| 1 |
Management |
| 1.1 |
Each year the
Management Board shall announce the
arrangements for the following season
including the entry fees, the official
closing date for the receipt of entries
and registration lists, and the name and
address of the person appointed to
receive entries. |
| 1.2 |
The Chairman shall
arrange meetings for captains and
managers, as and when required, at which
matters of current interest and future
policy shall be discussed.
|
| 2 |
Registration Lists |
| 2.1 |
A club shall enter
the 4NCL National Chess League ("the
League") by payment of the designated
fees and the registration of one or more
squads of players who are expected to
play during the season. Each squad may
provide the players for one or more
teams. No team may contain players who
are not registered in the appropriate
squad (unless they qualify under the
Wild Card rules in section 4 below). |
| 2.2 |
After the
registration list deadline as announced
per rule 1.1 above, a player who has
explicitly consented to play for a team
may not move to another team unless (a)
the captain of that team voluntarily
deregisters him/her or (b) the Chief
Arbiter considers that it would be
inequitable to hold the player to
his/her previous commitment, taking into
account the circumstances in which the
commitment had been given and any
relevant evidence subsequent to the
giving of the commitment. It is the
responsibility of the captain of a team
wishing to retain the registration of a
player who has agreed to play for that
team to provide firm evidence of
explicit agreement (which should be in
writing or by email, should be dated and
should record that the player has been
informed of the consequences of giving
explicit consent). A player who has
given explicit consent to play for a
team but who changes his/her mind must
contact the Registrations Secretary
before the registration list deadline. A
player who has not given explicit
consent will be considered to be validly
registered for the team including
him/her on its registration list, but
until he/she has played for the team
he/she remains free to play for other
teams subject to the requirements of
sections 3 and 4 of these rules. |
| 2.3 |
The registrations
list shall be sent by letter or email to
the registrations secretary, and contain
the following information for each
player: (a) full name (b) FIDE code (if
rated) (c) ECF grading code (if ECF
graded) (d) nationality (e) estimated or
foreign grading/rating (if neither FIDE
rated nor ECF graded) (f) ECF membership
number (if player’s nationality is
English or the player is registered with
FIDE through England) (g) whether
explicit consent under rule 2.2 has been
obtained. If a squad has teams both in
the Northern League and in the rest of
the League, a player may be designated
as northern or southern. In this event a
northern-designated player can only play
for a northern team and a
southern-designated player cannot play
for a northern team at any weekend, and
both northern-designated and
southern-designated players form
separate "pools" for the purposes of
rule 8.5. |
| 2.4 |
Players with English
nationality must have membership of the
ECF valid on 31 August 2009 for
registration lists submitted before that
date. For later registrations,
membership must be valid on the date
that the registration is submitted. A
player not of English nationality must
be either a member of his/her own
national federation or of the ECF. |
| 2.5 |
Each team's entry fee shall cover the
registration of up to sixteen players in
Divisions 1-2 and up to twelve players
in Division 3 and the Northern League. |
| 2.6 |
If a squad provides players for more
than one team, the 80 point rules under
section 8 below will apply. |
| 2.7 |
If a player appears on the registration
list of more than one team at the start
of the season, the player in question
will be registered to the team for whom
he/she first plays. |
| 2.8 |
Clubs entering more than one team in the
League may, at their discretion, play on
a combined squad basis (in which case
the 80 point rules under section 8 below
apply) or on a split squad basis (in
which case players having once played
for their nominated team may no longer
play for another team, subject to the
rules under section 5 below). The
decision to play on a combined or split
squad basis is irrevocable for the
season in question. |
| 3 |
Additions to the Registration List |
| 3.1 |
Additional names may be added to a
squad’s list of registered players and
shall be sent to the Registrations
Secretary either by letter or by e-mail.
The information required in 2.3 above
will also be required for additional
registrations. |
| 3.2 |
The date of application shall be taken
as either the postmark of the letter or
the send date of the e-mail. |
| 3.3 |
To play as a registered player at a
particular weekend the player must be
registered no later than midnight of the
Thursday of the week before the team
lists need to be submitted under rule
8.1 below, i.e. nine days before the
first round of the weekend. Any payment
due under rule 3.5 below must be
received before the player starts play,
and if paid at the weekend itself must
be paid at the relevant venue. |
| 3.4 |
If a player has not been registered in
accordance either with rules 2.1/2.2/2.3
or rules 3.1/3.2/3.3 the player will be
considered to be a Wildcard. |
| 3.5 |
A fee of £5 shall be paid for each
registration above a team’s allocation
under 2.5 above. Players previously
registered for a team may not be
deregistered to avoid payment of this
fee unless such deregistration takes
place before the end of the first
playing weekend. |
| 4 |
Wildcards |
| 4.1 |
A Wildcard is a player who is not
registered for any squad in the League. |
| 4.2 |
A fee of £10 shall be paid for each
Wildcard, payable no later than the
start of play of the match in which the
Wildcard plays. The Wildcard fee is
levied on a per player basis according
to the number of individuals appearing
as Wildcards for a squad over the course
of a weekend. |
| 4.3 |
A Wildcard will become fully registered
14 days after both (a) notification of
and (b) payment for the Wildcard are
received by the Registration Secretary. |
| 4.4 |
A player of English nationality is not
required to be a member of the ECF for
the weekend at which he/she appears as a
wild card, but must join the ECF before
playing again in the current season’s
competition. Similarly, a player not of
English nationality must become a member
either of his/her own national chess
federation or of the ECF. |
| 4.5 |
A team in Division 1 may play one
Wildcard in each match. |
| 4.6 |
A team in Division 2 and Division 3/the
Northern League may play up to two and
three Wildcards respectively in each
match provided not more than one of the
Wildcards plays in the top half of the
team. |
| 4.7 |
Unless he/she has applied for a
transfer, a player named on a squad’s
list of players is not available as a
Wildcard for other squads. |
| 5 |
Transfers during the Season |
| 5.1 |
A player who is named on a squad’s list
of players may transfer to another squad
provided he/she has not played during
the current season and is not subject to
the provisions of rule 2.2 above. |
| 5.2 |
The transfer request must be agreed by
the Registrations Secretary. |
| 5.3 |
The squad to which the player is moving
must fulfil all the requirements for
additional registrations, including the
payment of a £10 administration charge. |
| 5.4 |
The player must be registered for the
new squad no later than midnight of the
Thursday of the week before the team
lists need to be submitted under rule
8.1 below, i.e. nine days before the
first round of the weekend. Transfers
later than this deadline will be subject
to the Wild Card rules in section 4
above. In this instance, a Wildcard fee
of £10 is payable in addition to the £10
administration charge. |
| 5.5 |
If a team withdraws from the League,
players who have played only for that
team become free agents and may choose
to play either for other teams in the
squad if applicable or to join another
team/squad. In such cases registration
fees under rule 5.3 will apply. |
| 6 |
Fixtures and Format |
| 6.1 |
Each division’s fixtures shall initially
be played over eight rounds and over
four weekends, with one round being
played on Saturday and one round on
Sunday. Three further rounds shall be
played on a designated Bank Holiday
weekend. |
| 6.2 |
The first-named team in each pairing
shall have the white pieces on the
odd-numbered boards and black on the
even-numbered boards. |
| 6.3 |
Divisions 1 and 2 will comprise 16 teams
each. Divisions 1 and 2 will comprise
two preliminary pools of eight for the
first seven rounds, with the two pools
in each division of broadly equal
strength as determined by the Management
Board. The top four and bottom four
teams in each preliminary pool will form
two final championship/promotion and
relegation pools respectively. With
regard to the teams in each final pool,
only matches played between themselves
during the first seven rounds will be
carried forward to the final pools (i.e.
matches played by teams against teams in
the other final pool during the first
seven rounds will not be carried
forward). Team placings at the end of
the first seven rounds will be decided
in the first instance on match point
totals in the preliminary pool. If at
the end of the first seven rounds teams
are tied on match points, the tie shall
be broken in favour of the team having
(a) the greatest number of game points
in the preliminary pool (b) the
result(s) of the match(es) between the
teams still tying (c) board count (d)
elimination from the bottom board
upwards (e) the toss of a coin. Tie
breaks shall be applied in order until
all ties are broken. |
| 6.4 |
Division 3 and the Northern League shall
be played as a Swiss tournament in which
pairings for both rounds of a two-day
weekend will be determined in advance.
At the final weekend (rounds 9-11)
Division 3 and the Northern League will
combine into a single division, with
match and game points carried over from
the first four weekends During this
final weekend best endeavours will be
made to maximise the number of matches
played between Division 3 and Northern
League teams.
|
| 7 |
Match Arrangements |
| 7.1 |
In Division 1 each match shall be played
over eight boards and each team must
include at least one male and one female
player. |
| 7.2 |
In Division 2 each match shall be played
over eight boards and each team must
include at least one representative from
two of the following three groups: (a)
male players (b) female players (c)
junior players who are under sixteen
years on 1 January 2011. |
| 7.3 |
In Division 3 and the Northern League
each match shall be played over six
boards. Teams in Division 3 and the
Northern League are free to field
players regardless of gender or age. |
| 7.4 |
The starting times shall normally be 2
pm on the first day of the weekend, 1 pm
on the middle day of a three-day weekend
and 11 am on the last day of the
weekend. |
|
7.5 |
The rate of play shall be 40 moves in
two hours, then 20 moves in one hour and
an extra 30 minutes for each player to
complete the game. This is a seven-hour
session. |
| 8 |
Team Lists |
| 8.1 |
For all fixtures in a given weekend,
team lists must be submitted to the
Chief Arbiter or his nominated
representative by midnight of the
Thursday before (i.e. 38 hours before
the scheduled start of play of the
Saturday match), with any defaults
declared to the opposing captain by the
same deadline. Any changes to these
lists may be made without penalty
(provided they do not introduce further
defaults) up to midnight of the day
before the fixture. All team lists must
give the full names of the players
clearly in board order. |
| 8.2 |
Team lists may be amended without
penalty (providing further defaults are
not introduced) for circumstances beyond
captains’ control provided this is done
at least two hours before the scheduled
start of play. |
| 8.3 |
In all divisions FIDE ratings will be
used to determine the order of strength
of a team. For a player without a FIDE
rating, an ECF grade will be converted
to an equivalent FIDE rating using the
appropriate conversion formula. For
players who are not English and do not
have FIDE ratings, their national
ratings will take precedence over ECF
grades. All games in all divisions will
be submitted for both FIDE rating and
ECF grading. |
| 8.4 |
Where there is a difference of more than
80 FIDE rating points under rule 8.3
between two players in the same team,
the higher rated player must play on a
higher board than the lower rated
player. In squads with more than one
team a player is only eligible for a
lower team if his rating under rule 8.3
is not more than 80 FIDE rating points
higher than the rating of any person
playing in a higher team in the same
numbered round. |
| 8.5 |
When applying the 80 point requirement
for squads with more than one team under
rule 8.4, the male and female player
"pools" under rule 7.2 and the
northern-designated and
southern-designated player "pools" under
rule 2.3 are considered separately (NB
junior players in Division 2 under rule
7.2 are considered part of the female
player "pool" for this purpose). It
should be noted, however, that all teams
must comply with the 80 point
requirement for all players in the team
regardless of sex or age. It should also
be noted that for the purposes of
applying the 80 point rule across squads
with more than one team, lower teams in
a squad may not have a higher average
FIDE rating than higher teams in the
same squad. When calculating team
average FIDE ratings, board 8 in teams
in Divisions 1 and 2 will not be
included. |
| 8.6 |
Any complaint about the composition of a
team must be made before the scheduled
start of the round. |
| 8.7 |
Where both captains and the Chief
Arbiter agree in advance, the
requirements of rules 8.3 to 8.6 may be
waived, if this is in the best interests
of the League. |
| 8.8 |
Known defaults must be on the lowest
boards of the lowest possible team. |
| 8.9 |
The Chief Arbiter will endeavour to
publish team lists ninety minutes before
the start of play, and in any event no
later than one hour before the start of
play. |
| 8.10 |
If the late submission of all or part of
a team list causes one or more pairings
to be published late, the arbiter may,
at his discretion, deduct time from the
clock of each member of the team whose
name was not published on time. |
| 9 |
Reserves |
| 9.1 |
Prior to the deadline for the submission
of team lists a team may nominate one
male and one female player (Division 1),
one male and one female or junior player
(Division 2), or two players regardless
of gender (Division 3 and the Northern
League) as reserve players. |
| 9.2 |
A nominated reserve may replace an
absent player provided this is done not
more than 55 minutes after the scheduled
start of the round. |
| 9.3 |
The clock of the reserve shall be
adjusted to show the elapsed time
subject to a minimum of 30 minutes. |
| 9.4 |
The improper use of reserves may result
in the Chief Arbiter imposing a penalty
as he deems appropriate on the offending
team. |
| 10 |
Defaults |
| 10.1 |
A player will be deemed to have
defaulted a game if he/she fails to
appear for the game in question within
one hour of the start of play. |
| 10.2 |
A team will incur half a game point
penalty per default in addition to
scoring zero on the board(s) concerned
if their absence is communicated to the
arbiters and to the opposing captain at
or before the time that team lists are
submitted under rule 8.1, i.e. midnight
of the Thursday before the fixture,
except when the pairings are not known
at that time. As an example, a team in
Division 1 with one such default will
have a 0-1 result on bottom board (under
rule 8.8, assuming no other teams in the
squad) and also lose a further half
point, turning a 4-4 draw into a 3½-4
loss for the team and a 4-3½ win for the
opposing team. Where captains know in
advance of the weekend that they will be
affected by defaults, they are expected
to communicate this to the arbiters and
to the opposing captain in good time so
as to allow changes to travel and
accommodation arrangements. In these
circumstances it is permissible for the
player affected by the default not to
appear at the match in question. |
| 10.3 |
A team will incur one game point penalty
per default in addition to scoring zero
on the defaulting board(s) if, having
been named on a team list, a player(s)
fail to appear for the match in question
within one hour after the start of play
or arrives but is not prepared to play,
or if a default is not notified until
after the deadline under rule 8.1. As an
example, a team in Division 1 with one
such default will have a 0-1 result on
the board concerned and also lose a
further point, turning a 4½-3½ win into
a 3½-3½ draw (for both the team and the
opposing team). In these circumstances,
players affected by defaults will
wherever possible be offered a
rated/graded game against another player
in a similar position. Pairings for
these games will be matched for
rating/grading purposes as far as
possible. Pairings will be made one hour
after the start of play, and the time
control for these games will be 40 moves
in two hours, followed by an extra one
hour per player to complete the game. |
| 10.4 |
Appeals against game point penalties
will be considered only in exceptional
circumstances, for example the
hospitalisation of a player or the death
of a close family member on the morning
of the match. Appeals against game point
penalties caused by car breakdowns,
traffic delays, public transport delays
or cancellations, bad weather (except
where a severe weather warning can be
shown to have been issued by the
Meteorological Office) etc will not be
considered. Appeals against game point
penalties must be made before the start
of the match in question to the Chief
Arbiter, whose decision, in the
interests of providing certainty to the
teams involved, will be final and not
subject to referral to the Management
Board or the appeals committee. |
| 10.5 |
When a team indicates that it has a
default, the opposing team may adjust
its board order to minimise any
inconvenience caused (but may not breach
any rules in so doing). |
| 10.6 |
If both teams default on the same board,
no default penalties will be incurred. |
| 10.7 |
A team defaulting a game for whatever
reason will incur a penalty of £20 per
defaulted game unless a successful
appeal has been made under rule 12.3.
This penalty will not apply to the first
game defaulted by a team during the
season. If a Division 1 or 2 team
defaults an entire match for whatever
reason a fine of £200 will be incurred
unless a successful appeal has been made
under rule 12.3. If a Division 3 or
Northern League team defaults an entire
match for whatever reason it will (a)
not incur a fine so long as the
intention to default the match is
notified to the Chief Arbiter no later
than one week before the team list
submission deadline under rule 8.1 above
(b) incur a fine of £50 in all other
circumstances unless a successful appeal
has been made under rule 12.3. In all
instances where a Division 3 or Northern
League team defaults a match other teams
will be re-paired making use of
triangular matches as necessary. |
| 10.8 |
In the event that a team in the view of
the Management Board has an
unsatisfactory default performance
during a season, the Management Board
may at its discretion insist that that
team post a bond in the amount of £250
as a condition of its entry being
accepted in the following season. The
bond, which will be held by the League,
shall be used at the Management Board's
discretion to defray any financial costs
incurred by opposing teams should the
team, or any other team in the squad of
which the team forms a part, default
games in that following season. The bond
will be returned to the team once in the
Board’s view sufficient evidence has
been provided that the team’s default
performance has improved to an
appropriate standard. |
| 11 |
Promotion and Relegation |
| 11.1 |
Four teams will be relegated from
Division 1, four teams will be promoted
from Division 2, four teams will be
relegated from Division 2 and four teams
will be promoted from Division 3/the
Northern League. |
| 11.2 |
End of season team placings in Divisions
1 and 2 will be decided in the first
instance on match point totals in the
final pool. If at the end of the season
teams are tied on match points, the tie
shall be broken in favour of the team
having (a) the greatest number of game
points in the final pool (b) the
greatest number of match points
including all matches played during the
season (c) the greatest number of game
points including all matches played
during the season (d) the result(s) of
the match(es) between the teams still
tying (e) board count (f) elimination
from the bottom board upwards (g) the
toss of a coin. Tie breaks shall be
applied in order until all ties are
broken. |
| 11.3 |
End of season team placings in the
Division 3/Northern League combined
division will be decided in the first
instance on match point totals. If at
the end of the season teams in the
Division 3/Northern League combined
division are tied on match points, the
tie shall be broken in favour of the
team having (a) the greatest number of
game points (b) the highest sum of
opponents’ match points (c) the highest
sum of opponents’ game points (d) the
toss of a coin. |
| 11.4 |
Once the requirements of rule 11.1 have
been fulfilled, in the event that
existing teams decide not to renew their
entries teams in the relevant division
that would otherwise have been relegated
at the end of the season will not be
relegated (starting with the relegated
team finishing in the highest position,
and so on down the relegated teams). In
the event that the number of teams not
renewing their entries exceeds the
number of relegated teams, extra teams
will be promoted from the lower division
after applying the provisions in the
first section of this rule, and so on
down the divisions as necessary. |
| 12 |
Other |
| 12.1 |
The Chief Arbiter, or in his absence the
Senior Arbiter for the weekend, shall be
empowered to administer the rules of the
League. |
| 12.2 |
The League shall be conducted according
to the most recently published FIDE laws
of chess. In particular, it should be
noted that FIDE rules on mobile phones
and other electronic means of
communication will be applied without
exception. The Chief Arbiter will not
normally give permission for any player
or spectator to bring any mobile phone
or electronic communication device or
computer into the playing hall. Players
should also refrain from bringing
baggage in to the playing hall. |
| 12.3 |
An appeal against an arbiter’s decision
must be made to the Chief Arbiter (or
another on site Senior Arbiter if the
Chief Arbiter himself made the
decision). If permitted by the rules, a
review of the outcome of the appeal may
be made to an appeals committee
(consisting of a third party arbiter and
two independent captains/players chosen
from a panel) on payment of a £50
deposit. The decision of the appeals
committee will be final. The £50 deposit
will be returned if the appeals
committee finds in favour of the party
requesting the review. Any review
request accompanied by a £50 deposit
must be made to the Management Board
within seven days of the weekend in
question. |
| 12.4 |
A £100 fee will be payable where a
change to a team name is made during the
season. |
| 12.5 |
All outstanding fees from prior seasons
(e.g. for wild cards, registrations,
defaults or default bonds) must be
settled in advance of an application to
re-enter the League. No team belonging
to a club playing on a combined squad
basis will be allowed to re-enter until
all outstanding fees relating to all
teams in the squad have been settled. |
| 12.6 |
The Management Board may apply penalties
as it sees fit for any flagrant or
premeditated breaches of the spirit as
well as the letter of the rules. |
| 12.7 |
All participants in the League shall
consent to their name, gender,
nationality, title and grade, and if
required their telephone number(s),
email address(es) and postal address(es)
being shown on the 4NCL website, such
consent being a requirement of the Data
Protection Act. Those wishing to
withhold their consent shall not be
permitted to play in the League. |
| 12.8 |
In Divisions 1 and 2 no more than two
teams from any club will be permitted to
play in the same division. Where this
situation is caused by a club team/teams
finishing in a promotion place, it/they
will not be promoted. Where this
situation is caused by a club team/teams
finishing in a relegation place, the
requisite number of teams from that club
will be relegated to a lower division in
their turn to satisfy the requirements
of the rule. The top placed eligible
teams in Divisions 2 and/or the Division
3/Northern League combined division will
be offered promotion as appropriate to
ensure that the complement of sixteen
teams in the top two divisions is
maintained. |
| 12.9 |
A player may ask his/her captain if
he/she may offer or accept a draw. The
captain may agree, refuse or tell the
player to refer to the match result
sheet. In no circumstances may the
captain look at any game between
receiving the request and giving his/her
decision. |
| 12.10 |
A team, once it has had its entry
accepted, is not entitled to a refund of
entry fees should it subsequently
withdraw. |
| 12.11 |
The entry guidelines for each season
form part of these rules. |
| 12.12 |
In all cases the decisions of the
Management Board shall be final. |
