The Rules
1 The Under 14/1700 Championship shall be under the day-to-day control of the SCCU Junior Organiser or their representative.
2 The Championship shall be open to all Member organisations of the Union. An organisation may enter any number of teams. Entries shall reach the Organiser not later than the 15th September.
3 Except as otherwise provided by these Rules, play shall be in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess.
4 Teams shall be of twelve players.
5 Eligibility of players
(a) No player may represent more than one team in the course of a season.
(b) All players shall be under 14 years of age on the 31st August of the year in which the competition begins.
(c) No player may have a rating of 1700 or more in the published ECF list in September for Standard or Rapid. If players later go above in either rating, they are still eligible for the season. "Rating" means standard if the player has a standard rating, and rapid if they have not. An unrated player is eligible provided his match captain is satisfied that his strength is clearly below 1700. The Organiser may, however, debar such a player from future participation if at any time he becomes satisfied that the player's strength is not below 1700.
(d) Penalties
For each game played by an ineligible player in a match the penalty shall be loss of the game and the deduction of one half penalty point from the resulting total of game points scored by the team in that match.
6 The Competition has two stages:
(a) The Group stage
(b) The Final
In the event of a low number of entries, a single Finals stage can be held with the winner decided as detailed in Para 7, The Group Stage.
7 The GROUP STAGE: GENERAL
(a) The Organiser shall divide the teams into Groups which shall, as far as possible, be of equal size. The team placed first in each Group shall proceed to the Final.
(b) Within each Group, each team shall play two matches against each other team: one at home, and one away. The Organiser may vary this arrangement at their discretion.
(c) Where a Member has more than one team in a Group, these teams shall (unless otherwise provided by the Organiser) play all their matches against each other before any of them plays any other opponent.
(d) Arrangement of fixtures. The Organiser shall set a date by which the Group stage is to be completed. They may, at their discretion, prescribe dates for any or all matches. They may, alternatively, request team captains to fix dates by agreement. In the former case captains may change dates by agreement but must inform the Organiser promptly. In the latter case captains must inform the Organiser of all fixtures not later than a date to be specified by them. For each match it shall be the home captain's responsibility to inform the away captain, not later than four weeks before the match, of the location of the venue, giving travel directions and all other necessary information.
(e) Defaults. A defaulted game shall count as lost for the defaulting side. A defaulted match shall count as lost on every board.
The defaulting side shall, on request, make good any financial losses of the opposing side, and meet the reasonable travelling and other expenses of any opposing player who in consequence of the default has had no opponent in the match. Claims for expenses shall if necessary be approved by the Organiser.
(f) The result of each match shall be sent to the Organiser by both sides, so as to reach him within one week of the match.
(g) Ranking of teams.
(1) Teams shall score:
Game Points: 1 point for a game won, half point for a game drawn
Match Points: 1 point for a match won, half point for a match drawn
(2) At the end of the Group stage, teams shall be placed in descending order of Match Points
scored.
(3) Where Match Points are equal, teams shall be placed in descending order of Match Points
scored between (or amongst) themselves. This operation shall be repeated until it has no further
effect.
(4) Where teams still remain equal, they shall be placed in descending order of Game Points scored in matches between (or amongst) themselves. However, if any of these matches has been won by default, the provisions of (5)(b) below shall first apply to Game Points scored in these matches.
The operation of (4) shall be repeated until it has no further effect.
(5) (a) Where teams still remain equal, they shall be placed in descending order of Game Points scored in the Group as a whole. However:
(b) If any tying team has won a match by default against an opponent which another team involved in the tie has played in the normal way, then, before the application of (a) above, Game Points (but not Match Points) shall first be adjusted by discounting:
(i) the defaulted match
(ii) the corresponding match played against the defaulting team by each other team involved in the tie. "Corresponding" means the home match for the defaulting team if its defaulted match was at home, and the away match if it was away. The home match is the match scheduled to be at home, unless venues have been reversed by agreement.
(6) Where teams still remain equal, no further tie-splitting shall be performed. All teams tying for first place shall proceed to the Final.
8 THE GROUP STAGE: MATCH RULES
(a) Each match shall consist of two rounds.
(b) Before play begins, match captains shall exchange team lists, including any reserves, arranged in descending order of known current playing strength. If a list includes defaults, these shall be on the lowest boards.
(c) After the exchange of team lists, match captains shall toss for colours. The team winning the toss shall choose to take white in either round 1 or round 2.
(d) Reserves may play in either round, on the lowest board or boards. With the exception of substitutes, who may play as provided by 8(e) below, each team shall play in team-list order as follows:
No pair of opponents shall meet twice. In round 1, both teams shall play in the order shown on the team lists. In round 2, the players of the home team shall play in the order shown on the list; the players of the away team shall change places on the top two boards, on the next two boards, and so on (so that the player on each odd-numbered board changes places with the player next below him).
(e) A player who has not arrived within 30 minutes of the start of a round shall lose his game by default unless a substitute is provided. A substitute may play on any board, provided this does not result in his playing the same opponent twice.
(f) Players are required to keep score.
(g) Each player has 60 minutes for all moves.
If using increment the time control should be 50 minutes plus 10 seconds per move.
9 THE FINAL
(a) If the number of qualifying teams is two, the Final shall be a match played in accordance with Rule 8. If it is drawn the winner shall be determined by board count or, if this fails, by bottom board elimination. For the purpose of board count and bottom board elimination, the players of each team shall in each round be ranked from 1 to 12 according to the order in which they appear on the team list, and each player shall be considered to play on the board his ranking indicates. Substitutes shall take the ranking of the player they replace.
For the purpose of bottom board elimination, results shall be eliminated in pairs: board 12 in each round, then board 11 in each round, and so on.
(b) If the number of qualifying teams is greater than two, the Final shall be a two-round jamboree. In this case:
(i) The provisions of Rules 8(f) and (g) shall apply.
(ii) Reserves and substitutes may play as provided by Rules 8(d) and (e).
(iii) Ranking of teams
(a) Teams shall be placed in descending order of points scored.
(b) If teams remain equal they shall be placed in descending order of points scored between (or amongst) themselves.
(c) If teams still remain equal they shall be placed in ascending order of their board-count scores in games played between (or amongst) themselves. For this purpose "board count" shall be the total of board numbers of games won, plus half of the total of board numbers of games drawn.
(d) If teams still remain equal they shall be placed in ascending order of their board-count scores in the Jamboree as a whole. Board count shall be defined as in (c) above.
(e) Where teams still remain equal, no further tie-splitting shall be performed. Any teams equal in first place shall share the title.
10 The winner of the Final shall hold the Fleming Memorial Board for one year. It shall be suitably inscribed at the Union's expense.
11 Any query or dispute shall be referred to the Organiser by one or more match captains. If it relates to a match already played it must be referred to them within seven days of the match. An appeal against his decision may be lodged with him, to arrive not later than seven days after his decision reaches the match captain concerned, and shall be referred to the Rules & Appeals Sub-Committee whose decision shall be final.