NLSCA Tournament Format Rules
Tournament Format
A round robin format will always be followed where numbers
permit - typically where no more than 7 players are entered in a section or
grade. Where a round robin format cannot be practically held, players in a
section or grade will play 5 rounds using the SWISS System for pairing. The
SWISS system is an internationally recognized computerized method of determining
pairings where large numbers of players are registered. The maximum number of
rounds to be played, regardless of the numbers in attendance, will be 5 rounds.
After 5 rounds, a medals ceremony will take place. If ties exist after 5 rounds
for either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, all players affected will take place in a
playoff format, as described below, while all players unaffected are free to
leave.
Note: Using the SWISS system can be a bit intimidating if
it's your 1st time. If you want to forgo this approach we suggest dividing up
the section or grade into smaller groups that will permit round robin play.
Please click here to download an information package (Adobe Acrobat file) that
will permit you to run a tournament in small groups. Should you however wish to
familiarize yourself with the SWISS System for pairing with a larger number of
players, please contact Alick Tsui for a copy of this program.
All rounds will follow a 1-hour maximum time limit. Where
available, clocks will be provided for the top boards for the higher grades.
Clocks will also be assigned to any game after 40 minutes of play with each
player receiving 10 minutes to complete the game.
Round 1will commence after the reading of the rules by the
tournament director.
Tournament Rules
CFC Rules: Tournaments run by the NLSCA will be run
according to the Canadian Federation of Chess (CFC) rules found under Section 4
of the CFC Handbook -
www.chess.ca/section_4.htm
Pairings
Any dispute over pairings for a
round must be made before the round commences. Pairings should be posted along
with the results of the previous round(s) for viewing by players and parents
before the round commences. Any concerns respecting pairings should be directed
immediately to the tournament director for the event. Once a round commences the
pairings for that round stands!
Touch and Touch-Take Rules
If a player touches a piece, the
player must move this piece providing of course that it is a legal move. If a
player moves a piece and touches an opponent's piece, the player must capture
the piece touched again providing it is a legal move.
Adjust Rule
Where a player has to adjust a piece
during a game, the player must say "adjust" before touching the piece. A player
must not adjust his/her opponent's pieces.
Disputes
Where a player has a dispute with an opponent respecting
the 'touching' of pieces or 'illegal' moves, the player should raise their hand
immediately and an adjudicator will assist you. Where the adjudicator cannot
settle a dispute, or where a player disagrees with the ruling of an adjudicator,
a local Appeals Committee will be brought in to make a ruling. Any ruling made
by this committee will be announced through the tournament director and shall be
the final ruling for the day.
Delay of Game
For those players not playing on clock, we will not
tolerate any unnecessary delay of game. Where we feel that this is occurring,
both players will be put on clock with each player receiving ½ the time
remaining in the scheduled hour. If you feel your game is being unnecessarily
delayed by your opponent raise your hand.
Interference
We will not tolerate any interference of any kind. A
player should avoid talking unnecessarily to his/her opponent. Anyone
interfering with someone else's game in a way that would affect the outcome of
the game will be penalized a minimum of ½ point and could be disqualified from
the tournament.
Recording Results
Once you have achieved either a 'checkmate' or
'stalemate', do not touch your board but rather raise your hand so that your
adjudicator may record the result of your game. In recording the result of a
game, the adjudicator simply verifies that both players have agreed on the
result. The adjudicator cannot overrule this result even if the adjudicator
knows the result is not correct. The adjudicator can only comment if one of the
players disagrees with the other as to the result. After the game has been
recorded, both players are to shake hands, reset the board and quietly leave the
playing area.
Honest and Fair Competition
Finally we encourage honest and fair competition amongst
all players. Anyone caught cheating or intentionally losing to decide a winner
will be removed from the tournament, and possibly banned from participating in
future NLSCA tournaments!
Spectators, Parents and Coaches
Any person not involved directly in tournament play is
asked to stay well clear of the playing area. Results of games and pairings for
upcoming rounds will be posted outside of the playing area.
Draw
A player wishing to offer a draw shall do so right after
having made his/her move on the chessboard. An offer at any other time during
play is still valid. A draw cannot be pre-arranged before the game is played
out. The game can also be drawn, upon a correct claim by the player having the
move, when the same position, for at least the third time (not necessarily by
sequential repetition of moves). Further more, a game can be considered drawn,
upon a claim by the player, if each player has made 50 consecutive moves without
the movement of any pawn and without the capture of any piece.
However, it is unethical to agree to a draw before a
serious contest has begun. The same is true of all agreements to prearrange game
results. In cases of clear violations of the moral principles of the game, a
director should first impose a formal warning followed by penalties at his
discretion.
Byes
For all NLSCA events except our Provincial Finals, a one
time 0.5 point bye will be allowed upon request. All subsequent byes and
requested bye for the last round will earn 0.0 point. At the Provincial Finals,
all requested byes will earn 0.0 point.
Late comers
No player will be allowed to join a tournament after the
2nd round has begun in a normal 5 round tournament.
Speed Chess
NLSCA will adopt the following rules for Speed chess games
in all tournaments and playoffs:
Touch move and touch take rules 1 shall apply.
If a player has to reset/adjust (accidentally) knocked
down pieces, it has to be done during his/her own clock time. 2
It is not mandatory to say "check" when attacking the
king. A king under attack is vulnerable to capture.
A game is considered won when a player has captured
his/her opponent's king before the fall of the flag.
A game is considered won if a player spots an illegal move
completed by his/her opponent and claims it during his/her turn.
A game is considered won if a player spots the fall of
his/her opponent's flag and claims it.
If there is not enough mating material on either side, it
will be considered a Draw even after the fall of the flag.
1 If a player touches a piece, he/she must move it if that
piece has a legal move. If a player touches one of the opponent's pieces, he/she
must capture it if it can be taken legally. A move cannot be changed once a
piece is "released", unless the player realizes the move is illegal before the
clock is pressed.
2 A player who repeatedly disrupts the board by knocking
over pieces will be first given a warning. All such subsequent disruptive
behaviour will be penalized and may eventually lead to forfeiture of game.
Appeal
NLSCA will provide a "Rules and Appeal Committee" to hear
appeals from the decision of a tournament director. Players may appeal to the
Committee, provided that all other procedures laid down have been complied with,
and the appellant lodges his appeal within 24 hours after the event. The
Committee shall consist of at least 3 experienced tournament directors, one of
whom will be the chairman. Not less than three members of the Committee shall
constitute a Board to hear appeals.
The person appealing must provide the following
information with his notice of appeal:
i. The date the game was played
and date of any adjournments
ii. The names (and addresses if
known) of the players and TD
iii. The name and type of event
iv. The names of those sitting on
the Local Rules/Appeals Committee, if known
v. The ruling of the TD, giving
the reasons provided by the TD, if reasons were given
vi. The facts involved, and the
nature of the dispute
vii. The ruling of the
local Appeals Committee at the time, giving the reasons provided by that
committee, if reasons were given
A person appealing to the NLSCA Rules and Appeals
Committee must write to the NLSCA Office or email to one of the Committee
members stating his intention to appeal. A $20.00 fee, to be refunded to
successful appellants, must follow all appeals. The decision from this Rules and
Appeal committee shall be final and will be made known to the appellant within 7
days after receiving the appeal. Recommendation for changes to our present
tournament rules or procedures will be made to NLSCA chair following the ruling
if necessary.
Tie Break Rules
The following tie break rules shall apply at all
scholastic tournaments run by the NLSCA.
Tie for 1st place
In the event of a two-way tie for 1st place, the two
players shall play a sudden-death game using the playoff time controls set for
1st place for the particular tournament.
In the event that three or more players are tied for 1st
place, the players will be ranked in order using the 'Cumulative Break Point
Method' (scholastic rating is irrelevant to ordering). The cumulative break
points awarded to a player is simply determined by adding together the player's
total score after each round. For example, imagine that the following three
players each scored 4 points in a 5 round tournament, player A losing in the
first round, player B losing in the 2nd round and player C loses the 3rd round.
If a player loses a round, he/she gets the same number of points for that round
as received in the previous round. If a player draws a game, his/her score for
the round is the points received for the previous round increased by 1/2 point
for the draw. Their breaks points would be:
A 0+1+2+3+4 = 10
B 1+1+2+3+4 = 11
C 1+2+2+3+4 = 12
The player who loses last receives the highest break point
score. The logic behind this method is that the player losing earlier receives
easier parings, i.e. plays easier players in subsequent rounds. In many Swiss
system tournaments, break points alone are used to determine the standings and
consequently who receives the prizes. In the above example player C would take
1st place. However, the NLSCA believes that it is fairer to have the players
play off and has therefore developed the following rules for pairings.
The break points for each player involved in the tie is
calculated. The players are then ranked in order of break points accumulated
from highest to lowest, with the highest being player 1. The players are then
paired as set out below and play in accordance with the time controls set for
the tournament.
Pairings
'Three Players'
Round 1: 2 x 3
Round 2: Winner x 1
'Four Players'
Round 1: 1 x 4 and 2 x 3
Round 2: Winners Play Off
'Five Players'
Round 1: 4 x 5
Round 2: Winner x 1 and 2 x 3
Round 3: Winners Play Off
'Six Players'
Round 1: (a) 4 x 5 and (b) 3 x 6
Round 2: Winner (a) x 1 and Winner (b) x 2
Round 3: Winners Play Off
'Seven Players'
Round 1: (a) 4 x 5, (b) 3 x 6, and (c) 2 x
7
Round 2: Winner (a) x 1 and Winner (b) x
Winner (c)
Round 3: Winners Play Off
In the event that 2 or more players have identical
cumulative break point scores, the following method will be used (in order) to
break the tie for the purpose of ranking for tie break games:
1. Modified median tiebreak method
2. Results between tied players
3. Draw by chance
Tie for 2nd or 3rd Place
In the event of a tie for 2nd or 3rd place, the same
procedure as outlined above is followed using the time controls set for 2nd or
3rd place for the tournament.
"Color Selection" will be determined for each round
randomly by the players by means of 'piece in hand' selection.
Time Controls for NLSCA Tournaments
Where permitted below, the allowable means of time
controls available to the TD include the regular time controls under which the
main rounds were played; abbreviated time controls of 20 min, 15 min or 10
minutes for regular play applied to each player, or 5 min time controls using
speed chess rules.
Canadian Chess Challenge
Regional Tournaments
In the event of a tie for 1st, 2nd or 3rdplace, the time
controls will be set to 15 min SD. In the event of ties after the initial round
of playoffs, the time control will be reduced to 5 min SD blitz. Tournament
Director reserves the right to determine any other tie-breaking methods when a
winner can still not be determined after a round of blitz.
Provincial Finals
In the event of a tie for 1stplace, the time controls will
follow that for a regular game and will be set to 30 min SD. If there is still a
tie after a complete round of initial playoffs, the time control can be reduced
to 15 min SD and then again to 5 min SD. A tie shall be broken down by random
draw or any other means at the discretion of the T/D when all 3 time controls
have been exhausted.
In the event of a tie for 2nd or 3rdplace, the time
controls will be set to 15 min SD. If a tie situation remains unresolved after a
complete round of initial playoffs, the time control can then be reduced to 5
min SD. The Tournament director reserves the right to break a tie, either by
random draw or any other means he deems fit when all time controls have been
exhausted.
Newfoundland & Labrador Team & Individual Chess Championship*
Team Event
Some unique rules exist for the Team event. These rules
will be posted at the event. One such rule is any team arriving in the medal
standings as a result of a 'bye' will have to play off against the team behind
it, if that team did not receive a 'bye' and if that team's total point count by
game exceeds that of the team receiving the 'bye' less game points received as a
result of the 'bye'.
In the event of a tie for 1stplace, the time controls will
be set to 30 min SD. If after which teams remain tied, then time controls will
be shortened to 15 min SD and then to 5 min Speed Chess.
In the event of a tie for 2ndplace or 3rdplace, the time
controls will be set to 15 min SD. If after which teams remain tied, then time
controls will be shortened to 5 min Speed Chess.
Individual Event
In the event of a tie for 1stplace, the time controls
follow that for a regular game and will be set to 30 min SD.
In the event of a tie for 2ndplace or 3rdplace, the time
controls will be set to 15 min SD.
*Where all players agree or where time constraints on the
venue exist, the TD may change the time controls as stated above.
Minor Tournaments*
For all other NLSCA tournaments, others than those above,
time controls used in the event of ties for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place will be
determined at the discretion of the TD and posted/announced prior to the
commencement of the tournament.
*Where all players agree or where time constraints on the
venue exist, the TD may change the time controls as stated above.
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