From: Pieter Stouten EU PNU COM> Date: 4 jul 1999 Subject: The Second Pan-Atlantic Shogi Championship (PASC II) >From Sunday 22 until Wednesday 25 August 1999, the second Pan-Atlantic Shogi Championship (PASC) will take place in London, England, as part of the third Mind Sports Olympiad . It will also feature the first ever America-Europe team championship. Strong western players such as Larry Kaufman (USA) and Frederic Pottier (France) have already signed up. We are also very pleased to announce that 5,000 GBP was secured for the PASC this year. CHAMPIONSHIPS ============= The Pan-Atlantic Shogi Championship is open to everybody, irrespective of strength or nationality. It will consist of 10 rounds. The best 4 "westerners" (players holding a European or North-American passport) after 8 rounds advance to the semi-finals and final to determine the Pan-Atlantic champion. The other players play one more regular round. The MSO/PASC also features an America-Europe team match, which is an integral part of the tournament (i.e., no separate games are played for the team match). The outcome of the team match is simply determined by summing up the results of all games between Americans and Europeans during the first 4 rounds. The pairings during these first 4 rounds are biased such that as many Americans as possible play against Europeans. Dates and times are as follows: Sunday, August 22, 15:30-19:30 (rounds 1-2) Monday, August 23, 10:00-14:00 and 15:30-19:30 (rounds 3-6) Tuesday, August 24, 10:00-14:00 (rounds 7-8) Wednesday, August 25, 10:00-14:00 (round 9/semi-finals and final) Time limits are 45 minutes per player per game plus 30 seconds byoyomi. FINANCES ======== - Entry fee GBP 25, but waived for North-American and European players who enter via their national Shogi organization by August 2. - Total prize money: 2,500 GBP (about 4,000 USD). Prizes: 1st GBP 500; 2nd GBP 400; 3rd GBP 300; 4th GBP 200 for the best North-Americans/ Europeans. 5th GBP 150; 6th GBP 100; 7th GBP 50 (all players eligible for 5th-7th prizes); GBP 800 for the winning team (i.e., Europe or America) to be distributed between all players in the team in proportion to the number of games played for the team. - An additional GBP 1,905 (about 3,050 USD) is available for national Shogi organizations to stimulate MSO/PASC participation of their players. Each national organization can select one player, apart from the USA, which can select three. Selected players must have North-American (USA/Canada) or European nationality. Any national organization that wants to distribute its allotment over multiple players is free to do so. The PASC II organizers will not be involved in the selection process. The distribution of money in GBP is as follows: America: 375 * 3 Norway, Sweden: 150 each Germany: 125 Netherlands, Belgium, France: 95 each UK: 70 The selected players will receive the amount allocated to them at the PASC II. - In addition, the PASC II organizers have invited Doug Dysart (USA) and Irina Novikova (Russia) for their enthusiastic contributions to help spread shogi in their respective countries. REGISTRATION ============ Just sign up with your national organization before August 2, and play for free! The list of organizations that accept registrations and their contact persons is: - USSF (USA): Josh Krekeler one net> - Norsk Shogi (Norway): Odd Vidar Bakkejord hotmail com> - Sveriges Shogifoerbund (Sweden): Martin Danerud telia com> - NShB (Netherlands): Hugo Hollanders merit unimaas nl> - Shogi Deutschland (Germany): Thomas Majewski ibmmail com> - AFS (France): Frederic Pottier club-internet fr> - Shogi Belgium: Hans Secelle cddb minfin be> - BSF (United Kingdom): Mike Brewer compuserve com> MISCELLANEOUS ============= The cost of accommodation in London proved to be a stumbling block for participation in the earlier MSO editions. The organizers have identified cheaper alternatives. To secure inexpensive accommodation, early reservations are recommended. The European Shogi Championship takes place from Friday 27 through Sunday 29 August. PASC II ends on Wednesday August 25, giving players that want to participate in both events ample travelling time. A web page devoted to PASC II will be made available soon. Pieter Stouten, PASC II tournament director E-mail: pieter.stouten eu pnu com