Operative from September 2004
1.1 Membership Membership of the league shall be open to all clubs in Sussex. Member clubs may enter one or more teams in the annual competition, subject to any maximum imposed from time to time on the number permitted.
1.2 Organisation The league shall be organised in divisions, the size and number of which shall be periodically reviewed at the league AGM.
1.3 Promotion & relegation From season to season, promotion and relegation shall operate on a two-up, two-down basis across all divisions. Each team that wins promotion must take their place in the higher division next season, with the exception of teams in the second division, who may decline promotion. Other adjustments may also be made from time to time as teams enter or withdraw from the League.
1.4 New teams New teams shall start in one of the lowest two divisions.
2.1 Season The season shall start with the distribution of fixture lists in September or early October. All matches, other then additional matches [see rule 12], should be completed by 15th April, unless permission has been obtained from the League Secretary to play the game at a later date.
2.2 Entry fees League entry fees must be paid by the beginning of the season.
2.3 Venues Unless otherwise agreed at the AGM, half of each team's matches shall be played at home, and the other half away. If a club does not wish to travel for an away match, it may ask for the match to be played at a "half-way-house" venue and it shall then be responsible for all arrangements and costs.
2.4 Fixtures Each team shall play one match against every other team in its division. If a club has two or more teams in the same division, then these teams must play the match or matches between them before playing any other matches.
2.5 Fixture lists The League Secretary shall by 17th September produce and circulate to all teams the fixtures for the forthcoming season, taking into account up to 15 dates on which a team does not wish to play any matches. Each team shall notify the League Secretary of its 15 dates by the date requested by the League Secretary, which shall not be earlier than 1st September.
2.6 Fixture changes Upon receipt of the fixture lists, club secretaries should check their viability and seek to make any necessary changes with the relevant opposing team captains within 14 days. All such changes must be communicated to the League Secretary with an explanation of why the change was made. After this time, fixtures should be changed only in exceptional circumstances. All fixture changes, and any resulting disputes, must be forwarded to the League Secretary.
3.1 Eligibility for a team To be eligible to play in a team, a player must be a bona fide member of the club. If it is not the club's first team, restrictions concerning nominated players also apply [see rule 4].
3.2 Eligibility after changing clubs A player may change clubs within the league once during the season provided that he/she has played fewer than five matches for his/her original club.
3.3 Monitoring eligibility
3.3.1 The eligibility of a player for a particular team appearance may be formally questioned by the opposing team captain to the League Secretary, who will investigate that eligibility, together with the Chairman and Match Recorder, and will communicate their decision to all affected parties.
3.3.2 Eligibility may also be questioned by the Match Recorder or Secretary, who shall act as above.
3.3.3 The Match Recorder shall continually monitor the eligibility of all players. If any player plays for two clubs in any season, the Match Recorder shall inform both clubs of this occurrence within 21 days of his receipt of the relevant match card.
3.4 Penalties for ineligible players
3.4.1 If a team plays an ineligible player, then it is deemed to have defaulted on the board.
3.4.2 If an ineligible player plays on any board except the lowest, his/her playing will have caused players lower in the team order to have played one board lower then they ought. A penalty shall therefore be deducted and added to the opposing team's score. Penalties are calculated on the basis of the total score obtained by the team on boards below the ineligible player, as follows:
| Total score on lower boards | Penalty |
| 0 or ½ | Nil |
| 1, 1½ or 2 | ½ |
| 2½, 3 or 3½ | 1 |
| 4 or more | 1½ |
(E.g. A team loses on boards 1 and 2, wins on boards 3 and 4, and draws on board 5, but plays an ineligible player on board 2. The total score on boards below the ineligible player is 2½, so the match score is adjusted by 1 penalty point, and the original 2½–2½ draw becomes a 1½–3½ loss.)
3.4.3 If a team plays more than one ineligible player, then a separate penalty as above will be assessed in respect of each such player.
4.1 Declaring nominations Each club entering more than one team shall, at the beginning of the season, and before playing any matches, submit a list of nominated players to the League Secretary. The Secretary shall compile a list of all nominated players and circulate this to the League's clubs at the start of the season.
4.1.1 Each club entering two teams must nominate a minimum of its 4 strongest players for its 1st team.
4.1.2 Each club entering three or more teams must also nominate a minimum of its next 3 strongest players for its 2nd team. If entering four or more teams the club must also nominate a minimum of its next 3 strongest players for its 3rd team, and so on.
4.2 Restrictions on nominated players
4.2.1 A nominated player may not play for a team lower than the one for which he/she has been nominated.
4.2.2 Whether nominated or not, a player from a lower team may appear on a match score card 5 times for higher teams while retaining his eligibility to play for the lower team. Upon appearing on a match score card a 6th time for any higher team the player becomes ineligible to play for the lower team.
4.3 New players If a club acquires a new member during the season, then the club must advise the Match Recorder of that player's details within 7 days of his/her first appearance for one of its teams. These details should be sufficient to establish with certainty whether the player is known to the grading system, and should preferably comprise complete name (surname, forename, other initials), sex, date of birth and BCF player code. If the player would have been nominated for a team had he/she been available at the start of the season, then such a player may not play for a lower team. The Match Recorder shall amend the nominations for that club appropriately. If the Match Recorder considers that this rule has been clearly disregarded, he/she may treat such a player as ineligible, and apply the provisions of rule 3.4.
4.4 Infrequent players If a club elects not to nominate a player who is available only infrequently, then such a player may not play for a team lower than that for which he/she would normally have been nominated. If the Match Recorder considers that this rule has been clearly disregarded, he/she may treat such a player as ineligible, and apply the provisions of rule 3.4.
4.5 Nominated players in play-off matches The only eligibility requirement for a play-off match is that a player must have played two or more times for the team in that season.
5.1 Team size Five-board matches shall be played in all divisions.
5.2 Team order In each match, a team must play in descending order of current playing strength. It is recognised that, for many reasons, a player's grading may not be the best guide to current form, and considerable discretion is allowed a team captain in this area. Nevertheless, the Match Recorder may require a team captain to justify his team order, and, should he/she be satisfied that the provisions of this rule have been clearly disregarded to the detriment of the opposing team, he/she shall refer the matter to the League Officers who may adjust the match result as seems appropriate.
5.3 Incomplete teams If a team is unable to raise a full complement of players for a match, it must default on the bottom board or boards. A team that attends a fixture with insufficient players to win it will be deemed to have defaulted the match, and the conditions of rule 6.2 apply.
6.1 Penalties for defaults For a team defaulting boards in any match, default penalty points shall be levied as follows: 5pts – board 1; 4pts – board 2; ... 1pt – board 5. For each 8 default penalty points accumulated, half a match point shall be deducted.
6.2 Seriously defaulting teams A team that arrives with insufficient players to win a match will be deemed to have defaulted it. In this circumstance the following procedure shall apply.
6.2.1 The team shall have one match point deducted from its total.
6.2.2 The match shall be replayed at a date convenient to the team defaulted against. In the event of disagreement a date for replaying the match shall be set by the League Officers.
6.2.3 If the defaulting team does not replay the match it shall automatically be relegated and all its match results declared void. (Games played by the defaulting team shall be graded as normal.)
7.1 Clocks Clocks must be used in all games.
7.2 Time controls: division 1 In Division 1 matches, including play-offs between Division 1 teams, at least 3 hours must be allowed for play, and the time control shall be 42 moves in 1 hr 30 min and 7 moves per 15 minutes thereafter.
7.3 Time controls: other divisions In other matches at least 2 hrs 40 min must be allowed for play. If at least 3 hours is available, then the time control shall be as above, but for shorter matches it shall be 40 moves in 1 hr 20 min and 7 moves per 15 minutes thereafter.
7.4 Additional time controls Both clocks should be turned by 15 minutes for each additional 7-move time control played.
8.1 Before play begins Immediately before a match, team captains shall: (1) exchange names of team players; (2) toss for colours, the winner's team taking either White or Black on the odd-numbered boards; (3) agree and announce to all participants: (a) the time controls, (b) the agreed finishing time, (c) any arrangements for interruptions that could involve stopping clocks.
8.2 Start of play
8.2.1 The home team should be ready to play by 7.30pm. An away team whose members are all present shall be entitled to insist that the match commences at or after 7.30 pm, even if the home team is incomplete, and may accordingly toss for colours with any member of the home club and start the clocks thereafter.
8.2.2 The away team should be ready to play by 7.45pm. The home team shall be entitled to insist that the match commences at or after 7.45pm.
8.2.3 If no member of a team is present by 7.45pm, then the non-attending team shall be deemed to have lost the toss.
8.3 Missing clocks If no clocks are available at 7.30pm, then time may be deducted from the home team's clocks. e.g. if clocks are not ready for 10 minutes after the away team were ready to start the match, then the home teams will have their available time reduced by 10 minutes.
8.4 Late players If a player is not present by 8.30pm, or after 45 minutes after the start of his clock, whichever is the later, and his team captain has no reserve available to take his place, then the game is lost by default.
8.5 Refreshments The home team is normally expected to provide refreshments.
9.1 Submitting games for adjudication Team captains should make reasonable efforts in the eight days following a match to agree the results of any unfinished games. If agreement on any such game cannot be reached, then each club must submit forthwith to the Adjudication Secretary of the Sussex County Chess Association: (1) a copy of the position, with all relevant facts, and the club's claim; (2) the adjudication fee, and (3) a stamped addressed envelope.
9.2 Notification of adjudicated results The Adjudication Secretary is responsible for reporting all adjudication results to both of the team captains involved and the Match Recorder.
9.3 Appeals against adjudicated results If a club wishes to appeal against the result of an adjudication, then the team captain must, within 14 days of receipt of the notification of adjudication (or the last such notification, if more than one game has been submitted in the same match), notify the Match Recorder and the opposing captain of his club's intention to appeal, and submit forthwith to the Adjudication Secretary of the Sussex County Chess Association: (1) three copies of the detailed analysis supporting the appeal; (2) the appeal fee, and (3) a stamped addressed envelope.
10.1 Completion of results card The official result card, including full initials of all players, must be completed immediately after the match, as far as possible, and then be signed by both team captains. Positions sent for adjudication should be marked on the card with a capital 'A'.
10.2 Return of results card The team captain of the home club must send the result card to the Match Recorder within seven days of the match. Alternatively the home captain may send an accurate transcription of the information on the match card to the Match Recorder as an e-mail message. Where e-mail is used, it is the home captain's responsibility to preserve the match card and produce it should the Match Recorder require it.
10.3 Notification of undecided games If when the result card is submitted to the Match Recorder there exist games unfinished that are not subsequently sent for adjudication, then the home captain shall be responsible for informing the Match Recorder of those results.
11.1 Scoring system League positions are determined as follows:
11.1.1 For each game in a match, a win shall count as 1 point and a draw as ½ a point.
11.1.2 The winning team will be that team which scores most game points, and thereby gains 1 match point. If game points are equal, each team will score ½ a match point.
11.1.3 League positions are determined by match point score. If two or more teams are level on match points, they shall be placed in order according to the total number of game points they have scored in the division.
11.2 Withdrawal of teams If a team withdraws during the course of a season all results involving that team are scratched.
12.1 Play-off matches for first place If two or more teams tie for top place in any division, there shall be a play-off if any team involved wishes it. The teams may, however, agree to share the trophy.
12.2 Play-off matches for other places If two or more teams tie for a promotion or relegation place, there shall be a play-off to resolve the issue. If the two teams have already met in the competition that season then the venue shall be reversed for the play-off.
12.3 Determination of the result in a play-off match In the event of a drawn play-off match, if all games are drawn the match will be replayed at the away team's venue, otherwise the result will be determined by board-count, and if the board-count is equal, then by board-elimination.
12.3.1 Board-count Each team sums the numbers of the boards on which it has won and the team with the lower score wins the match.
12.3.2 Board-elimination The result on the bottom board is eliminated and if the match is still drawn then the next board is eliminated and so on until one team is winning on the remaining boards.
12.4 Champions v The Rest At the start of each season, there shall be a match between the League Champions and a "Rest" side selected by the Secretary from all other clubs.
13.1 Trophies The following trophies shall be presented at the AGM and held for one year:
13.1.1 Mowatt Cup – League Champions [Division 1 winners]
13.1.2 Gregory Cup – Division 2 winners
13.1.3 Division 3 Cup [older] – Division 3 winners
13.1.4 Division 4 Cup [newer] – Division 4 winners
13.2 Tankards The following tankards shall be presented at the AGM and held for one year:
13.2.1 Best Match Average Tankard – The individual who, during the season, has the best percentage in all League matches [excluding additional matches], having played in at least seven such matches. Any games played between eligible and ineligible players are treated as defaults for the purposes of Best Match Average calculation. If two or more players have equal best percentages, then, the trophy shall be shared.
13.2.2 Tankards will also be awarded to the player with the Best Match Average in each Division. To qualify, a player must have played in at least three-quarters of their team's matches in that Division.
14.1 Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the League will be held in May each year. The League Secretary shall circulate the AGM agenda to clubs at least 14 days before the date of the meeting in order that clubs have time to consider proposed rule changes. The business of the meeting shall include reports from league officers, submission of annual accounts and election of officers for the forthcoming season, and may include proposals for rule changes and consideration of other matters of concern to the league.
14.2 Extraordinary General Meeting An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called at any time by the Chairman or Secretary, or at the written request of six member clubs.
14.3 Voting at meetings A club may be represented at any general meeting by one member for each team it had in the league in the current season. All matters to be determined shall be decided by a simple majority of such representatives who are present and voting.
15.1 Election of officers The following league officers shall be elected at the AGM: Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, Match Recorder, and Knock-Out Competition Tournament Controller.
15.2 Treasurer The treasurer shall present the accounts and balance sheet to the auditor by 30th April.
16.1 Interpretation of the rules Any matter not covered by these rules shall be determined by a majority decision of the League Officers, subject to the right of any involved club to appeal to the AGM.
16.2 Amendment of the rules These rules may be amended only by the AGM or by an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose.
Other rules pages:
the rules of the Knock-Out Competition
the code of practice of the adjudications procedure
The most up-to-date version of the Laws of Chess can be found on the BCF website.
Copyright © 2003, David Roberts, on behalf of the Mid-Sussex Chess League