Derbyshire Individual Competition Rules
DERBYSHIRE CHESS ASSOCIATION COUNTY INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP RULES
Approved at the AGM and Council Meetings 2016
This version is identical to the one approved by the Council Meeting in 2015, but rewritten rule 7 changes time controls to enable shorter matches and ease use of digital clocks.
1. FORMAT
(a) The individual championship shall be contested annually between 1st October and 31st May, over seven rounds (if sufficient entrants) organised under the ‘Swiss Tournament’ system.
(b) All applicants for entry must either:
1. be resident in Derbyshire, and either an individual member of the D.C.A. or a paid up member of a club based in Derbyshire.
or:-
2. if not resident in Derbyshire, be a paid up member of a club which is affiliated to the D.C.A. AND have played for that Club in league/ competitive chess in Derbyshire. The controller may refuse entries that are deemed inappropriate.
(c) All games must be played within Derbyshire County boundaries, except at the Controller’s discretion.
(d) Acceptance of entry requires the completion of an entry form, and the payment of the entry fee by the closing date for entry, normally 30th September. The Controller may refuse entry to players who have not played all their games in previous years, or have not paid by the due date.
(e) The rules for the Championships may only be amended at an A.G.M. or Council meeting of the D.C.A. by a majority of those entitled to vote.
(f) A list of addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and grade or playing strength of all entrants will be issued to individual entrants along with the pairings for the first round.
2. PLAYING RULES
1. The controller will issue notice of the pairings and time scale for each round. Four weeks will usually be allocated for each round.
2. The player with the black pieces will have choice of venue, and, within three days of receiving pairings, must offer his opponent a venue and choice of three dates, one on a Saturday or Sunday.
3. The player of the white pieces must respond within three days of receiving the offers, either accepting one of the dates or proposing alternative dates.
4. If the players are unable to reach agreement on a date for any round within six days of notification of pairings and start date for that particular round the Controller must be notified immediately and will attempt to resolve the difficulty. Failure to contact the Controller may result in defaults. THE CONTROLLER WILL NOT NORMALLY EXTEND THE TIME SCHEDULED FOR A PARTICULAR ROUND.
5. The player with the black pieces will provide a chess set and board, chess clock and score sheets.
6. A minimum of 4 hours must normally be available for the game, unless the shorter options in rule 7 are agreed.
7. The default time control will be 120 minutes for each player for all moves. If both players agree either 105 minutes or 90 minutes may be used instead.
8. In the event of a tie between two players in any section, the winner will be determined by a playoff using the standard competition time controls. The colours for this playoff will be the reverse of their match played during the competition. If they did not meet during the competition then the player who has had the fewest matches as white will have the white pieces. If they played the same number of matches as white, colour will be determined by toss.
9. If the result of the playoff is a draw, then the winner will be the winner of their direct match in the seven rounds. If they did not meet, or if they drew, the one with the highest sum of opponents scores will be declared the winner. If sum of opponents scores is inconclusive or inapplicable then sum of progressive scores will be used. If the result after these is still inconclusive, the prize will be shared.
10. If more than two players tie in any section, the two players with the highest sum of opponents scores will play off as above. If sum of opponents scores is inapplicable then sum of progressive scores will be used.
3. RESULTS
1. The result of each pairing must be sent to the Controller by the winner, or both players in the event of a draw, by the closing date of each round.
2. A player who does not complete the previous two games scheduled will be deemed to have withdrawn from the competition.
3. The Controller will inform all entrants as to the state of the competition either individually or via the D.C.A. Bulletins as the competition progresses.
4. All results will be submitted for grading.
4.TROPHIES
Three trophies will be awarded:-
1. Lt Colonel Robinson Board. The overall winner of the competition will be the County Individual Champion and hold the Lt. Colonel Robinson chess board and case for one year.
2. The Harry Broughton Cup. This will be awarded to the highest non seeded player for one year. Seeding will be decided by the controller based on playing strength and total number of entrants.
3. The Dorothy Harrison Cup. This will be awarded to the highest placed player under a threshold grade, which will be determined by the controller based on playing strength and total number of entrants.
No player will be eligible for more than one of the above. In addition the association will award personal mementos to all three winners.
5.DISPUTES
The Controllers decision will be final on all matters pertaining to the Championships, but is subject to appeal through the disputes committee. Written notice of any such appeal must be submitted to the General Secretary of the D.C.A. within seven days of any dispute.