(Crossville)Jorge Vega, the FIDE continental president for America, announced today that the Pan-American Youth would be held in Cordoba, Argentina from June 29th till July 6th, 2008. The event will take place at the Carlos Paz Touris Centre. More details can be found on fideamerica.com. (Spanish.)

The regulation and inviation details are translated below for the convenience of uschess.org readers.

XIX Pan American Youth Festival 2008

Villa Carlos Paz, Provincia de Córdoba - Argentina
June 29 - July 6, 2008

I.                    INVITATION

The Confederation of Chess for America (CCA), the Federación Argentina de Ajedrez and the Asociación de Ajedrez de la Provincia de Córdoba are pleased to invite all National Federations of the Americas to the XIX Pan American Youth Festival 2008.

This event will be held in the touristic city of, Villa Carlos Paz, Cordoba, located in the central region of the Republic of Argentina: from June 29 to July 6, 2008.

The International Airport of Cordoba, Ingeniero Tarabella (Pajas Blancas) is located 50 minutes away from the tournament site in Villa Carlos Paz.

There are excellent hotels and touristic venues near the tournament site.  All of this, plus, the pleasant climate and the cordiality Argentineans are known for, will allow the chess players to feel at home.

   II.            GENERAL CONDITIONS

This event will be following the rules and regulations written in this invitation.  In case of any omissions, the Regulations for the Pan American Youth Festival will be in effect.  These regulations can be found at www.fideamerica.com

Participant Age Requirements: General (Absoluta) / Girls

Under 8:             Players must be born after January 1, 2000

Under 10:            Players must be born after January 1, 1998

Under 12:            Players must be born after January 1, 1996

Under 14:            Players must be born after January 1, 1994

Under 16:            Players must be born after January 1, 1992

Under 18:            Players must be born after January 1, 1990
 
Tournament Format:  9 Rounds, Swiss System.

Time Control: 90 minutes per player plus 30 seconds incremental per each move.  For manual clocks the time control is 2 hours per player, sudden death.

Characteristic:  Each National Federation may register as many players as it wishes.  All participants must be endorsed by their FIDE recognized, national federations.

Tie Breaks System

1.       The Sum of the progressive scores.

2.       Bucholz

3.       By age in favor of the youngest player.

TITLES, PRIZES AND OTHER CONDITIONS: 

General Section (Absoluta) Categories Under 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18: The FIDE Master Title is awarded to the Champion of this category.

Girls Section Categories Under 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18: The FIDE Women Master Title will be awarded to the Champion of this category.  

Note: In case of a first place tie, the titles will be given to up to three players per category.  

General Section (Absoluta) Categories Under 16 and 18: The Champion of this category will earn a 9 Rounds Norm towards their International Master Title. 

Girls Section Categories Under 16 and 18:  The Champion of this category will earn a 9 Rounds Norm towards their Women International Master Title.

Note:  In case of a first place tie, FIDE Master Titles and FIDE Woman Master Titles will be awarded for the second and third places.

In case there isn't a tie for first place, in the categories under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18; the players in second and third places will receive the Candidate FIDE Master Title.  In the Girls Section, the title for the second and third places will be the Candidate FIDE Woman Master.

Additional Information:

Each National Federation has the right for accommodations and meals at the organizer's expense for one official player per category from Under 8 to Under 18, plus one trainer or head of the delegation.   The extra players must pay for their own accommodations and meals. 

The Champions of each category in the Regional Festival (South, Center and North) from the previous cycle, plus the players who won first, second and third places in the previous Pan American Youth Festival have the right for accommodations and meals, at the organizers expense, as they are considered official players.

The top three players in each category have the personal right to play in the next Pan American Youth Festival with their accommodation and meals covered by the organizers.

The Champion of each category has the right to play and receive accommodations and meals at the World Youth Championship.

The organizers of the event will provide additional accommodations and meals for one more coach or trainer per every 15 players from the same country.

Note: For the official players, the organization will cover accommodations and lunch from June 29 until breakfast on July 6th.  The players will be staying in double, triple or quadruple rooms.  The player who prefers to have an individual room will have to pay the difference.

Prizes:
The top three players in each category will receive trophies.

The top three countries with the most accumulated scores within the top 10 players in each category will be declared the Pan American Champion. Second and Third places will also be recognized. 

The scores will be assigned as follows:  10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9^th and 10th places respectively, for each category.

Tournament Site: Polideportivo Municipal de Villa Carlos Paz. Located in Avenida Atlántica and Gobernador Roca.

 
III. COSTS AND CALENDAR
Entry fee:   All players, no exceptions, will have to pay the costs of CCA.

Official Players: US$ 75 (Seventy five US dollars)

Extra Players: US$ 100 (One Hundred US dollars)

These amounts must be paid in US Dollars or Argentinean Pesos at the exchange rate of the day.

Payments will be received by the CCA Treasurer starting June 29th at 10am.

No player can participate without fulfilling this requirement.

Deadline for Registration: June 5^th at 8 pm (Argentinean Time).

Hotel registrations for all players should also be made by this date.

The registrations will have to be formalized by the National Federation via e-mail by June 5th, with the information of the players: Names, FIDE titles, FIDE code, ELO FIDE, Date of Birth, Category and Country. 

Please send this information to:  [email protected]  

Each player must show an original copy of the passport and provide the organization with a copy of this passport.  Only registrations from the National Federations will be accepted.  The registrations must be signed by the President or Secretary.

International Airport Tax: US$ 18.

All the participants, coaches, and other chaperones will have to pay US $10 for the cost of accreditation.

             Calendar: