Leicestershire & Rutland Chess Association

League Rules

League Rules 2007-8

(Significant changes are in bold type)

General

1) The Leicestershire Chess League shall affiliate to the Leicestershire & Rutland Chess Association Ltd (LRCA).  It is administered by the League Management Committee (LMC), represented by its Secretary, Chairman or authorised official, whose decisions may be reviewed by the Committee.  The "League" in these rules refers to this management structure, "Association" refers to the LRCA, "Committee" to the LMC, and "Secretary" to the League Secretary.  These rules cannot be changed unless clubs are consulted.  Any changes must be circulated with the annual invitation to clubs to enter the league for the forthcoming season.  No further changes can be made in any circumstances during that season.

League

2) Membership of the League is open to all the clubs that are members of the Association who agree to pay such League subscriptions as may be set from time to time.  A player can register for one club only, and may play in one league match only per day (including one in which s/he wins by default).  Playing for a club is taken as evidence of registration.  A player wishing to change clubs after playing for part of a season must obtain written permission from the first club unless it no longer plays in the League.  Such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld: disputes are referred to the Disputes Committee.

3) These League rules are designed to help ensure the smooth running of the League.  For any queries the Secretary should be consulted.

4) The Committee may reach its decisions on the basis of information it has sought.  It has the right to enforce penalties against clubs or individuals for breaches of the rules.  Available penalties include (i) default of a game; (ii) order for a replayed game; (iii) additional penalty point(s) awarded to an opponent and deducted from the club penalized; (iv) default of a match; and (v) suspension of a player for part or whole of a season.

5) Clubs are required to apply to the Committee for inclusion into the League competition annually by a previously announced date at the end of June or beginning of July, giving their preferences for divisions, and special requirements.  Contacts, home venue, playing night[s] and other relevant information are required for inclusion in the League Handbook.  The fixtures for the League will start in late September or early October.  Club trophies will be awarded to League winners.  Their acceptance by a club is conditional on an agreement that the club will keep them safely, maintain them properly, and return them complete and in good condition before September 1st in the following year.  The agreement requires the club to accept the full financial responsibility if a trophy is lost or damaged.

6) In each Division below Division 1 the two highest scoring teams (in match points) will be promoted to the next highest Division, (except in seasons where there are parallel divisions where only one team will be promoted).  In all Divisions except the lowest the two lowest scoring teams will be relegated.  These rules represent the right to claim a place in a Division automatically, but may be varied when teams are allocated to Divisions by the Committee.  New clubs or teams will usually be placed in the lowest Division, but the proposed strength of a team is taken into account.

Ties for championships, promotion and relegation will be settled by the following methods.  If two teams are tied on match points, they will separated first using the results of the two matches between them.  If these two results are equal, i.e. if both the matches were drawn or each team won one match by the same score, then secondly the results of the two teams against all the other teams in the Division, assessed in terms of games won minus games lost, will be used to break the tie.  In the unlikely event of three (or more) teams being involved in a tie the same principles will be applied in a step-wise fashion.  For example, if three teams are tied at the top of a Division, the results of the six matches between them will be used first to identify the weakest performance of the three (considering first match points and then game point differences).  That weakest team will then be eliminated as a contender for promotion, and the positions of the two remaining teams will be decided by applying the tie-break rules afresh, as above.

If a team withdraws before completing half its matches, its results will be deleted unless it is replaced, in which case the new team will inherit its predecessor's results.  If a team withdraws after completing half its fixtures, all its other matches will be counted as losses by default.

7) Any dispute or query over the rules or other complaint may be referred without fee to the Secretary (or another Committee member if the Secretary's club is involved).  If a dispute arises during a match, every effort must be made to resolve the issue on the spot: contact with the Secretary or another Committee member is encouraged (but note that mobile phones must not be used in the playing area at any time).  If the dispute is still unresolved, the details should be noted when the match result is submitted electronically and/or in writing.  An appeal against a decision of the Secretary or other Committee member should be referred to the Disputes Committee within 12 days of the event or the decision.  The Disputes Committee in any instance will not include members of any club involved in a dispute.  The club making a complaint or appeal must enclose a fee of £10, which will be refunded if their complaint or appeal is successful.  Other affected parties will be given a further 12 days to submit their reply, in writing or by receipted or acknowledged e-mail.  The Disputes Committee will invite both parties in the dispute, together with any relevant third party, to its meeting, and an equal opportunity will be given to each side to make its case.  The Disputes Committee may limit representatives at the meeting to one per club.  Hearsay evidence unsupported by witnesses, and evidence which changes the nature of the original complaint, will normally be rejected.

8) Where written notice is required (see Rule 7), days when there is no postal delivery are not counted.  First class post (or receipted or acknowledged e-mails) will be used by the Disputes Committee, and the time will be counted from the dispatch day.  When any complaint or appeal is submitted, any other interested party must be sent a copy simultaneously by post or e-mail.

9) Each team defaulting games during the season will be penalized by the loss of match points according to the following table:

A team defaulting more than 19 boards in a season is disqualified forthwith and all its results are void.  NB: A team defaulting a complete match will suffer game defaults as above as well as the loss of the match points.

Play

10) All matches will be over a minimum of 5 boards, except in the lowest Divisions (in 2007-8, Divisions 4 and 5) where a minimum of 4 boards will apply.  Matches involving more than the minimum number of players can be played if the two team captains can agree on the number of boards before the day of the match: in the event of any dispute on this issue the match result will be decided using the minimum number of boards.  All the games in any single match will start on the same day.  The home team will have white on the even numbered boards.  Matches are scheduled to start at 7.15 p.m.  Clocks may be started at any time after that.  At the start of play, the time for ending play will be announced.  When that time has been reached, the captains should consult and then call time, unless a game has not reached the first time control and neither side has lost on time, in which case time should be called at the time control or flag-fall.  If a team in the lowest Divisions (see above) contains at least 3 juniors who are playing in a match, they may invoke the JUNIOR Option for all the games in that match, which will then if necessary be adjudicated.  Juniors are defined as being under 16 on the 1st September in the year in which the season starts.  A session should be 2 hrs 40 minutes or 3 hours long, or 2 hrs in the lowest Divisions if the JUNIOR option has been invoked.  Captains must agree in advance in writing or through receipted or acknowledged e-mails that a particular match is to be played over three hours.  The clubs that have agreed to participate in 3-hour matches are given in the Directory of Clubs.  The use of a 3-hour session should be recorded on the submitted results.

Players absent at the start of a match may subsequently be replaced with a time penalty of the time elapsed, up to a maximum of 45 minutes, at any time until 8 pm by a player otherwise eligible to play for that team (i.e. a player not barred for a higher team), and provided that none of the players playing above the substitute are graded 10 or more points below the substitute.  At 8 pm the players present shall claim the game as won by default by stopping the clock.  The submitted match result should note any such defaults, and substitute players should be marked "S".  The submitted match result should note any such defaults, and substitute players should be marked "S".  If a captain knows at the start of a match that the team will default one or more boards, these defaults must be on the lowest possible boards.  Before the start of play, each pair of players will decide whether they wish to adjudicate or play to a (Quick Play) finish.  If there is no agreement, in Divisions 1 and 2 the game shall be played under Option A: in other divisions, the game will be adjudicated under Option B.  The FIDE Laws of Chess will govern play in all matches.  The home club is responsible for (1) providing premises, & (2) for providing and setting up the playing equipment and tidying it away at the end of the match: the latter responsibilities also apply to the listed away team when a match is played by agreement at a neutral venue.

Any match in which either or both sides could invoke the Junior Option playing conditions may be played at a neutral venue to minimize travel problems for young players.  The fixture list for the season is presented as usual, but if a neutral venue is to be used the date can be modified on the initiative of the "away" team in such a match.  The agreement of the League Secretary or the Fixtures Secretary at least 28 days before the scheduled match date must be secured.  The revised fixture should if possible be played within a week on either side of the scheduled date.  The neutral venue need not be a normal club premises, but if it is the venue of another club, this host club has no responsibility for providing equipment, setting up or dismantling tables, sets, boards, etc.

11) Any request for the postponement of a match for reasons other than inclement weather may only be agreed with the prior permission of the Secretary.  Postponements will only be allowed by the League Secretary if a new date for the match has also been agreed between the clubs concerned.  Any postponement without the permission of the Secretary, except in the case of bad weather, will result in the match being treated as a void match for both sides.

12) After a time control is reached, following Black's last move the clocks must be stopped and turned back by the appropriate period.  Failure to do so will mean that claims for a win on time cannot be accepted.  The time controls are:

As an experimental rule for the 2007-8 season, applied to Divisions 1 and 2 only, 3 hour sessions will be the default time limit (i.e. if the teams do not agree in advance to play for 2 h 40 minutes) for home matches held at the clubs willing to host such sessions (see the Club Directory).  The only exceptions to this rule will be when (a) the away team contains one or more Junior players; and/or (b) the normal travel time for the away team is 30 minutes or more (a definitive list of such times is given in the Advice to Captains section).

If there are any games in which a claim for a draw has been made under Art. 10.2 of the FIDE Laws, and there is no neutral arbiter present, the position at the time of the claim and an up to date score sheet, signed by the opposing player, shall be sent to the League Secretary within 48 hours of the match, provided that 45 moves have been made by Black in the submitted position.  The position will be then referred to a neutral competent official without charge.  An appeal can be made against the arbiter's decision under FIDE Art 10.2 or Appendix D within 7 days: it must be accompanied by an authority to debit the appellant club by £20 if the claim is not successful.  The appeal will either be heard by the original arbiter plus two others from a nominated panel, or the Secretary may deem it in the interest of fairness to refer the appeal to a senior BCF arbiter or FIDE arbiter outside the county.

RESULTS OF ALL MATCHES MUST BE SENT BY E-MAIL TO THE LRCA WEBMASTER (currently Stewart Gordon) OR ELECTRONICALLY TO THE LRCA WEB-SITE WITHIN FOURTEEN DAYS, with identification of the match venue, team names and numbers, players and their grades, board order, game results, and a note of any games to be adjudicated.  In addition to the overall match result these details are needed to update players' grades at the end of the season, and to ensure that the barred player rules are being adhered to.  If a match sheet is not received from a team within 14 days of the fixture, that team shall be deemed to have defaulted a board and will be liable to loss of points under Rule 9.  The Committee encourages clubs to use electronic submission of match results through the Web site wherever possible.

Order of Strength

13) Each team in any match should have a board order corresponding to the strength order of the participating players.  Strength is to be assessed using current ECF normal-play grades.  (The Secretary should be consulted about players without a current ECF grade).  However it is accepted that such grades do not provide a perfect assessment of strength in all circumstances, so the board order of two or more players whose grades lie within 10 points of each other is not regarded as critical for the purpose of this rule.  If a club wishes to use a board order that involves an individual playing on a higher board than a player whose grade is superior by more than 10 points, then the permission of the Secretary must be obtained in advance.  Clubs will be expected to give full reasons for such requests.  THIS RULE HAS PRECEDENCE OVER THE BARRED PLAYER RULES BELOW.

14) If a club enters two or more teams in the League, then it is expected that they will be numbered in order of strength (e.g. Leicester 1 will be stronger than Leicester 2, etc) and that each of the teams will abide by Rule 13 above.  If as a matter of policy a club wishes to enter two or more teams in the same Division of the League, and to arrange for them to be of roughly equal strength, the Secretary’s permission must be sought in advance.

Adjudication

15) In any game, a player may insist on adjudication after 60 moves, unless a Quick Play finish has been agreed.

No game may be sent for adjudication unless the required number of moves in the first time control period has been made.

Positions and claims for adjudication should be sent to the Adjudication Secretary within twelve days.  Analysis may be enclosed in support of a claim, but this is by no means essential.  Positions for adjudication should be submitted on the forms provided.  Any analysis should give no indication of the identity of clubs or players.  The position should preferably be in FORSYTH notation, on every page and certainly the first.  Other circumstances such as White/Black to move, the right to castle, repetition of position, en passant etc must also be given.  It is conventional to record positions on diagrams with White's first rank lowest on the page and Black pieces ringed.  Moves must be numbered in any analysis.

An uncontested claim will be upheld.  An adjudicator is not obliged to consider a win for a side claiming a draw.  Where both sides claim a win, and a draw is awarded, both sides lose their fee.  A winner claiming a draw is not penalised.  Games from Divisions 1 and 2 will be adjudicated by the ECF, and those from other divisions by a local panel.  In either case, there is a right of appeal (risking a further fee).

Appeals from Divisions 1 and 2 are judged by the ECF Appeals Panel, whilst other appeals are handled by the ordinary ECF adjudication route.  Where an appeal is successful, the club which is eventually unsuccessful pays the fee for the original adjudication.  The original diagram and a full analysis in triplicate are compulsory for an appeal from Divisions 1 and 2, and optional for appeals from lower divisions: analysis by the side defending the appeal is also optional.  While the ECF requires analysis to be "complete", brevity is an advantage.  Twelve days are allowed by the Adjudications Secretary between dispatch of a result and the receipt of an appeal.  The Adjudications Secretary will notify the other side that an appeal has been made (without revealing the analysis) and allow a further twelve days before submitting the appeal to the ECF.

For Divisions 1 and 2 the charges for each adjudication and appeal are £7 and £16 respectively.  For other Divisions the charges for each adjudication and appeal are £3 and £7 respectively.  These fees reflect local administrative costs as well as ECF fees.

Barred Players

16(i) A barred player for a team is one who may play for that team, or a higher team for his club, but not a lower one.  The lowest team in a club, or the only team run by a club, need not nominate any barred players.  The barred players for any team shall be listed on the original team list above the unbarred players.  To conform with Rules 13 and 14 above it is expected that a club entering two or more teams in the League will normally bar its strongest players for the first team, the next strongest players for the second team, and so on.  However it is acknowledged that there may be reasons why this arrangement is difficult or impossible to fulfil: such exceptions should be discussed with the Secretary before the League season starts.  If an unbarred player is played above a barred player then the unbarred player becomes an additional barred player for that team.  The Committee can declare that certain players will be restricted to a specific team.

(ii) In Divisions 1-3 the number of barred players shall be THREE, irrespective of the number of the number of teams a club has in each Division.  In Divisions 4 and 5 the number of barred players shall be TWO, irrespective of the number of teams a club has in any of those Divisions.  A player who has missed three consecutive matches is still a barred player.  An additional player must be barred with immediate effect, i.e. once it is certain that three matches will be missed by a player, until the absent player returns ensuring that each team still has the minimum of barred players.  The absent player may not play for a lower team without the specific permission of the Secretary.

(iii) A player who has played for any team three times becomes a barred player for the team below.  This rule will NOT apply when the player promoted to the team immediately above his/her normal team plays on or below the lowest normal board, i.e. board 5 in Divisions 1-3, or board 4 in Divisions 4 and 5.

(iv) Lists of barred players must be sent to the Results Secretary before the start of the season.  Failure to do so will result in the players on the highest boards in each team's first match being counted as the barred players.

(v) Before unbarring a player, the Results Secretary will ask for an explanation (which may not be accepted) and may require notice of up to one week.

(vi) The barred player rules apply throughout a complete League season for all the affected teams from one club.  For example, even if Leicester 1 have finished all their matches before Leicester 2, the Leicester 1 barred players remain ineligible for Leicester 2 for the remainder of the League season.

Match Conditions

17 (i) Smoking in banned in any room used for League and Cup matches.

(ii) Players' mobile phones must be switched off, or set to silent/vibrate mode, for the duration of the match.  Players may not speak into a mobile phone in the room used for matches (i.e. in an emergency players must leave the room to use their phones).

(iii) Hand-held or portable computers of any kind are not to be brought into the playing room or surrounding areas during matches.

Breaches of these rules will lead to the forfeit of the game by the player concerned, whose opponent should claim the game in the same way as for a flag-fall, i.e. before the opponent's next move.

18) Match captains are allowed to (a) indicate flag fall for either player in a given game; (b) advise players of the match score at any time; and (c) in clear hearing and in English, advise a player if consulted on the acceptance of a draw, without commenting on the position itself, or on any other position in the match.  Please see the separate section on advice for Match Captains.

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