Intercounty Tournament Rules

passed on 7 May 1983 and amended by the AGMs in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006.

Contents

The Rules

1. The Council shall make general arrangements for the conduct of matches and for deciding the Championship of the Union.

2. Unless otherwise agreed teams in the Open and U-150 Divisions shall consist of 16 or more players while teams in other Divisions shall consist of 12 players. All players must be qualified under Rule 4. A player may represent a member organisation only if they have not played in the same season for any other member organisation.

3a. In each match one game will be played between each pair of players. No player may play more than one board in any one match. A win shall count as 1 point and a draw ½ point. The winning team will be that team which scores most game points and will score 2 match points. If the match is drawn each team will score 1 match point.

3b. If two or more teams are level in match point scores they shall be placed in order of game scores in the matches between the tied teams, and if these are equal according to their total game scores except that if another team has defaulted a match against one of the tied teams then all matches against that team shall be excluded. If these do not give a decision, board count in the match or matches between the teams concerned will decide, and failing that the Elimination Rule shall apply until the scores are unequal.

3c. Ties otherwise unresolved shall be decided by the Controller.

4. The qualification of a player to represent a member organisation shall be in accordance with the BCF National Rules.

5. A player whose qualification was valid under the foregoing conditions when first playing for a member organisation in the course of a complete season shall remain qualified for that organisation until the conclusion of the competition.

6. The penalty for playing each unqualified player shall be the loss of that player's game and the deduction of one game point for the match concerned. Unqualified players are those who are ineligible as a result rules 2, 4 and 18. The Controller may reduce or even eliminate the penalty if there are grounds for doing so.Claims to the Controller shall be made within 14 days of the match.

7. Before the time fixed for play the captains shall exchange team lists. The first named team shall have white on odd-numbered boards. Any known defaults shall be placed on the lowest board.

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8. Players shall be arranged as far as practicable in their known order of playing strengths.

9. Member Organisations must notify the Controller of any changes to the number of teams to be entered in each division and changes of match captains from the previous season, together with any dates of unavailability, by 31 August each year. A fixture list will then be drawn up by the Controller and circulated by 15 September. Match captains can be changed at any time thereafter by notifying the Controller and all other match captains in that division. Any amendments of dates should be agreed between member organisations and notified to the Controller before lst October.

10. Fixture dates may be altered at any time by mutual agreement. The Controller may be called upon if agreement is not possible. He shall be notified of any change.

11. Matches may be played at any suitable neutral venue by mutual agreement, but in the event of failure to reach a satisfactory arrangement the home team shall have the right to fix the venue.

12. The home team shall notify the venue to its opponents at least a month before the specified date of the match. Times of commencement and termination of each match shall be agreed by the officials of the two organisations before the date of the match.

13. In the event of the home team not having facilities ready to commence a match at the agreed time the clocks of the home team are to be put forward by the amount of the delay in the start of the match.

14. The following penalties will be applied for defaults in EACU matches:

(a) for a defaulting team - the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the nonoffending team.

(b) for a defaulting individual - the travelling expenses at the rate to be decided by the Executive.

All claims to be scrutinised by the Controller before acceptance and transfer of monies to the non-offending organisation.

Fines of £5 per game defaulted shall be paid to the East Anglian Chess Union and credited to the opposition county.

Fines of £25 (twenty five) per match defaulted shall be paid to the East Anglian Chess Union.

If either match captain notifies the opposing match captain on or before five days preceding a match that he is going to default the fixture, this will be taken as due notice and no penalty exacted other than liability for the cost of the accommodation.

15. The standard time control for all EACU county games played as double headers will be 36 moves in 90 minutes for the first time control, and then an additional 20 minutes for all remaining moves, unless otherwise agreed by the respective team captains. For all other EACU county games, the rate of play will be 40 moves in 2 hours and then the clocks will be set back 20 minutes and the remaining moves must be played in the time remaining. Other time limits may be used by mutual agreement of the two match captains before the start of the match so long as there is still a quickplay finish.

16. The clock of the players having white shall be started at the time set for the commencement of play. If a player is absent at the end of the first hour, the game will be lost by default, unless a substitute be put in before the time of forfeit.

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17. The captains of both teams shall submit a BCF Match Result Sheet to the Controller within three days of the match. The Result Sheets must be signed by both captains at the end of the match.

18a. The EACU will organise tournaments in Divisions. The highest placed team(s) in each Division shall be entitled to represent the Union in the appropriate BCF County Competition(s). The arrangement for these Divisions and provision of representatives is to be made at the AGM preceding the start of the season.

18b. Grading limits shall be based on the BCF Grading List (for chess other than Rapidplay) current on 1st September in each season. Except in the Open Division a player who has no current published grade may play only if permission has been previously obtained from the Controller. Requests for permission must be submitted to the Controller so as to arrive at least seven days before the player is to play. The team captain must prior to making such an application to the Controller, be satisfied that the player is not of such a playing strength as to breach the limits set for the Division in question, and must submit evidence where this is available from the local grader or master list or other source. Such a player shall be declared ineligible (or no longer eligible) if the Controller is not (or has ceased to be) entirely convinced that the player's strength is clearly below the relevant grading limits. Requests must include the player's full name, preferably date of birth and his current and any previous clubs. The fielding of a player in breach of the foregoing renders that player unqualified and subject to rule 6.

The following guidelines for ungraded but previously graded players who wish to play in grading-limited tournaments are not part of the rules but were approved by the 2003 AGM

For EACU purposes only, such a player would be eligible if one of the following applied

• Their last BCF published grade was under the limit, or

• They have had as many grades under the limit as above it (subject to exceptions for players, particularly juniors, who show an increase), or

• All their previous grades when discounted by 1% (flat) per year are under the limit

• However these guidelines are subject to the over-riding discretion of the Controller.

19. If two teams from a member organisation play in the same Division, the two teams shall play their matches with each other as early as possible. When a member organisation enters more than one team in a Division, players are NOT interchangeable. However, there is no restriction on players playing for teams in their member organisation in different Divisions subject to the application of grading limits.

20. Except as otherwise stated in these Rules, play in all matches shall be governed by the Laws of Chess as published from time to time by the BCF. Any dispute or question which may arise not provided for in these Rules shall be referred to the Controller.

21. Quickplay finishes will be governed by the most current guidelines issued by the BCF.

22. There will be no smoking in the playing area of County Matches. It is the responsibility of match captains to ensure this rule is enforced.

23. If there are four teams competing in a Division then the usual format should be three double-headed matches in Newmarket assuming the continued availability of a good venue.

24. "Double-headers" should be encouraged at all times for county matches.

25. Anyone who has passed the arbiter's exam and is present at a match not involving their own county may act as an arbiter for any game in that match. There is a right of appeal to another neutral qualified arbiter.

26. Any question or dispute shall be referred to the County Match Controller within 14 days. The County Match Controller shall issue his decision within 14 days of the matter being brought to his attention.

An appeal against a decision of the County Match Controller can be made only by a captain in the relevant division and shall be notified to the County Match Controller within 14 days of his decision being announced. He shall refer the appeal to the Chairman or Vice-Chairman who shall set up a Sub-Committee of three neutral people whose decision shall be final. All parties shall have the opportunity to submit written evidence to the Sub-Committee. The County Match Controller may issue guidelines as to the content and form of evidence to be provided.

27. Mobile Phones

At the start of the match, the team captains are recommended to request that all mobile phones be switched off. The phones must be turned off for the duration of the match, not just the duration of an individual player's game or an individual team's match.

If it is imperative that a player has his phone turned on, it must be switched to vibrate only mode. He must inform his own team captain, the opposing team captain and his opponent that the phone is active.

If such a player receives a call, he must leave the playing area before verbally answering the call. He may not use the phone for any other purpose.

The penalty for an audibly ringing phone or verbally answering the phone in the playing area shall be the loss of the game, unless the opponent has insufficient mating material, when the result shall be a draw. This will still apply if the game has already been completed. If the game has been completed, the opponent's score will not be adjusted, nor will the grading of the game be adjusted.

28. Writing Down Moves

If a player writes down his move before playing the move, he shall receive a warning. If he repeats the offence a second and third time, he shall receive a warning each time, and his opponent shall be given an extra 2 minutes each time. The penalty for a fourth offence shall be the loss of the game.

29. PDAs and Other Electronic Equipment

Anybody found consulting a PDA or any other electronic devices shall lose the game.

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