Club Venue: Ducklington Village Hall, OX29 7UX

Twelfth Witney Weekend Congress - Information

12th Witney Weekend Congress   8th and 9th November 2025 Cokethorpe School, Witney, OX29 7PU   www.cokethorpe.org.uk

Sections and Entry Fees: Open, U2000, U1800 & U1600 | Entry fee £33.00.

Please note there is an additional pay to play fee for players who are not ECF members at Gold level or above of £16.00 (juniors £6.50). Juniors who have not previously been ECF members can get their first year’s Junior Gold membership free of charge: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-rates-and-joining-details/. ECF junior memberships are open to all players aged under 18 on the date the membership is taken out. Juniors who are not under 18 years of age and not ECF Gold or above members before the congress starts should pay the £16.00 adult pay to play fee.

For more details about ECF membership arrangements please visit the ECF website.

Contact: | Arbiters: Richard Buxton and Keith Freshwater

Playing Schedule:

Rate of Play: All moves in 90 mins plus 15 seconds per move increment from move 1.

Any player arriving more than 30 minutes late will be deemed to have lost unless re-pairing is possible. His/her opponent, however, must expect to be paired again if another player is otherwise without an opponent after 30 minutes. The time allowance is subject to alteration in the case of such re-pairings. Pairings will be made using Swiss Manager.

Byes: You may take a half-point bye in any one of the first four rounds. Please notify us if possible on the entry form or at the beginning of the tournament.

Prizes:

Withdrawals: If withdrawing during the tournament, please notify a controller or note it on your result slip. If you withdraw before the first round we will refund your entry fee less a £5.00 administration fee.

Ratings: All sections will be ECF rated. In addition, the Open section will be FIDE rated. Games involving players with a FIDE rating of 2400 or higher are not able to be FIDE rated at the time limit the congress has. Players’ ECF ratings from the November 2025 list will be used for determining allocation to sections, tournament pairings, and best performance prizes.

Analysis: A separate area will be available for analysis and discussion.

Further Information

Players entering the tournament agree to abide by the FIDE Laws of Chess and the decisions of the controllers, which will be final. We reserve the right to refuse entries or transfer entrants from one section to another at any point.

Mobile phones and electronic devices are only permitted in the playing area if the device is completely switched off. A player must not use any mobile phone or electronic device during a game without the controller’s explicit permission. A player whose mobile phone sounds during a game will forfeit the game.

Prizes will be paid by direct bank transfer within seven days of the end of the congress. No player may receive more than one individual prize. Prizes will be shared in the event of a tie.

Location: Cokethorpe School is set in a parkland estate of nearly 150 acres, 2 miles south of Witney and 10 miles from Oxford. See map and help with directions here.

Refreshments: These will be available on the premises, provided by the Cokethorpe School catering team, and will include a comprehensive range of hot and cold food and drinks.

The title of Oxfordshire Chess Champion and the Championship Trophy will be awarded to the eligible player with the highest combined score in the Open sections of the Witney Weekend Congress and the 2025 Kidlington Chess Tournament.

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