Tournaments and Bookings Terms of Service

Tournament Bookings

Tshwane Chess sells entries to our tournaments on our website.  It remains your responsibility to ensure that you entered the correct information when you entered, that you entered the correct tournament.  

It is the responsibility of the player to ensure that he/she is entered into the correct section.  Please ensure that your name and surname is as per your Chess SA profile

It is your responsibility to ascertain whether an event has been cancelled and the date and time of any rearranged event. If an event is cancelled or rescheduled, we will use reasonable endeavours to notify participants of the cancellation once we have received the relevant authorisation from the Tournament Organiser. We do not guarantee that participants will be informed of such cancellation before the date of the event.

In the event that the tournament is cancelled Tshwane Chess will refund the tournament fee. Tshwane Chess does reserve the right to levy a cancellation fee. 

Tshwane Chess will also from time to time sell tickets on behalf of Tournament Organisers in our regions such as our registered Chess Clubs, Schools in our region, Chess Coaches, Chess Coaching Schools, etc.  Tournament Organisers are responsible to deliver the tournament, pay advertised prize funds and for any refunds due to entrants.  Unfortunately, it does happen that events are cancelled or postponed by the Tournament Organisers for a variety of reasons. If the event is cancelled, please contact the Tournament Organiser directly.  We are not liable for events cancelled by any tournament organiser.  

It is your responsibility to ascertain whether an event has been cancelled and the date and time of any rearranged event. If an event is cancelled or rescheduled.

We do not guarantee that participants will be informed of such cancellation before the date of the event.

Any participant that fails to arrive on time or misses the start of the tournament forfeits all entry fees and will not be entitled to a refund unless they notify the Tournament Organiser earlier of 48 hours in advance of the event or 24 hours before the registration closing date. 

In the case of an event organised by a non-Tshwane Chess Tournament Organiser that orgniser remains liable for refunding the participants of the event any refunds  in terms of the tournament/events rules.  Tshwane Chess does not take responsibility for and refunds. The Tournament Organiser reserves the right to levy a cancellation fee.

This event/tournament entry is issued subject to the Rules and Regulations of the Tournament Organiser. The Tournament Organiser reserves the right to refuse admission should participants breach any Rules and Regulations. Any participant found to be cheating or breaking fair play rules issued by the Tournament Organiser forfeits all prize moneys.

Entries are sold subject to the Tournament Organiser’s right to alter or vary the programme due to events or circumstances beyond its reasonable control without being obliged to refund monies or exchange tickets. Tournament Organisers reserve the right to combine divisions or sections at their discretion.

The Tournament Organiser, venue or Tshwane Chess and its Management accept no responsibility for any personal property.

Neither the Tournament Organiser nor Tshwane Chess and its Management shall have any further liability beyond the price of entry paid by the participant.

In respect of online chess events, the Tournament Organiser or Tshwane Chess and its Management accept no responsibility for connectivity or device issues, power failure or load shedding experienced during the tournament including any technical issues or failure by the relevant online chess platform.  Rounds will not be replayed as a result of any of the above. 

Before the tournament starts you will have to update your Online Profile with your real name, Chess SA and FIDE IDs as a requirement from CHESS SA in order for them to Rate all our future tournaments.

Booking a Tournament

In order to book for a tournament or competition entry on our website, you will be required to complete the prescribed booking form.

You must be over the age of 18 and able to conclude binding contracts to submit a booking to us or, if you under the age of 18, you must have obtained the consent of your parents or legal guardian to submit a booking to us. If you do not comply with the aforesaid you may not submit any booking for tickets via our site. We may require you to provide us with suitable documents proving your age and/or the consent of your parents or legal guardian prior to accepting any booking from you.

Please note that while we will try our best to send a confirmation email for every valid booking request we receive from you, we cannot guarantee that such confirmation notice will be received by you, nor that, if they are received by you, that they will be legible and uncorrupted. Your failure to receive such confirmation notice will not affect the validity of the agreement concluded between us in respect of a booking.

It remains your responsibility to contact us, should you not receive a confirmation email after submitting your payment information, or if you experience an error message or service interruption after submitting your payment information, to confirm whether or not your booking has been received.  WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES YOU MAY INCUR IF YOU ASSUME THAT A BOOKING WAS NOT PROCESSED BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO RECEIVE OUR CONFIRMATION NOTICE.

Payment

You will be required to provide the necessary payment account details (such as debit or credit card details) when submitting your booking request via the PayFast payment system. By submitting a booking request to us , you authorise PayFast to debit your designated account with the relevant amounts due for the Entry tickets ordered. Such authorization will allow us to obtain payment via PayFast. We will not issue any tickets to you prior to receiving full payment of the full agreed amount payable in respect of such tickets.

Should we be unable to duly effect such payment for any reason your booking may be cancelled and your entry may be resold to another participant without further notice. You warrant that you are duly authorised to make payments from the account designated by you.

Tournament Organisers

Application to be host a tournament on www.tshwanechess.org

In order to utilise the event booking system on the www.tshwanechess.org including our Payfast payment functionality, Tournament Organisers must apply by email to youth@tshwanechess.org to be granted this functionality. Tshwane Chess reserves the right to request certain basic information from Tournament Organiser including but not limited to copy of identity document, proof of a registered bank account and proof of address.

Tournament Organisers may be required to sign an agreement or understanding to confirm these terms of service.

Fees for Utilising the event booking system on www.tshwanechess.org.

Tournament Organisers agree that a Transaction Charge will be levied at a fixed rand/percentage rate per transaction and will be withheld from all proceeds received from the sale of entries via our PayFast fascilities before any payment is made to the Tournament Organiser. 

In addition, the Tournament Organisers agree that a Fixed Cash Withdrawal Fee may be levied by Tshwane Chess and withheld from all proceeds received on behalf of the Tournament Organiser, to cover the charges levied by Payfast.

Where no participant entry fee is required to enter the event, no fee will be charged by Tshwane Chess to the Tournament Organiser.

Tshwane Chess reserves the right to amend the Transaction Charge and Fixed Cash Withdrawal Fee from time to time and will undertake to notify all Tournament Organisers timeously in advance.

The Transaction Charge and Fixed Cash Withdrawal Fee will cover the Payfast fees, administration costs involved in the event management system as well as the development of chess in the Tshwane Chess Region.  Any additional funds raised are used towards our Previously disadvantaged Players fund to develop chess players with talent living in impoverished communities.  

Payment to Tournament Organisers

The payment to the Tournament Organiser of nett proceeds received from the sale of entries / tickets or competitions via the PayFast facility (after deducting the Transaction Charge and Fixed Cash Withdrawal Fee) will be made within four business day of the event into the designated bank account. 

Responsibilities of the Tournament Organisers

1) The Tournament Organiser is responsible to deliver the chess event / tournament in terms of rules and regulations as published on the website or any other means including brochures, posters or other social media posts.
2) The Tournament Organiser is responsible to comply with all FIDE, Chess SA, provincial bodies ’regulations in hosting their chess event / tournament. - No tournament may be hosted if permission was not granted by the provincial or regional body in charge. 
3) The Tournament Organiser is responsible for all refunds to participants and the payment of published prize funds to the tournament winners or lucky draw winners.
4) All Tournament organisers must abide by the COVID Tournament regulations.  
5) All Organisers, for both Tshwane Chess and other Chess Tournaments, must abide by all rules set out in the Tshwane Chess Handbook.  Please take note of the rules for Sections and fees on page 90 of the Handbook.
6) Tshwane Chess General Tournament Rules can be found in Annexure M of the Handbook.