CHESS IN THE NORTH WEST
League Rules of the Merseyside Chess Association
RULES GOVERNING LEAGUE COMPETITIONS
(As approved by the Executive Committees, 1980 - 1996)
1. OBSERVANCE OF LAWS. All games played under the auspices of the
Association shall be played in accordance with the Laws of Chess
as recognised by the Federation Internationale Des Echecs
(F.I.D.E.) and as modified by the British Chess Federation
(B.C.F.), excepting as otherwise laid down in these rules.
2. ARRANGEMENT OF TEAMS. The competing teams shall be arranged in
divisions according to their estimated strength, or in sections
according to locality or other considerations.
3. LEAGUE ENTRIES. All entries shall be made on the Competitions
Entry Form to be supplied to associated clubs by the General
Secretary not later than June 1st. All entries shall be received
by the General Secretary not later than July 1st. The Executive
Committee or the General Secretary shall have discretion to waive
this requirement in exceptional circumstances.
4. NUMBER OF TEAMS. An associated club may enter more than one
team.
5. NUMBER OF PLAYERS. A team shall consist of: Eight players in
Division 1; Seven players in Division 2; Six players in Divisions
3 and 4; Five players in any lower Division.
6. FIXTURES. In each Division, each competing team shall play two
matches with every other team in that Division (home and away).
7. MATCH POINTS. A team winning a match shall score two points
and in the event of a tie each team shall score one point.
8. DIVISION WINNERS. The team in a Division which scores more
match points than any other team in that Division shall be the
winner of that Division and shall be entitled to hold for twelve
months the trophy allocated to that Division and to promotion.
If two or more teams in a Division score the same number of match
points the relative position of these teams shall be decided by
the total number of games won by them in the Division, drawn games
counting as half the value of won games. If there is still a tie
the positions shall be decided by eliminating the games played on
all the bottom boards of the teams concerned and so on until a
definite result is achieved.
9. NON TRANSFERENCE. A player shall not play, in any season, for
more than one club in the League Tournaments or for a different
club in the Knock-Out Tournaments.
In the event of a team withdrawing from the league having played
not more than 50% of its fixtures, individual players from that
team will be eligible to play for other teams in that club or
other clubs during that season.
10. LISTED AND INELIGIBLE PLAYERS. Where a club enters two or
more teams in the League Tournaments, the following rules shall
apply:
a. The Club Secretary shall, before the first league match in
which the Club is concerned, send to the General Secretary a list
of seven members (listed players) for each team of eight, six
members for each team of seven, five members for each team of six
and four members for each team of five, who will always be invited
to play for that team and have indicated that they expect to be
available for the majority of games. Such listed players shall be
ineligible to play in any lower team of that club during the
season. The General Secretary shall then send a copy of these
listed players to each of the League Controllers. There is no
need to send a list for the only or last team of any club.
b. If a club fails to send in a list of restricted players
before the first league match then the players appearing in the
first match shall be considered listed, i.e. the top seven boards
in a first division match, etc.
c. The University have until November 8 to comply with (a) above
otherwise rule (b) applies.
d. Where a club has two or more teams competing in the same
Division, the interchanging of players between these teams shall
not be permitted. This rule is suspended for teams playing in
Divisions 2 and below, where the normal rules relating to the
interchange of players between a higher and a lower team shall
apply.
e. Any players, whether listed or not, shall not be eligible to
play in any given team if they have played a total of five times
in any higher team or teams that season.
f. The playing of one or more ineligible players in a match shall
be penalised by reducing the score of the offending team in that
match by a game point for each ineligible player played and in
addition such ineligible player or players shall be deemed to
have lost their games.
g. The penalty in the preceding paragraph shall apply to a club's
first contravention of paragraphs (a), (b) or (c). In the case
of a further contravention by that club in the same season, the
appropriate League Controller may refer the matter to the
Executive Committee who may impose a more severe penalty or remove
the offending team from the Competition.
h. Any dispute as to the eligibility of a player may be referred
to the Executive Committee whose decision shall be final.
11. ARRANGEMENT OF FIXTURES. The dates of fixtures in the League
Tournament shallbe fixed by the Fixtures Secretary or such other
person or officer of the Association as the Executive Committee
may appoint. Each club shall have the opportunity to make
representations to the appointed person to indicate unsuitable
dates for fixtures through such as shift working, annual
holidays,etc. As far as possible, the fixtures will give effect
to such representations.
The list of fixtures shall be communicated to each club not less
than fourteen days before the starting date of that club's first
fixture.
12. POSTPONEMENT & REARRANGEMENT OF FIXTURES. If at any time a
club wishes to postpone a date so fixed, at least fourteen days
prior notice must be given to the other club concerned, who will
have the right to determine whether the reason for requested
postponement is acceptable or not, that is both clubs must agree
on the postponement.
In the event of less notice than fourteen days being given of the
desire to change the date of the match, or the reason for
postponement is considered unacceptable, the offended club shall
have the option of offering a rearranged date or claiming the
match.
If rearrangement is agreed, notice must be given to the
appropriate League Controller when another date no later than the
end of the season may be agreed upon by the clubs concerned. In
the case of two clubs failing to agree on a new date in accordance
with this rule, the matter shall be referred to the League
Controller.
In the event of the aggrieved club claiming the match, the
offending club may appeal to the appropriate League Controller. If
he decides that the circumstances of the requested postponement
were beyond the control of the offending club and that it is
inequitable that the offending club should forfeit the match then
he may order that the match be played or gives such direction as
he thinks fit in the circumstances. Compliance with the fourteen
day rule will be taken into account.
13. NON-OBSERVANCE OF RULES. If any club fails to play a match in
accordance with these rules the matter shall be referred to the
Executive Committee whose decision in the matter shall be final.
If any team in any given season defaults 50% or more of their
matches, all games played by that team in that season shall be
declared void.
In the event of any fixture not being fulfilled on the due date
both sides shall inform the appropriate League Controller of the
circumstances. If the fixture is still unfulfilled at the end of
the season the Controller may at his discretion impose a penalty
on either or both of the teams concerned.
Where a rule gives a Controller the power to impose a penalty the
offended club shall have the right to appeal to the Executive
Committee, whose decision shall be final.
14. ALTERATION OF VENUE. Where travelling facilities are
inconvenient the venue of a match may be altered by mutual
agreement.
15. HOURS OF PLAY. In the absence of any previous arrangement by
the clubs concerned, play at a match shall commence at 7.15 p.m.
and shall conclude at 10.15 p.m.
If the visiting team is present and play has not started by the
agreed starting time, the home team will cede time on its clocks
to ensure the match finishes three hours after the agreed starting time.
If the home team fails to comply, the match will be forfeit.
16. TEAM DECLARATIONS. The Captains of the opposing teams shall,
before the commencement of a match, exchange lists of their teams
arranged in board order, which shall also be in the order of
playing strength.
The Captains shall then draw for colour; the team winning the draw
shall take white on board one and the colours on the remaining
boards shall alternate accordingly. One or more reserves may be
substituted for any players who have not arrived within thirty
minutes of the agreed starting time, otherwise the game(s) shall
be forfeited.
If one team is not represented at the agreed starting time it will
be assumed that the team present has won the draw and has white on
the odd boards. This will enable the match to start at the agreed
time.
At the start of play any Captain who knows that he will be unable
to field a full team will be obliged to default on the lowest
board or boards.
Any team which defaults on any other than the lowest board or
boards will have one point deducted from its match score unless it
can satisfactorily explain the default to the League Controller.
If the League Controller is not happy with a team's board order he
may ask the club to justify its order.
Any team deliberately violating the board order rule or any other
part of this rule may be deducted a match point at the
recommendation of the League Controller and confirmed at a
subsequent executive meeting.
17. RATE OF PLAY. Each player shall keep a record of the moves in
each game. Any player may demand that their game be played with a
chess clock, in which case they must provide a proper chess
clock. It is the duty of the home team to provide sufficient
clocks to complete its fixture (including reserve clocks in case
of failure on the match night). If the home team fails to notify
the away team (no later than five days) before the fixture that
there are insufficient clocks, the away team can claim the match
(if no clocks are available) as a defaulted win. If the home team
informs the away team before the fixture that it has insufficient
clocks, then the away team can be asked to fulfil the match
without prejudice.
The rate of play shall be :- 35 moves in 1 Hour 15 Minutes
followed by 15 minutes to complete the game. The first player
whose flag falls shall lose, excepting if his opponent has
insufficient material for checkmate, when the game shall be drawn.
A player may also claim a draw if the position is such that no
other result is reasonably possible.
18. NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS. Both score cards, with players' names
(and correct initials) and signed by both match Captains, shall
be received by the League Controller from the competing clubs
within fourteen days of the match.
19. ADJUDICATIONS. There will be no adjudications. This was
decided by the Executive committee 4.7.1998 based on a decision
at the AGM in June 1998
20. PLAYER OF THE YEAR. For each division of the league an award
shall be made to the player of the year. The player of the year
shall be the player with the greatest number of wins gained from
league games played during the season. A draw or a default win
count as half a win. Where a player appears for more than one
team in the same division then the player shall be considered as
separate individuals for this award. The winning team must be
named in a defaulted match to qualify for a half point. In the
event of a tie the award shall be shared.
To return to Rules Index page