The Tel Aviv Scrabble® Club

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Following the success of the First Israeli Open Scrabble Tournament, we're pleased to announce that the Second Israeli Open Scrabble Tournament will take place October 16-18, 2009. Mark the dates in your diaries! This webpage contains information regarding the venue, schedule, format, registration and participants. Information regarding post-tournament activities can be found here. Please read carefully, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact Evan.

The event will take place at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Haifa. The hotel has an outdoor pool, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, and many more facilities to make your stay as pleasurable as possible. The hotel is high on Mount Carmel, overlooking the bay, and in the city centre. 

Haifa, on the coast of Mediterranean, has average October temperatures in low-mid twenties (Celsius) and there is about an 8% chance of rain on any given day. Great autumn weather for Scrabble (or beaches, for that matter...).

Dates
16th-18th October, 2009

Divisions
There will be a single division in the event, all games will be internationally (WESPA) rated and played with clocks. The pairings system (see below) ensures that players will be playing opponents with a similar record in the event.

Ratings
This tournament qualifies for international ratings. Players' international ratings will be updated accordingly. Needless to say, this tournament qualifies for Israeli ratings too.

Pairings
The first game will be pairing according to players' pre-tournament ratings. If players do not have an international rating, their Israeli, ABSP, Maltese or other available rating (in that order) will be used instead. Swiss pairings according to the standings will be used for games 2-19. Game 20 will be strict KOTH. There will be no repeats in games 1-10, or in games 11-19. The pairing and standings will all be done using internationally used software.

Prizes
The prize fund will be NIS10,000 (~2000 Euros). The winner will receive a cash prize of NIS5000, in addition to being the Second Israeli Open Champion. Cash prizes will also be awarded to the runner-up and second runner-up. In addition, other prizes for special achievements will also be awarded.

Lexicon
The CSW (a.k.a. SOWPODS, the international Scrabble dictionary) will be the official word source.

Challenges
We follow the WESPA rules, specifically 3.10.14.(c).(iii), i.e. a player may challenge any number of words played by his/her opponent. If all the words are acceptable, the opponent will get an additional 5 points added to his/her score. No turn loss for the challenging player. If one or more of the words are unacceptable, the move will be removed and the opponent will lose a turn. Players, supervised by the tournament director, will take their own challenges using Zyzzyva.

Registration fee
There is a non-refundable registration fee of NIS170 (~30 Euros). Players coming from abroad may pay upon arrival or on the first day of the event. Non-playing hotel guests do not pay registration. Note, registration is only finalised after paying the registration fee and/or booking a hotel room.

Accommodation
Person in double room (sharing): NIS880 (~150 Euros). Note, foreign players get a 16.5% reduction (VAT refund). 
Person in single room: NIS1520 (~260 Euros). Note, foreign players get a 16.5% reduction (VAT refund).  
Prices include:
* Two nights
* Half-board (a full Israeli breakfast + one meal) 
* Drinks (hot and cold) throughout the event in the playing room.
* Full use of the hotel facilities.
Prices do not include the NIS170 registration fee. This price only applies when booking rooms via the organisers. We cannot guarantee the price when booking via the hotel.
Note: Foreign players do not pay sales tax (i.e. a 16.5% refund will be given).
Payment for Israeli residents: Credit card, equal instalments, the first on the day of registration, the last upon check-in. The sooner you register, the more hotel payments you can pay.
Payment for foreign players: Credit card, two payments, 30% upon registration, the remainder (minus 16.5%) two weeks before the event.

To register, contact the organisers
Evan Cohen - +972-77-8844-013 or evan@post.tau.ac.il
Naomi Landau - +972-3-5287084 or ninja@netvision.net.il

The following players have registered for the event:

Ratings will be updated closer to the event to facilitate first-game pairings.
Red=International
Blue=Israeli
Green=ABSP-UK (adapted)
Magenta=NSA-US

Bahai Gardens
Very close to the hotel. They're highly recommended, if you have some free time before or after the tournment, pay them a visit. It doesn't take more than 1-1.5 hours (Friday a.m, perhaps). Check out details here.

Tour in Jerusalem
We are arranging a one-day trip to Jerusalem (Tuesday, 20.10.2009) with a guide for players coming from overseas and, of course, any Israelis who may be interested.

Farewell dinner
After the Jerusalem tour, we will be meeting at the lovely Suzanna restaurant in Neve Tsedek, Tel Aviv, for an informal farewell dinner.

If you would like to join the tour or attend the dinner (either or both, whatever you decide), please let us know so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

Note, the cost of the tour will be determined by the number of participants.

Additional tours
Additional guided tours (highly recommended) can be booked here: http://www.eggedtours.com/