Archived Tournament

4th Benson Memorial Tournament

Alan Benson (1947-2015) was a USCF Master (1971) and an ICCF Master (1975). He directed several chess tournaments in San Francisco, including the Pan Pacific Grandmaster Chess Tournament (1991) and assisted in the Mechanics’ Institute Pan Pacific Grandmaster Chess Tournament (1987). He was a member of the Mechanics’ Institute since the early 1960s, where he also played simultaneous blindfold chess, playing notable masters including Bent Larsen, Miguel Najdorf, and Bobby Fischer. He played up to ten boards at one time. 

 

Register or Join Wait List Change Request Form

Registration

• Online Registration Open Until: Saturday, October 17: 9:30 am
• Onsite Registration: 9:30-9:45am
• Entry fee for Mechanics' Institute Members: $40
  • Play-up fee: $10
• Entry fee for Non-Members: $50
  • Play-up fee: $15
• Late fee: $10
• $5 admin fee for all cancellations & refunds.

• Two ways to check your entries:
  • Check the live entries on the Jumbula page.
  • Check the processed entries here a day before the event.
• Please note our late fee may be in effect and is usually added 24 hours before the start of a tournament in case capacity reaches 90%.

Tournament Format

• Tournament Format: Swiss System
• Total Rounds: 4
• Time control: 40 min basetime + 5 sec delay
• Round Times: 10/17 10:00am 12:00pm 2:00pm 4:00pm
• Sections: 2000+ 1600-1999 Under1600

• Play-up rule:
  • Players must have an 1800 USCF regular supplemental or actual rating to be eligible to play up to the 2000+ section;
  • Players must have a 1400 USCF regular supplemental or actual rating to be eligible to play up to the 1600-1999 section.
• Pairings are based on the Oct 2026 regular supplemental US Chess rating.

Prize Fund

1000 b/60

• Prize explanations are coming after the event.
• Please allow 2-3 weeks for processing prize checks.
• Per IRS regulations, anyone who receives $2000 or more in cumulative prizes during a calendar year must complete a W-9, and Mechanics’ Institute will issue a 1099-MISC form for tax reporting purposes.

 

• Prize Fund:

  • $1000 based on 60 paid entries
  • Actual Payout: $617 based on 37 paid entries - 62% payout.

 

Byes

• Byes are available for players in any round in case they can't participate but would like to stay in the tournament.
• Byes can be requested up to 15 minutes prior to the round start time.
• Last round bye must be requested by the start of Round 1.
• Late registrations will receive a 0.5 bye for any missed round, up to a total of 2 rounds.

Eligibility

• Players must have current US Chess Federation membership. Expiration date of their US Chess membership must be later than the last day of the tournament.
• Not sure if you have a membership? Need to check the expiration date of your members? Visit: https://new.uschess.org/player-search
• Become a member or renew your membership: https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess

Tournament Rules

• Forfeit time: 40 minutes
• We provide clocks and set it up for players.
• Games are US Chess regular and quick rated (so called dual-rated.)

• What do the time controls mean?
  Time controls tell you how much time you have for each game.
  G40;d5 means game in 40 minutes with a 5-second delay on each move. This means you get 40 minutes, your opponent gets 40 minutes, and at each move the clock counts down from 5 to 0 before the player's time starts. If a player doesn't use up the whole 5 seconds, the remainder of that time is lost.

• How many games/rounds?
  The 4SS before the time control means it is a Swiss System tournament with four rounds, or four games, that a player can play in the tournament. The tournaments are never eliminated, so win or lose, you can stay in the tournament. 

Sick Policy:
The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club asks that any player who is feeling unwell withdraw from the tournament to help protect the health of others. The club reserves the right to deny entry to players who appear visibly ill. Players who withdraw due to illness before the start of the tournament will receive a full refund as a credit to their Jumbula account.

Mechanics' Institute Chess Club reserves the right to update any details of this event (including but not limited to sections, time control, round times, prize fund, etc.) as we get closer to the event date to ensure an excellent tournament experience for players.

Standings

Processed entries are coming 1 day before the event starts.

Final standings will be posted after the event is finished.

 

 

Pairings

Pairings are posted on the wall of the club. We do not post pairings online for 1-day events.