ECF County Championships 2008 National Stages Draw 2007/8

Dear All,

I present to you the County Championships 2008 National stage draw. The Quarter Final must be played by Sunday 18th May 2008, Semi Final by 15th June 2008 and this year’s Final will be on 5th July 2008 at Moat Community College, Leics. (Same as last year) more details on the Final will follow during June.

The Q-Final draw for County Championships will allow a week's extension for matches, provided the counties involved notify the Controller (Phone/ e-mail only) by May 16th 2008 and as a result do so on the explicit understanding for the quarter-final that both teams make putative arrangements with their opponent and confirm their result to you and their opponent asap, i.e. within 30 minutes of the end of the match. The semi final deadline will not change.

This is the first year that sees all results submitted electronically. The match card (an excel spreadsheet) which must be filled out and e-mailed back to me ( ) or posted back to me on a CD only can be downloaded here. Should you not have a program capable of opening the spreadsheet, then please download ‘Open Office’ for free.
Tip: If you cannot use a computer or spreadsheet, then I suggest you ask family, friends, chess colleagues or work colleagues for help and if you don’t have access to a computer, the Library would be a good place to start.
Once you have completed the spreadsheet, you should send it back to me by the end of the weekend the match was played on. If this is not possible, please drop me an e-mail/ line to let me know of the delay.

Well, best of luck with the tournament and I hope to see as many of you as possible on 5th July 2008.

Regards

Andrew Moore BA
Manager of Home Services
07789 904835

Rules

1. The Championships shall be established in Divisions dependent on the grades of players; Division 1 having no upper grade limit, Division 2 under 175 grade, Division 3 under 150 grade, Division 4 under 125 grade and Division 5 under 100 grade. There will also be a "Minor Counties Championship" (MCC). These championships shall be held each year under the direction of the Director of Home Chess who shall appoint a Controller for the Final Stages of each Championship.

2. Grading limits shall be based on the BCF Grading List (for chess other than Rapidplay) current on 1st September in each season. Except in Division 1 and in the Minor Counties Championship, a player who has no current published grade may play in the Final Stage only if permission has been previously obtained from the Controller. Requests for permission must be submitted to the Controller so as to arrive at least seven days before the player is to play. The team captain must prior to making such an application to the Controller, be satisfied that the player is not of such a playing strength as to breach the limits set for the Division in question, and must submit evidence where this is available from the local grader or master list or other source. Such a player shall be declared ineligible (or no longer eligible) if the Controller is not (or has ceased to be) entirely convinced that the player's strength is clearly below the relevant grading limits.

3.

3.1. Each Championship shall be divided into two stages; the Union Qualifying Stage and the Final Stage.

3.2. All paid up Counties, are eligible to compete in these Championship, subject to the appropriate Union rules governing the Union Qualifying Stage.

3.3. The Union Qualifying Stage shall be conducted on behalf of the Federation by the five Chess Unions and shall be run by them according to their own rules except that Federation rules 9,10,11 & 12 apply to all matches.

3.4 The Final Stages of each Championship shall be conducted by the Controller.
Any decision of the controller can be appealed against by direct reference to the Director of Home Chess, in writing and made within 48 hours of that decision. Such an appeal shall be accompanied by a deposit of £20 which shall not be returned if the appeal fails. The Director of Home Chess or his representative shall then reply within a further 48 hours with his decision which is final.
Each union has the right to nominate one team for the national stages in Open, U175, U150, U125 and U100.

3.5 Any union, which has three teams completing their fixtures without defaulting a match in a union championship, has the right to nominate two entries to the national stages of that championship. The national controller may give a dispensation if the last round of fixtures could not be completed because of inclement weather. Any union which has 7 or more teams completing their fixtures without defaulting a match in a union championship, has the right to nominate three entries to the national stages of that championship. The national controller may give a dispensation if the last round of fixtures could not be completed because of inclement weather.

3.6 Should there be more than eight nominations, a preliminary round shall be played before the quarter final. If there are less than 8 nominations in total for each championship, the controller may invite extra entries from teams eligible under 3.7 and 3.9 to take part in each event.

3.7 If a union is invited to field an extra team in a section in one year, it shall only be asked to fill a vacancy in the next season if other unions decline.

3.8 The teams participating in the National Stages of the Open championship for the preceding two seasons may not enter the Minor Counties Championship.
Any team competing in the National stages of the championships of the Minor Counties must field a team whose average BCF grading or ELO equivalent is less than 180. Any players who do not have a published grading will be deemed to have the same grading as the average of those possessing such a grading.

3.9 No team which finishes last in a union championship can take part in a national final that year.

3.10 Each Union may nominate two teams for the Minor Counties Championship, subject to 3.9 and 3.8. A Union may opt out of entering teams for the Open Championship, but retain its right to enter the Minor Counties Championship.

4. The Secretary, or County Match Controller, of each Union shall not later then 31st March in each year, send to the Controller the name(s) of the nominated teams of that Union in each Championship also stating that they have verified that the teams so named are willing to accept nomination. If entry fees, or other moneys, due to the Federation have not been paid the nominations will be rejected and no late substitutions allowed.

5. THE CONDUCT OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

5.1. The draw for the quarter final pairings and any necessary preliminary round shall be made in the month of January by a committee consisting of the Controller, The Director of Home Chess or his or her nominee and one other person nominated by the Management board.
Teams required to play in the preliminary round shall be drawn from the second or third
nominees of the Unions. The home teams in the quarterfinals shall be drawn from the first nominees of the Unions. The Controller has the right to adjust the quarterfinal draw or the preliminary rounds as he deems fit in the light of teams actually nominated by Unions and the need to fill any vacancies. The draw for the semi-finals shall be made and published at the same time as the draw for the quarterfinals.

5.2. The two teams nominated by a Union in a Division are to be kept apart in the draw until the semi-final round. This shall not apply in respect of any extra nominations accepted by the Controller under Rule 3.4.

6. Matches shall be played on, or by mutual agreement before, or on the Sunday immediately following, the dates here listed:

Preliminary Round - Fourth Saturday in April
Quarter Finals- Third Saturday in May
Semi-Finals - Second Saturday in June
Finals - First Saturday in July

These dates may however be varied at the discretion of the Director of Home Chess not later than 14th October in each season and shall be notified within 7 days to Union Controllers.

7.

7.1. Except in the Final of each Championship, when a central venue will be nominated by the Director of Home Chess and agreed upon by the Management Board, matches shall be arranged by the Counties concerned. The county drawn away can insist on an intermediate venue, provided it is prepared to make all the arrangements and that all expenses are shared by the teams concerned. It is the responsibility of the county drawn at home to provide refreshments for the away county. Where a match is played at an intermediate venue, refreshments should be provided for both teams, expenses to be shared. Where counties fail to agree on a venue, Rule 18 shall apply. Matches may be played by telephone, mutually agreed between the Counties and if the Controller is so informed beforehand.

7.2. The match captain of the team arranging the venue shall be responsible for advising the other team's match captain in writing of the venue arrangements so they are received 7 days before the date of the match and shall also be responsible for setting up boards, sets and clocks.

7.3. If either match captains insists, a neutral conductor or arbiter shall be appointed at the expense of the County making the request. Choice of neutral conductor should be by the agreement of the match captains, failing which the Controller will make the appointment.

8.

8.1. In any match in these Championships, each County shall be represented by a minimum of 16 players except in Division 5 Under-100 grade where the minimum number of players shall be 12; all players shall be qualified under Rules 9, 10, 11 and 12.

8.2. In all Divisions, a higher even number of players may take part as may be mutually agreed by the match captains of the teams concerned.

9.

9.1. A County may enter as many teams as it wishes in any of the 5 Divisions listed in rule no. 1 but inclusion in the Final Stage will only be by Union nomination.

9.2. If a County enters more than one team in a Division each team will be clearly identified. A county may have more than one team in a division. If a county has multiple teams in the same union, then they shall be operated as separate entities and no player shall play for more than one team in a season. If a county wishes to enter the competition run by two or more unions, then it shall declare to the Director of Home Chess which competition it regards as the one from which it shall attempt to qualify to the National Stages by 15th September of each year. If no declaration is received, then the Director of Home Chess shall declare that the union the county last competed in with a single team shall be the qualifying one. The other event, even if the county wins or occupies a qualifying position, shall not award a place in the National Stages to that county, even if that county fails to qualify through its nominated union.

9.3. When a County enters more than one team in a Division, players are NOT interchangeable.

9.4. There will be no restriction on players playing for teams in their County in different Divisions subject to the application of grading limits.

10. A player may represent a County in one of these Championships only if they have not played in the same season for any other County in any of these Championships in either the Union Qualifying Stage or the Final Stage.

11. The qualifications for a player to represent a County in any of these Championship shall be one of the following:-

i) Birth in that county.

ii) Five years residence in that county at any time.

iii) Two months immediate previous and present membership of a club either in or affiliated to that County.

iv) One month immediately previous and present residence in that County.

v) Present attendance as a teacher or student at a school, college or university in that County.

12. A player whose qualifications were valid under the preceding rules when first playing for a County in one of these Championships shall remain qualified for that County until the conclusion of the Championship.

13. One game shall be played between each pair of players. No player may play more than one board in any one match.
A Win shall count as one point and a Draw half a point. If the final scores in any match be equal, the result shall be decided by the Board Count method; and if this fails to resolve the tie, the Elimination Rule shall apply until the scores are unequal. If all boards are drawn, then the match will be deemed to be won by the team which has black on board 1.

14. The penalty for playing an unqualified, over-graded or ineligible player in any match shall be the loss of such player's game and the deduction of one penalty point for each unqualified, over-graded or ineligible player from the resulting total score made by the County in that match.

15. Before the time fixed for the start of play, the captains of the teams engaged shall make up their respective playing lists, putting the player in order of current playing strength, shall exchange such lists and then toss for a move. Any known defaults shall be placed on the lowest board.
The team whose captain wins the toss shall take the first move on odd numbered boards. BCF grades where available shall be stated on the team lists though these shall not be taken as indicating the order of current playing strength.

16. The duration of play shall be maximum of five hours and all games shall be played with clocks. Each player shall make not less than 40 moves in two hours and then to a conclusion with 30 minutes extra for each player for the remainder of the game. Except in the Finals, the rate of play and duration of the sudden death finish may be varied by mutual agreement between the respective match captains.

17. At the time fixed for the start of play, the captains shall start the clocks of the players having the move. If a player be absent, a substitute can be put in up to on hour from the start of the clock, otherwise his opponent, if present, shall score the game a Win. If neither player be present nor can be substituted then the game shall be scored as lost by both players. A clock, once started, shall not be stopped or adjusted except in compliance with the Laws of Chess.

18. Any matter affecting the conduct of a match in one of these championships on which officials of the counties concerned cannot agree shall be referred to the Controller whose decision shall be final on all points, whether arising under these rules or otherwise.

19. For the purposes of these rules, a season shall begin on the day following the date on which was the Final Round of the preceding Championship and shall end on the date on which is played in the Final Round of the current Championship.

20. If, during the course of a season, a County fails to pay any Game Fee or amount due to the Federation than it shall be deemed not to have entered the Championships and the results of any matches previously played by that county in that season shall be disregarded.

21. Entry fees shall be charged for these Championships; the amount to be decided by the Management Board from time to time. This entry fee is deemed to include any Game Fee due from the Counties who qualify for and compete in the Final Stages of each championship. Any games played at the Union Qualifying stage will be liable to Game Fee under normal rules. Entry fees are due for each team entered, at the same time as the Game Fee for the Union Qualifying stage and any county which has not paid by 31 March will not be accepted for nomination for the Final Stage.

22. Reference in these rules to County(ies) shall construed as applying to counties admitted to membership in accordance with Rule 3.2 of the Constitution.

23. Should any County, having been nominated by its Union for the Final Stage of any of the Championships and having accepted such nomination in accordance with rule 4, default any game in a match, or any match. it shall be required to reimburse such of its opponent's reasonable expenses which may have been incurred as the Controller may determine; and unless the Controller decides otherwise shall also pay a fine of £5 per game defaulted or £50 (fifty) per match defaulted, such fines being payable to the British Chess Federation.

24. Any County which fails to pay entry fees or any other moneys due under rule 21 shall, unless the Director of Home Chess decides otherwise, not be accepted for nomination to the Final Stage of that Championship in the following season.

25. Results sheets for matches in the Final Stages shall be sent to the Controller by the match captains of both teams, or one sheet signed by both match captains, not later than three days after the match. If a result sheet is not received within the due time, the Controller may impose a fine of £10 on the offending County(ies). If neither team submits a result sheet, the Controller may eliminate both teams.

26. It is the responsibility of trophy winners to take all reasonable steps to look after the trophies and to keep them in a clean condition. The trophy winner shall have the trophy engraved and may claim the cost from the Director of Home Chess. Trophies must be returned in a secure manner to the Controller at least three weeks before the next season's Finals Day. By prior agreement of the controller, at least one month beforehand, trophies may be returned on Final Day itself.

27. There will be No Smoking in the playing arena of County Matches. It is the responsibility of the match captains to ensure this rule is publicised at the venue and is enforced.

28. Mobile phones and other electronic communication devices must be switched off or switched to silent mode. in the playing area. Anyone seeking dispensation from this rule can only seek it on the grounds of their employment and permission must be sought from the arbiter or team captains.