight‘ in the history of Boxing. Until now, Pacquiao’s camp tried to negotiate Mayweather’s camp but none of Mayweather’s representatives can be reached for comment. By the way, happy April Fools Day!