WDCL Home Published 17 September 2019 Worcs Chess

Rules Governing League Championship Competitions

Worcester & District Chess League Rules as amended at the AGM held 5th September 2019.

1.    The Official Laws of Chess (as last published by FIDE on 1 January 2018, together with any subsequent amendments), shall govern play in all competitions, save where the law shall be modified by these rules.

2.    The Club Championships shall be divided into as many divisions as is required, by the number of team entries. The divisions will be known as Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, etc.  Teams in each division will compete for the Championship of that division and a trophy as allocated by the League.  Movement between divisions will be by relegation and promotion or by application as sanctioned by the League AGM. Teams in each division will consist of four players.

3.    The closing date for entries for the Club Championship competitions shall be decided at the AGM.

4.    All players in the League competitions shall be registered members of the Clubs for which they play.

5.    The names and English Chess Federation [“ECF”] grading code of each player will be registered with the League secretary before playing in any match.  If a player is not registered the game on his board will be scored to the opponent.

6.    No player shall play for more than one club in any league competition in the same season.

7.    Clubs entering more than one team in the same division shall nominate two players from each team who will not be eligible to play in any other team from the club in that division.

8.    In addition to the requirements of rule 7, when a club has more than one team in the League, any player who plays three games for any one team becomes ineligible to play for another team in the same or lower division.

9.    The AGM will review the number of teams in each division a minimum number of 5 matches must be played by each team in the division; where fewer than 5 matches would be played, double round matches (i.e. home and away fixtures) will be played.

10. All League Competitions will be completed by 30 April.  Matches not played by 30 April will be referred to the Executive Committee for a decision as to the course to be adopted.

10.1     When a Club enters more than one team in any division, the first match between the teams from the same club must be completed before any other matches.  If there is a second fixture between the two teams, as occurs when there is both a 'home' and 'away' fixture, the second match must be played at the latest before any other matches scheduled after 1 January.

11. Clubs failing to fulfil a fixture will lose the match by default unless notice of the postponement is received and agreed by the opposing club 48 hours before the date of the match.

11.1     The point of contact will be the opposing team captain. If the captain is not available then, the opposing club secretary.  Contact must be made with a person who can agree the postponement.

11.2     When a new date for the fixture has been agreed, no further postponement is permitted.

11.3     Notwithstanding rule 11.2, matches may be postponed without penalty and, if necessary, at short notice, if weather conditions make it inadvisable to travel.

12. Before a match starts the captains will exchange team list of players in the intended order of play.  No amendments will be made to this order save as provided in rule 14.

12.1.    When a double round is in operation, the away team will take white on boards 1 and 3.

12.2     When a single round is in operation, the captains will toss for colours.

13. All games will be played with clocks.

13.1     The time limit for the game will be 80 minutes per player, plus an increment per move of 10 seconds, applied from move 1.

13.2     If digital clocks are unavailable, each player will be allocated 90 minutes in which to complete all moves of the game.

14. Should any player be absent or unready at the beginning of a match, his clock shall be started when he has the move.  If a player has not played move 1 when 30 minutes have expired, he will default the game.  A substitute may be employed at any time in this 30-minute period, who will commence played with the clock as it stands.

15. Results of matches must be notified to the League Secretary within three days of the match being played.

16. In all matches a won game will count as one point, a draw half a point and a loss nil.  The team with the most game points being the winner.

17. Two points will be awarded for a team win, one for a draw, nil for a loss.

17.1     The team scoring the greatest number of points will win the division Championship.

17.2     In the event of a tie, the team with the greatest number of won games shall be declared the winner.

17.3     If a tie still exists, the Championship will be shared.

18. The following rules shall apply to Individual competitions.

18.1     Two Individual Competitions shall be run:

18.1.1    The Bennett Cup open to all players registered with the League;

18.1.2    The Ball Cup open to players graded below 150 registered with the League.

18.2     These will be run under W&D competition rules in a format determined annually by the event controller, to take account of the number of entries.

19. All trophies are the property of the League.  They are held by the respective winners for twelve months and will then must be returned at the League AGM.

20.  Any dispute or matter arising from, or not provided for, in these rules, shall be referred to the Executive Committee whose decision will be final.