Championship Rules

General

Games will be conducted in accordance with FIDE rules, unless contradicted beneath. These Rules should be read in conjunction with the SCCU’s Privacy Statement and Competition Rules.

Contents

A: Eligibility

B: Format of the Competition

C: Match Rules

D: Defaults

E: Mobile Phones and Other Electronic Devices

Appendix: Triangular Matches

Section A: Eligibility

1. Teams of four players from any club that participates in any chess league operating within an SCCU-affiliated county or in the London area are eligible to compete in any section of the competition. Teams are also welcome from junior chess associations and schools in those areas.

2. To be eligible players must be members of the English Chess Federation at least at Bronze level. They must also have represented their club in a minimum of two graded games since the start of the 2022-23 season.  Players for school teams must also have been pupils attending that school for the year 2022-23.  Teams from junior chess clubs or school clubs may include one regular chess coach/teacher, for whom the two game requirement is waived.

3. Clubs must submit a list of players for each team entered in the event to the Organiser at least 24 hours before the start of the competition. Clubs may list up to 5 players for each team they enter. No player may represent more than one team during the course of the competition.

4. The competition will use A or K rapidplay ratings in the April 2023 ECF list. Players without a current rapidplay rating or a P (partial) rating in that list will be allocated their standard play rating in the April 2023 ECF list. Players with no English rating or a P rating in these lists will be given an estimated rating by the Organiser. It is a requirement of registration that unrated players, or their team captains on their behalf, supply all relevant game data and co-operate with the Organiser as fully as possible. All games will be submitted for rating with the ECF.

5. A player with a rating, or given an estimated rating under Rule 4, that is more than 300 points below the average rating restriction for the section shall be deemed to have a rating that is exactly 300 points less than the average rating restriction for that section.

6. The Organisers retain the right to refuse and/or cancel a player’s or a team’s registration at any point if they believe that the requirements of Rule 2 and Rule 4 have not been fully met.

7. The Chief Arbiter’s decisions shall be final.

Section B: Format of the Competition

8. The competition will be divided into three sections:

• Major - restricted to teams whose average rating is not more than 2100

• Inter - restricted to teams whose average rating is not more than 1850

• Minor - restricted to teams whose average rating is not more than 1600

9. Each section will be a six-round Swiss competition. The format will change from a Swiss if there are fewer than 8 entries in a particular section. The Organiser will inform affected teams of the change of format in advance of the start of the competition.

10. The following points will be awarded per match:

Winning the match - two match points

Drawing the match - one match point

Losing the match - zero match points

11. The top team in each section will be the team that scores the most match points. If this is tied between two or more teams, then the following tie-breaks will be used:

i Game points in all matches

ii Result of Head-to-Head match(es)

iii Board count in Head-to-Head match(es)

iv Board elimination in Head-to-Head match(es)

v Sum of Opponents Match points

vi Removing the game points scored on the bottom board

vii Repeat vi by removing further boards until no further boards can be removed

Teams will be eliminated from the tie-break will not be reckoned for in later tie breaks.

Section C: Match Rules

12. The time control for each game shall be 25 minutes plus a 5-second increment per move.

13. Teams must play in grade order.

14. At the start of each match, team captains must fill out the match result sheet with the names and grades of their players. At the conclusion of the match, the completed result sheet must be passed to the Organiser.

There is no requirement for players to complete scoresheets.

15. If an odd number of teams enter a section, triangular matches will be arranged. See the Appendix.

Section D: Defaults

16. Defaults must be placed on the lowest board or boards. Where a named default is not playing on the lowest board or boards, the team shall be penalised one game point towards the total game points awarded in that match.

17. All defaults other than those specified in Rule 16 above will be penalised ½ game point towards the total game points awarded in that match.

18. For the purposes of calculating the average grade of the team, the grade of the defaulting player will be used where the default has been named. Where the default is unnamed, the defaulted board shall count as the grade restriction for that section less 50 grading points.

19. The default time shall be 15 minutes after the scheduled start of play for each round.

Section E: Mobile Phones and Other Electronic Devices

20. Mobile phones and electronic devices will be allowed in the playing area provided they are switched off. Match captains are responsible for reminding their players of this requirement. If a player's phone or device is found to be switched-on or makes any sound during his game, then on the first occurrence he will receive a warning.  For a second offence, at any point during the competition, by the same player, the penalty is loss of the game.

Appendix: Triangular Matches

a. Triangular matches are organised when there are an odd number of teams competing in a section. Each of the three teams in the match will play two games against each opposing team in two consecutive rounds. Over two rounds, therefore, each team will play four games against each opposing team. The League Table will then be calculated as if these four games were a normal match.

b. The pairings are arranged such that, if the teams are unchanged, each player will play one game with white and one with black, and against one opponent from each opposing team. Therefore, it is important that players who play in both rounds do not play on an odd-numbered board in one match, and on an even-numbered board on the other. If it is necessary to breach Rule 13 above to meet this requirement, then this requirement takes precedence over Rule 13.

c. Each team is allocated a letter (A, B, or C) which will apply to both matches. When the pairings are published team A will be listed first followed by teams B and C in order. The cards labelling the boards prominently label them, for example, C1 v A2: this indicates that at that board, the board one player of team C has white against the board two player of team A.