Ashley's Million-dollar chess tourney - but bring your own clocks

I believe the event is gonna be a flop .... how many can afford to pay the outlandish entry fee ?! 

They need some side events, like a weekend unrated/low rated K-12 tournament.  Don't charge an entry fee, but give out like $500 bucks for being top 3 in your grade or something.  In the grand scheme of things, it's a small payout, but might attract a lot of people who wouldn't normally go.

Actually, quite a few can afford to spend $1000 for a tournament.  I know people who spend over $1000 on lunch (per person) without batting an eye.  People spend over $5,000 on a suit and over $80,000 on a car.  There are many wealthy people in the US.

I wonder how many of the wealthy in the US play tournament chess though ?  Most chess players I have known were from poor to upper middle class and certainly I dont know any who would pay $1,000.  entry fee . I have never hung out with rich folks due to segregation !  This type is widely accepted it seems .... 

I would guess that there are 2000-3000 players (maybe more) who could afford to play in this tournament.  The question is: will they?  If you can afford to play in the tournament, the prize money isn't much of a lure (especially in the class sections) because only a handful of players will win anything other than a token prize.

>In order for the Millionaire to succeed its going to need an influx of people from outside the USA<

An interesting idea. However, the Las Vegas venue speaks to a marketing strategy primarily targeted at Americans. It's not cheap to fly to or from the USA from abroad, and getting to Las Vegas is even more expensive. Go ahead and price flights from London, Munich, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo, New Delhi, or wherever...it's a large cost to fly to Las Vegas from any of those locations.

Add in the costs of rooms, food, and entertainment, and this becomes a trip of a lifetime for most people who live in Europe or Asia. Then add in another $1000 to play 7 games of chess. 

No, I think the guiding belief behind this tournament was that there exists a large group of well-heeled chess amateurs in the USA who are looking for something to do with their idle bank accounts. The kind who can round-trip fly to Vegas from New York, Chicago or wherever for under $300, or even drive there. Those same 1200 people who hang out in Goichbergia...SURELY many or all of them are just itching to play for big bucks? 

And that, of course, has been the mantra of the organizers - money money money, it's all about money. Chess has to pay more money to go to the "next level." Money makes things important, and interesting, and exciting. 

Well, maybe that's how the orrganizers operate (and has the principal ever even BEEN to a chess tournament, or even know how to play the game?), but it doesn't seem to be the case with those 1200 Goichbergians. 

It´s not easy for most people in the world to get Visitor Visas to enter to the US.

One amusing speculation - it's possible that certain "celebrity" players like Will Smith or Jennifer Shahade have indeed registered, but have asked to keep their names off the public lists until game day. 

I'm frankly a little suprised at the total lack of A-List players on the list (Gregory Kaidanov does not qualify as an A-List player for me)...so maybe Yasser IS coming, but just wants it on the down-low :)

TMB

If MC made such a drums-and-trumpets advertisment it was precisely with the hope to attract players that are not tournament regulars. I can perfectly picture a couple of bored millionaires that decide that blowing their money on chess is something that they could show off later on (as opposed to vodka, drugs, and tertiary sector's opening business), plus many non-tournament players lured in by the perspective of high prizes (whether real or not is not the question).

It seems to have failed so far, but again, I wouldn't be surprised by a last-minute rush even with twofold prizes.

Alexey Dreev is signed up according to the newsletter... but yeah I expected more bigger name players... would not be surprised if a few entered... 100 K is something...

If such a thing has happened, MC staff would have proposed a trade registration fee lifted vs. publicity of their names, if they have a bit of sense. And I wonder who would decline such a deal.

This was posted today on facebook:

[2014-07-18, 10:10:35 AM] Amy  Lee: Today's posting on Maurice's wall on FB:  Millionaire Chess takes security and sandbagging very seriously. We have already uncovered a blatant sandbagger trying to enter our tournament, and have turned the case over to the authorities. We are determined to run as clean a tournament as we possibly can.
[2014-07-18, 10:11:28 AM] Amy  Lee: then lots of comments but this is one of Maurice's reply "I think it is highly inappropriate to throw out names, even in jest. This is a serious matter that can permanently damage someone's reputation. But we take this very seriously and we will would rather not have business than allow the the wrong people to play in our event.

This is so clear a message. Did you also notice the section-wise registration list? It tells me that I have a very high probability of winning at least some prize in Under 2200 section because there is lot less than 50 players for that section and there will be 50 prizes! Who is worried about the entry fee this October? 

>Who is worried about the entry fee this October<

Possibly the over 80,000 members of the USCF who haven't registered.

>We have already uncovered a blatant sandbagger trying to enter our tournament, and have turned the case over to the authorities.<

The "authorities?" Whose jurisdiction is "blatant sandbagging?"
The FBI? The CIA? Maybe the USCF Super-Cops? This just gets more hilarious by the day...

>The Millionaire Chess Open will now feature a daily Best Dressed Prize: <

That will be interesting. Chess players generally have the worst couture of any gaming or sporting event. I was just at the Chicago Class Open and a typical look was a t-shirt, board shorts, and sandals with brown socks. 

The teens dressed a little better, especially the girls, but the old guard, especially anyone from Eastern Europe or over age 50, was the usual fashion disaster. 

20 July Update: 170 Registrants (50 more than in the previous list).

GM Alexey Dreev – 2777  
GM Parimarjan Negi – 2750 
GM Sam Shankland – 2725
GM Aleksandr Lenderman – 2690
GM Julio Catalino Sadorra – 2685 
GM Alejandro Ramirez – 2673
GM Daniel Naroditsky – 2654
GM Gregory Kaidanov – 2642
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – 2603
GM Ioan Cristian Chirila – 2602 
GM Alexander Shabalov – 2588
GM Alexander Fishbein – 2551

There are 12 GMs registered by now. The three "new" GMs are Dreev, Shabalov and Chirila. 

 >Did you also notice the section-wise registration list? It tells me that I have a very high probability of winning at least some prize in Under 2200 section because there is lot less than 50 players for that section <

No, your high probability is because your rating  of 1990 is a mere ten points under the cut-off for Under 2000, so you've personally always had a very high chance of scoring well in your section. You are not competing in "Under 2200." Your section is Under 2000. Let's be honest here.

This has always been the case for you, regardless of how many people are entered, and it prompts me to wonder how eager you would be endorsing this event if your rating was 2005, and you'd be sitting at the very bottom of THAT particular group with almost no chance of winning anything.

I wonder if you'd have even registered, if that was the case. 

So yes, Ashik, you have a vested interest in this tournament taking place, since you are so well placed to win big in it. Your hearty enthusiasm is not surprising.

TMB

Well I endorse this event too and I'm at the bottom of my section.

Here's where the screaming starts. Even if you play 7 great games and win your section cleanly, you can still lose in speed chess to someone who may have scored well below you. This alone makes the entire tournament questionable, and I wonder just what the organizers are doing when they effectively punish their section winners by making them win all over again in speeders:

>The top four players from each section will play each other in a double round knock-out to determine the eventual winner and prize distribution. Note that the losers of the semi-finals will play each other to determine who takes 3rd place and who takes 4th place. The time control will be G/25 with a 5-second delay. In case of a tie after two games, the players will play two G/15 games with a 5-second delay. In the event of a tie after those games, the players will play two 5-minute blitz games with a 2-second delay. In the event of a tie after those games, the players will play an Armageddon blitz game (White 5 minutes, Black 3 minutes 30 seconds with draw odds).<

I wonder what they are going to do if there are more than 4 people qualified for the speed session?  In the 2013 World Open there was a 9 or 10 way tie for first in the Open Section.  This speed chess playoff is a big turn- off to me.  If you want to break ties with it, fine, but if I win clear first in my section I don't want to spend a whole day playing speed chess to determine my prize.  I would feel I've already earned it.