The Coulsdon Chess Rapidplay – November 2026 will take place on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at Coulsdon Chess Club in Surrey, South London. Coulsdon Chess organizes this established one-day rapid competition with seven Swiss-system rounds and a 20 minutes + 10 seconds per move time control.

The tournament includes a guaranteed Open alongside rating-restricted sections that the organizer will create according to the final entry. Therefore, players who prefer the strongest possible field can select the Open, while players who choose “Sections” will enter an appropriate rating group once Coulsdon reviews the field. FIDE has already registered the Open plus three possible additional sections for international rapid rating.

All intended sections count for FIDE Rapid and ECF Rapid rating. Round 1 begins at approximately 10:15, while the final round starts at approximately 17:30. In addition, the organizer expects the full tournament day to finish by around 18:30.

♟️ Event Details

The November event continues Coulsdon Chess’s long-running series of one-day FIDE-rated rapid tournaments. Moreover, its flexible section structure allows the organizer to adapt the groups to the actual strength distribution of the final field.

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

All groups use the same seven-round rapid format. Each player receives 20 minutes for the entire game plus a 10-second increment from move one.

The organizer pairs the Open separately from any lower rating groups that it creates. However, the exact number and rating boundaries of those lower sections depend on the final entry.

A player who arrives more than 15 minutes after the advertised round start can lose by default.

Half-Point Byes

Players may request one half-point bye during the seven-round tournament.

A player can request that bye in any round. However, anyone who wants a bye in Round 7 must arrange it before the tournament begins.

Once a final-round bye has been requested, the organizer does not allow the player to withdraw that request later.

In addition, Coulsdon reserves the right to ask a player with a bye to play in another section when necessary to balance numbers. In that situation, playing the extra game can become a condition for receiving the half point.

🏆 Prize Fund

Coulsdon Chess does not advertise a fixed guaranteed cash figure for this event.

Instead, the organizer’s standing rapidplay regulations state that the total prize fund will equal approximately 60% of the entry fees collected. The tournament team will calculate the final amount during Round 1.

Prize Structure

The organizer will also set the rating-prize boundaries during the first round so they reflect the actual entry.

Therefore, the final prize total will depend directly on the number of paid entries rather than on a pre-announced guaranteed amount.

Unrated Players and Rating Prizes

Players without a verified rating cannot normally win a rating-category prize.

Moreover, in a lower section an unrated player cannot normally receive more than one third of the first prize unless Coulsdon Chess obtains a reliable rating estimate.

The organizer may review a player’s previous tournament history when establishing such an estimate. Consequently, an unrated player with relevant previous results should provide complete details when entering.

Coulsdon Chess also reserves the right to choose the most appropriate prize when a player qualifies for more than one award.

Players must claim their prizes within 31 days of the tournament.

🧩 Sections / Groups

The final section structure differs from a conventional congress with predetermined rating bands.

Players choose one of two options when entering:

Coulsdon Chess will review the entry at approximately 18:00 on Saturday, October 31 and then determine the rating boundaries for the lower sections.

Therefore, the organizer cannot guarantee in advance where a specific cutoff will fall.

FIDE Registration

FIDE has already registered four November 1 events:

These registrations give the organizer capacity to run the Open plus as many as three additional FIDE-rated groups.

However, the final playing structure will depend on actual entries. Therefore, “Other Sections 1–3” should not be interpreted as fixed rating categories before Coulsdon publishes the final allocation.

All four FIDE registrations use the same 20+10 rapid time control.

🗓️ Schedule

The English Chess Federation confirms a 10:15 start for Round 1 and an overall tournament window running until approximately 18:30.

Coulsdon’s standing rapidplay regulations provide the following approximate timetable for its seven-round events:

The later round times remain approximate because rapid games can finish at different times.

Players who plan to enter and pay on the day should arrive before 09:45 whenever possible. This gives the tournament team enough time to process the entry before it prepares the first-round pairings at around 10:00.

📝 Registration

Coulsdon Chess offers a small discount to its full adult club members. Meanwhile, other advance entrants pay £26.

The organizer defines a “full Coulsdon Chess member” as someone who has paid for the club’s adult Monday-night membership.

The current November event page still labels this membership as 2025–26. Because the event itself takes place in November 2026, players relying on the member discount should confirm their eligibility when booking rather than assuming that the season label has been updated.

ECF Membership

The current English Chess Federation event listing requires ECF Gold membership, or Junior Gold where applicable.

Current ECF rules for 2026/27 also confirm that a FIDE-rated rapid congress of four or more rounds attracts a Pay-to-Play charge for players who do not hold Gold-level membership.

Gold, Junior Gold, Platinum, and Junior Platinum members can participate without this additional Pay-to-Play charge.

The organizer’s event page still contains older wording referring to “Silver” membership. However, Silver is not a current ECF membership tier. Therefore, players should use the current ECF Gold / Pay-to-Play rules when calculating their likely total cost.

FIDE ID

Players must also be registered with FIDE because the tournament receives international rapid rating.

Anyone who has recently registered under another federation should obtain their new FIDE identification number and provide it to Coulsdon Chess before the event begins.

Official Entry

Tournament information and entry:

https://ccfworld.com/adult-rapid-play-1st-november-26/

Players can also contact the organizer at:

chess@ccfworld.com

Telephone:

+44 20 8645 9586

Advance entry is preferable because the organizer uses the final field on Saturday evening to create the rating sections.

👥 Organizer

Coulsdon Chess operates as part of the non-profit organization Creating Community Facilities and runs a substantial program of adult, junior, classical, rapid, and blitz chess.

Daniel Gliddon serves as both the Chief Organizer and Chief Arbiter for the November rapidplay according to the current FIDE registrations.

📍 Venue

The tournament takes place at Coulsdon Chess Club – 84–90 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 3BA, United Kingdom.

Coulsdon Chess uses this permanent venue for its regular club program as well as weekend congresses, rapidplays, junior competitions, training activities, and other chess events.

The location gives the tournament a dedicated chess setting rather than a temporary hotel or conference venue. Moreover, the same address hosts many of Coulsdon’s regular ECF- and FIDE-rated activities.

Players should arrive with enough time to check in and locate their playing section before the first pairings appear at approximately 10:00.

🏨 Accommodation

Coulsdon Chess does not advertise an official tournament hotel or special accommodation package for the November rapidplay.

Because the event lasts only one day, many players from London and South East England can travel to Coulsdon and return home after Round 7. However, players coming from farther away may prefer to stay overnight on Saturday.

Practical Areas to Stay

Players who stay in central London can also travel south on tournament morning. Nevertheless, an overnight stay in Coulsdon, Purley, or Croydon reduces the risk of a long Sunday-morning journey before the 10:15 first round.

No accommodation listed by third parties should be treated as an official tournament hotel unless Coulsdon Chess announces one.

Players should therefore compare the exact October 31–November 1 rate, transport connection, and cancellation terms before booking.

🚆 How to Get There

Coulsdon has two railway stations that can provide useful access to the tournament area: Coulsdon Town and Coulsdon South.

By Train

National Rail lists step-free access to all platforms at both stations. Therefore, either can provide a practical rail option depending on the player’s starting point and Sunday service pattern.

Coulsdon South also has station parking, including accessible spaces.

Players should check the live National Rail or Transport for London journey planner before traveling because Sunday engineering work can change routes and frequencies.

From Central London

Rail services connect the Coulsdon area with the wider London network. Therefore, players traveling from central London can normally continue to either Coulsdon Town or Coulsdon South and then complete the local journey to Chipstead Valley Road.

Because Round 1 starts at 10:15, players should plan to reach the club at around 10:00 or earlier rather than choosing a connection that arrives immediately before play.

By Bus

Local bus services also serve Chipstead Valley Road and connect Coulsdon with areas including Purley and Croydon.

Players using a bus should check the Sunday timetable immediately before the event because weekend schedules can differ from weekday services.

By Car

Use the full venue address:

Coulsdon Chess Club – 84–90 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 3BA

The organizer does not publish tournament-specific parking arrangements on the current November page. Therefore, drivers should allow extra time to find legal local parking and check all restrictions displayed nearby.

ℹ️ Other Information

Mobile Phones

Coulsdon Chess allows players to bring mobile phones into the premises. However, players must switch them off completely during play.

Silent mode does not satisfy the organizer’s rule.

Players who expect an urgent call can arrange to divert calls to the Coulsdon Chess telephone number:

+44 20 8645 9586

This policy allows the organizer to enforce the FIDE rules while still providing an emergency contact route.

Other Electronic Equipment

Players must not interact with anyone who uses a computer while their own game remains in progress.

Therefore, analysis with electronic assistance must wait until the player’s game has finished.

FIDE Laws and Arbiter Decisions

The tournament follows the FIDE Laws of Chess.

Moreover, the standing Coulsdon regulations state that the tournament controller’s decision is final on tournament matters.

Publication of Results

By entering a Coulsdon Chess tournament, players accept that the organizer may publish their name, club, and tournament results on its website for permanent display.

Coulsdon Rapidplay Series

The November event forms part of a long-running Coulsdon rapidplay program rather than a standalone experiment.

The club has staged repeated one-day rapid tournaments for many years. Recent editions include events in November 2024, February 2025, April 2025, July 2025, November 2025, and July 2026.

The July 2026 edition also used seven rounds at 20+10, which confirms the continuity of the current tournament format.

ECF Grand Prix

Coulsdon’s standing rapidplay information states that its FIDE-rated rapid congresses contribute results to the English Chess Federation Grand Prix.

Consequently, the event combines one-day rapid chess with both national and international rating opportunities.

Important

Players should verify their ECF membership, FIDE ID, entry payment, and section choice before tournament day.

Anyone selecting “Sections” should also remember that the organizer will not determine the exact rating boundaries until the final entry becomes clear on Saturday evening. Therefore, the final lower-section assignment may not match a player’s expectations when they first enter.