The competition shall be open to any affiliated club.
Entries should be notified to the League Secretary by 10 September each year.
The number of divisions and the number of teams per division shall be decided by the Association’s Executive Committee which shall meet as soon as practical after 10 September. By the time of the Executive Committee meeting clubs shall provide the League Secretary with details of team captains, venue, match night, dates to be avoided and any other information that is relevant to the preparation of fixtures. The League Secretary shall compile the fixture list and send a copy to team captains.
Should a team captain on receipt of the fixtures find that one or more of the matches are scheduled for dates on which the team cannot play he will notify the League Secretary and seek to re-arrange the fixture(s) with the opposing captain(s). This should be done within two weeks of the publication of the fixtures. Clubs should exercise this facility sparingly if at all, and should make every effort to provide the League Secretary with all the information set out in rule 3 so as to make it unnecessary.
Teams in the first division shall consist of five players. Teams in the second and any subsequent divisions shall consist of four players.
Two points shall be awarded to the team winning a match, and one point shall be awarded to each team in a drawn match. The League champions shall be the team with the highest number of match points. In the event of a tie, the order of teams shall be determined by the number of game points scored. If this is also equal then the title will go to the team with the higher aggregate of game points in the League fixtures between the tying teams in that season. Should that also be the same a playoff shall be arranged, with board count and board elimination rules being used (in that order) if necessary to determine the winners.
The top team in the second division will normally replace the bottom team in the first division at the end of each season. Similar arrangements shall apply in respect of the other divisions. However, the Executive Committee may, at its discretion, vary these arrangements to secure a reasonable balance of teams between divisions and to reflect the preferences of clubs.
Teams that withdraw from the League during the course of a season shall have all their match results cancelled (though the games played will still be graded).
Playing arrangements
All games shall be played according to the current FIDE Laws of Chess.
It shall be the responsibility of the home team to provide the necessary equipment, including chess clocks, the use of which is mandatory.
Lists of players shall be exchanged by the captains before commencement of play. Should a selected player not arrive he may be substituted. If neither the selected player nor a substitute is available one hour after the start of the match the board shall be defaulted.
Matches shall start at 7.30pm, unless the captains agree otherwise beforehand. At the agreed starting time the clocks should be started. Home teams will lose the appropriate number of minutes if they fail to be ready at the agreed starting time.
The playing session is three hours: 36 moves in 75 minutes plus a further 15 minutes for all remaining moves. During this latter phase quickplay finish rules apply, a synopsis of which is provided at the end of these rules.
The away team shall have white on the odd-numbered boards where home and away matches are played. Where only one game is played the captains should toss for colours, and should three games be played the captains will toss for colours on the final occasion.
Matches should only be re-arranged in exceptional circumstances. In the event of the captains disagreeing whether the circumstances are exceptional, the League Secretary shall decide the matter. Where a postponement is agreed the captain of the team that did not initiate the postponement shall offer his counterpart a choice of three dates on which the fixture shall be played, one of which must be accepted. Team captains are encouraged to play rearranged games within six weeks of the postponement.
Match results should be submitted to the League Secretary by e-mail or post within seven days of the match by both captains, and copied to the Grading Officer. Match results should include individual player results and the grading of each player.
Eligibility and conduct
Players should be bona fide members of affiliated clubs. No player shall play for more than one club in the same season without the permission of the League Secretary. The intention of this rule is to permit players to switch clubs for good reason (eg relocation) but not to allow players to play for more than one club at the same time or to chop and change between clubs.
If a player plays more than two games in any teams other than as either of the bottom two boards he is ineligible for any lower team. If a club has two teams in the first division it shall nominate its four highest-graded players who may play for either one (but not both) of those teams, and if a club recruits during the season a player graded higher than any of the nominated players he may similarly play for either (but not both) teams. If a club has two teams in the second or subsequent divisions the higher team shall nominate two players who are ineligible for the lower team.
Teams shall play in order of strength. Generally this will be ECF grade order, but a tolerance of fifteen grading points will be permitted to allow for differences in form to be reflected in the board order. Captains may exercise this tolerance without the need to justify it to the opponents.
Players graded under 100 may be played in any order. Captains should note that this flexibility is to enable them to take account of current form, rapidly improving players, etc, so that the board order properly reflects current strength.
Where players are ungraded the captain shall estimate the players’ strength and mark it as an estimate on the result sent to the League Secretary. This estimated grade will be applied for the purposes of rule 19.
Where a player is inserted as a substitute because the selected player does not turn up (rule 10) the rule on playing in order of strength shall be waived.
Unless both players agree otherwise, the clock will be placed at the left hand of the player with the white pieces. The clock button must be pressed by the hand that makes the move.
Each player must keep a game score up-to-date until less than five minutes remains on his clock. This applies to both the first and final time controls. As soon as the first time control is reached the players must update their scoresheets before proceeding.
Should a player’s mobile phone ring during the course of his game he loses the game.
Disputes
In the event of a dispute in relation to any matter in these rules the captains shall write to the League Secretary within seven days setting out the nature of the dispute, the issue between the teams, and their claim or preferred resolution. The League Secretary shall determine the matter.
Should the League Secretary’s club be involved in a dispute he will delegate his responsibilities in this matter to the Association Secretary or (if his club is also involved in the dispute) to another Association officer.
Should either side wish to appeal against the League Secretary’s decision they should notify the Chairman of the Disputes Sub-Committee within 14 days. The Chairman of the Disputes Sub-Committee shall convene a meeting of the Sub-Committee, duly constituted in accordance with the Association’s constitution, whose decision shall be final. The fee for an appeal is £10, which will be refunded if the appeal is successful.
Rules for quickplay finishes
After black has made his 36th move the clocks should be stopped, the times noted, and then set back 15 minutes. Thus the final time control is on the hour and a player retains the use of time not consumed.
Should a player make an illegal move the opponent will receive an additional two minutes on the clock provided it is claimed at that point. A further two minutes will be added if a second illegal move is made, but on the third occasion the player shall forfeit the game.
If a player has less than two minutes on the clock he may stop the clock and claim a draw if he believes that the opponent either cannot win by normal means or is making no effort to win by normal means. If their own games have been completed the two captains may jointly arbitrate in this matter and if necessary should allow the game to continue until flag fall in order properly to evaluate the claim.
If a claim made under rule 31 cannot be resolved between the teams concerned, an agreed score of the game and final position shall be submitted to the League Secretary. He will arrange for an independent arbiter to adjudicate, at the expense of the team whose claim is lost.
To win a game on time, a player must claim such a win and also have mating material. The game will be declared a draw if the player whose flag has not fallen has insufficient mating material. The game will be declared a draw if both flags have fallen and it is impossible to establish which fell first.
Third parties (including team captains) must not intervene in a quickplay finish. They must not indicate to either player that time is short or that the flag has fallen. It is entirely up to the two players themselves.
Rules revised following the 2009 AGM.
