(revised 27 May 1998)
A.1 This is the Constitution and Rules of a voluntary association known as 'The Bristol and District Chess League' ('the League').
A.2 The objectives of the League shall be to:
A.3 The affairs of the League shall be governed by this Constitution and Rules, as managed and administered by a League Management Committee ('the LMC').
A.4 The affairs of the League shall be conducted by its Officers, who are required to:
B.1 A General Meeting may be called at any time by the LMC or by the written request of the secretaries of three Member Clubs delivered to the LMC. The LMC shall give at least fourteen days notice of any General Meeting by way of an Agenda for the Meeting circulated to the secretaries of all Member Clubs. The Agenda shall give the Motions and state the Elections on which the General Meeting shall vote.
B.2 Motions may be proposed either by any Individual Member of the League ('Member'), in which case it must be seconded by another Member, or by the LMC. Only those Motions published in the Agenda may be debated at a General Meeting.
B.3 The LMC shall nominate a Chairman for each General Meeting.
B.4 A quorum of twenty Members must be present when any vote is taken at a General Meeting. Only Members may vote, and voting shall be by show of hands.
B.5 An Election of a League Officer shall be conducted by Transferable Voting. A vote shall be taken for all the declared candidates. If any candidate receives more than half of the votes cast, they are elected. Otherwise, a candidate receiving the lowest vote shall be eliminated from the ballot. The process is then repeated. Any unresolved tie shall be decided by lot.
B.6 Any Member may propose an amendment to any Motion as published, so long as that amendment is entirely concerned with the substance of the original Motion. The Proposer and Seconder, or the LMC, may accept an amendment to their own motion without a vote. Otherwise, an amendment shall be accepted if it is approved by more than half of those voting.
B.7 Any Motion to alter or amend the Constitution of the League ('Constitutional Change') requires approval by at least two-thirds of those voting, and must then be ratified, by at least two-thirds of the Members voting at a General Meeting held not less than one month and not more than eighteen months thereafter, before the Motion comes into effect. .
B.8 Any Motion to alter or amend the Rules of the League ('Rule Change') requires approval by at least two-thirds of those voting.
B.9 Any other Motion requires approval by more than half of those voting.
C.1 A Motion to wind up the League is a Constitutional Change.
C.2 If ratified, the LMC shall, thereupon, proceed to realise
the assets of the League and, after the discharge of liability,
shall divide any balance remaining among those Member Clubs at
the date of the first approval of the Motion whose subscriptions
were then fully paid up, in proportion to the last annual subscriptions
paid to the League by such clubs.
All memberships of the League are subject to the approval of the LMC.
a. All chess clubs in Bristol and the surrounding district (as determined by the LMC) are eligible to be Member Clubs.
b. The subscription to the League for a Member Club for the year from September to the following August shall be £18 per team entered in the Team Championship. The subscription is payable by 30th November. The LMC may fine the club up to £5 per team for each month or part thereof by which the payment is late.
c Each Member Club shall also pay BCF Game Fees to the League as specified in rule 10.
d. All subscriptions, fees and fines are payable to the League Treasurer within one month of receipt of a request for payment from the Treasurer.
e. The secretary of each Member Club shall receive two copies of these rules each year.
All bona fide members of Member Clubs are automatically Individual Members of the League ('Members'), and are not required to pay any fees.
Any organisation is eligible to be an Affiliated Member of the League ('Affiliate'). An Affiliate is not required to pay any fees. An Affiliate may nominate two representatives who will have the rights of Members in respect of General Meetings.
The League shall affiliate to the West of England Chess Union, and shall support the BCF as a registered Game Fee event - rule 10.
a. The LMC shall consist of the following posts: President, Chairman, General Secretary, Match Secretary, Treasurer, Chesstimes Editor. No person may hold more than one LMC post.
b. Meetings of the LMC shall normally be organised by the General Secretary. Apart from the other LMC members, he shall invite to any meeting any other League Officer concerned with the business of the meeting, in which case that Officer (unless he is the Auditor) shall have full voting rights. The General Secretary may also invite any person who shall be able to assist the workings of the committee, or who has reasonable cause to be represented before the committee.
c. Three members of the LMC shall form a quorum for a meeting of the LMC. The Chairman shall preside.
a. After giving due warning of any infringement of these rules, the LMC may impose a fine of £5 for each subsequent infringement.
a. The General Secretary shall be the primary external contact for the League, and represent the League on all bodies to which the League is entitled representation, including the WECU Executive.
b. The General Secretary shall summon and give due notice of all General Meetings of the League and meetings of the LMC, and maintain records thereof.
c. The General Secretary shall receive an honorarium of £50 as long as he continues to act in that capacity.
a. The Match Secretary shall be responsible for the day-to-day running of the League's fixtures and competitions.
b. The Match Secretary shall ensure that the secretaries of each Member Club have a copy of the latest League tables at least once each month of the Team Championship season.
c. The Match Secretary shall receive an honorarium of £50 as long as he continues to act in that capacity.
a. The Treasurer shall receive and take charge of the funds of the League and pay all accounts approved by the Chairman or by the LMC.
b. The Treasurer shall complete an Annual Account and Balance Sheet up to and including 30th April each year. These shall be certified by the Treasurer and the General Secretary and duly audited.
The Annual General Meeting of the League ('the AGM') shall be held in May or June on a date to be fixed by the LMC. At the AGM:
a. The LMC shall organise and promote the team competitions described in these rules. It shall provide a trophy for each competition, engraved with the winning particulars.
b. A representative of the winner of any competition may accept the custody of the relevant League trophy for a limited period. Any person accepting custody must
a. All games shall be played in accordance with the latest laws of chess published by FIDE unless otherwise provided by the Rules of the League.
b. Games may be recorded in either algebraic or English descriptive notation, but the use of algebraic notation shall be encouraged by the League.
a. All games shall be played with specified rates of play regulated by the use of a chess clock.
b. The LMC may modify the rates of play and playing sessions imposed by these rules if exceptional circumstances should require this.
c. When a second or subsequent time limit is not a whole number of hours, the clocks should be stopped immediately on completion of the previous time limit, and both clocks wound back by the period of the next time limit. (For example, if the first time limit is 42 moves in 1¾ hours and the second time limit is 6 moves in ¼ hour, then after Black's 42nd move, both clocks should be wound back by 15 minutes.)
a. Before the start of the season, the Match Secretary shall determine and publish a list of fixtures for the season. This list shall be issued free to clubs in the ration of 7 per team entered in the Team Championship, additional copies being available from the Match Secretary at 20p each plus any postage. Additional fixtures may be determined by the Match Secretary during the season.
b. Any fixture determined by the Match Secretary may be re-scheduled at the direction of the LMC. Such a fixture may also be re-scheduled by the explicit approval of the Match Secretary in advance together with the agreement of the opposing team captains, providing that the re-scheduled match takes place within the published duration of the competition, and that the Match Secretary is informed of the re-scheduled date by the home captain within 30 days of the postponement.
c. Any club may declare its home venue to be a non-smoking area. The Match Secretary shall publish this information in the fixture list.
Only Members may compete in League team competitions. Additional eligibility rules may apply in each competition.
The following preliminaries should be carried out before the start of the play:
a. The home team shall be responsible for providing, for each game, the following equipment in usable order: a chess set and board, a chess clock, two scoresheets, a table and two chairs.
b. Each team shall present a captain. The captains shall first agree any variations in the conditions of play permitted by the competition. Then they shall exchange lists of eligible players in order of decreasing playing strength, the strongest player being designated board one, the next board two and so on (the LMC may penalise any team that flagrantly abuses this stipulation). Finally the captains shall decide colours by the toss of a coin, the team winning the toss having White on the odd boards.
c. If after these preliminaries the advertised or agreed start time for the playing session has been passed, then the delay shall be debited from all the clocks of the team causing the delay, and the clocks then started for the White players. Otherwise, the clocks shall be started for the White players at the start of the advertised or agreed playing session.
During the period of grace defined for each competition, captains may substitute an eligible reserve in place of a player failing to keep their appointment. Any board on which a captain is unable to field an eligible player within the period of grace shall be lost by default; in addition, if an ineligible player is fielded, the LMC may fine the player's club a sum of £2.
a. Individual games shall be scored one point for a win, half a point for a draw and no points for a loss. These points are then aggregated, and the team with the higher aggregate score shall win the match; if the scores are equal, the match is tied.
b. If a team match tie is to be broken by board count, this is calculated by aggregating one point for a win on board one, two points for a win on board two and so on down to the last board, the team with the lower board count winning the match.
c If a team match tie is to be broken by board elimination, the winner is determined by disregarding as many of the lowest boards as necessary to secure a result.
The home team captain must complete, fully and legibly, a Match Result form as supplied by the Match Secretary, and ensure that the Match Secretary receives it within 72 hours of completion (unless delay under rule 4.2b is invoked). The LMC may impose a fine of £2 for any unreasonable delay in forwarding the result of the match.
Any game unfinished at the end of a playing session shall be resolved by continuation or by adjudication, as determined by the rules for the competition.
a. If an unfinished game is to be resolved by adjudication, both players shall first record and agree the final position, and then discuss the position and try to agree a result. If the players cannot agree, the position shall be referred to the captains, who shall attempt to adjudicate the position. They may appoint other players as adjudicators to help them. No-one else must comment or interfere during this adjudication.
b. If the captains cannot agree, the position may have to be sent for adjudication by the League. The home team captain should complete, fully and legibly, a League Adjudication form as supplied by the Adjudication Secretary. This must include the claim being made by each side. The captains may then agree to delay submitting both the Adjudication form(s) and the Match Result form for seven days so that further consideration can be given to the outstanding position(s).
c. Failing agreement, the Adjudication form(s) shall be submitted by the home captain to the League Adjudication Secretary. The responsibility for any error in completing an Adjudication form shall rest with the captains. No alterations shall be accepted after the form has been submitted. In particular, if it is subsequently discovered that an illegality occurred earlier in the game, the recorded position still stands.
d. The LMC shall appoint and maintain a pool of League Adjudicators, and an Appeal Panel of five strong League Adjudicators from five different clubs. The Adjudication Secretary shall, upon receipt of an Adjudication form, remove the names and clubs of the two players, then forward the adjudication position to a League Adjudicator who has no connection with either team or player concerned.
e. The Adjudicator shall give his opinion as to the result of the game with best play on both sides. A fee of £2 shall be payable by the club concerned for each claim which is not upheld by the Adjudicator's decision. The Adjudication Secretary shall notify the Match Secretary and the secretaries of the both clubs of the Adjudicator's decision and any resulting fees.
f. A team captain or club secretary may lodge an appeal against any adjudicated result, regardless of the match situation, by notifying the Adjudication Secretary within ten days of being notified of the result by the Adjudication Secretary. Analysis may be presented to support the appeal.
g. The Adjudication Secretary shall notify the opposing team that an appeal is pending, and the opposing team shall then be allowed a further ten days to provide, if they wish, their analysis, and to lodge appeals on any other adjudicated results from the same match.
h. The Adjudication Secretary shall forward the appeal to three members of the Appeal Panel. Their decision is final. A fee of £5 shall be payable by the club concerned for each appeal which is not upheld by the Appeal Panel's decision. If an appeal is upheld, the fees for adjudication shall be adjusted to reflect the amended decision. The Adjudication Secretary shall notify the Match Secretary and the secretaries of the both clubs of the Appeal Panel's decision and any resulting fees.
a. In any game unfinished at the end of a playing session for which the competition rules permit either player to choose to continue instead of adjudication, the player to move at the end of the playing session, should first seal a continuation move and give custody of it to his opponent before stopping the clocks, regardless of whether he or his opponent wish to continue.
b. The home player first indicates his choice. If he chooses to continue, the game shall be continued at the away player's Bristol League club premises. Otherwise, if his opponent then chooses to continue, the game shall be continued at the original venue. These choices must be taken on the night of the match, but the venue for any continuation may be varied by mutual agreement at any time.
c. Players should decide the continuation date on the night of the match. Failing that they must each take steps to arrange a date at the earliest possible opportunity. If a player makes insufficient co-operation in setting a date, the LMC may decide the result of the game.
d. Any game that is unfinished by the weekend before the AGM shall be declared void, unless there are reasonable grounds for the delay.
a. A quick-play finish will be played without an arbiter. The normal rules of chess apply to a such a finish unless stated otherwise in these rules. In particular:
b. Only one hand shall be used to move the pieces and the same hand must be used to press the clock button. The clock must not be picked up by either player. A player may not use undue force on the clock. The clock must not be stopped except to claim a win or draw as given below.
A player can win on time only if he can stop the clocks showing that his opponent's flag has fallen and his own has not, unless the player claiming the win does not have mating material (mating material is sufficient material to allow a position to be reached in which the opponent, having the move, cannot avoid mate), in which case the game is drawn. If both flags are down, the game is drawn irrespective of which flag fell first.
a. A player can claim a draw at any time under the normal rules of chess for repetition or 50 moves, but only if this can be verified with an up-to-date scoresheet. The scoresheet may not be completed after play has ceased.
b. When a player has less than two minutes on the clock but before his flag falls, he may stop the clocks and claim a draw on the grounds that
(i) the position cannot be won by normal means, and/or
(ii) his opponent has been making no effort to win by normal means.
In either case, he must write down the final position and, in case (ii), submit an up-to-date scoresheet, which may not be completed after play has ceased. His opponent shall verify these.
c. The claim should then be discussed by the players. If unresolved, the claim should be referred to the captains. If still unresolved, the claim, together with the position and scoresheet, should be submitted with the match result sheet by the Home Captain to the Match Secretary, who will refer the position to the Management Committee, whose decision will be final. If at any stage the draw claim is withdrawn or rejected, the claimant will lose the game; if rejected by the Management Committee, the claimant's club will also be fined £1.
a. Team Championships shall be held from September 1st to April 30th each year.
b. Each Team Championship shall consist of a division of teams determined by promotion and relegation from the previous season. The most senior division shall be the first division, the next most senior the second division and so on.
c. In each division, each team shall play every other team in the division twice, once at home and once away. The LMC may revise these conditions if the number of teams engaged make this desirable.
d. Each match shall be between two teams of six players. A team shall score two Match Points for a match won, one Match Point for a match tied and no Match Points for a match lost.
e. At the end of the season, the teams in each division shall be placed in order of decreasing number of Match Points aggregated. If the two or more teams have the same number of Match Points, then the following tie breaks shall be used in this order:
If still tied, the teams shall be in a tied position.
f. In all but the first division, the two teams placed highest in the division at the end of a season shall be promoted to the next more senior division in place of the two teams placed lowest in that division, who shall be relegated to the less senior division. The LMC shall have the power to promote additional teams and to waive relegations.
Entry to the Team Championships is open to any Member Club whose League subscriptions are fully paid up. A club may enter more than one team, in which case the teams shall be designated 'A', 'B', 'C' and so on, in decreasing order of seniority. Entries shall be delivered to the Match Secretary on or before July 1st prior to the start of the season.
a. For each team entered in the Team Championships, the Secretary of the Member Club must provide the Match Secretary with a list of at least six bona fide members of the club to be registered for that team, at least two clear days before that club's first match of the season. It must be the intention that these players shall play regularly for the team for which they are registered, and players should be registered in order of strength as far as is practicable.
b. Additional players are automatically registered for the most junior team in a club by the inclusion of their names on any Match Result form.
c. A player may not normally play in the Team Championships for more than one club during a given season. The LMC may allow this under exceptional circumstances.
d. The LMC shall have the power to veto or cancel registration of a player without disclosing their reason for doing so.
e. For each match in the Team Championships, the club must field six players registered for that team or for another team from the same club. A player may be registered for only one team at any time.
f. The Match Secretary shall publish at the start of each season a set of Grading Thresholds for each division.
g. A player may play for a less senior team than the one in which he is registered, if he has a published grade and his grade is below the Grading Threshold for the division in which the less senior team is competing.
a. The playing session shall not be on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, except with the express advance permission of the LMC.
b. In divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 the playing session shall be from 7.30pm until 10.30pm. In all other divisions the playing session shall be from 7.30pm until 10.00pm. In all divisions, the period of grace before default of game ends at 8pm.
c. In division 1 the rate of play shall be 36 moves in 1½ hours followed by 24 moves in every hour. In divisions 2,3 and 4 the rate of play shall be 42 moves in 1½ hours followed by 6 moves every ¼ hour. In all other divisions the rate of play shall be 37 moves in 1¼ hours followed by 6 moves every ¼ hour.
d. By agreement of both captains prior to the start of the playing session, the conditions for a match may be varied as follows:
In division 1, either player may choose to continue any unfinished game instead of adjudication. In all other divisions, either player may elect for any unfinished game to be adjudicated, or the players may mutually agree to continue the game at a venue of their choice.
a. For each game defaulted in a Team Championship match, Default Penalty Points ('DPPs') shall be automatically imposed on the team defaulting, at the rate of 6 DPPs for a default on board 1, 5 DPPs for a default on board 2 and so on, reducing to 1 penalty point on board 6.
b. A club may appeal against the imposition of DPPs, and the LMC can use its discretion in considering the appeal. The appeal must reach the Match Secretary within fourteen days of the match date. The LMC will normally waive DPPs if the club can show that 48 hours notice of intention to default was given.
c. For each 10 DPPs accumulated in one season, one Match Point shall be deducted from the team's total and the club shall be fined £1. If a team exceeds 45 DPPs during the season, it shall be required to resign from the Team Championships.
a. If a team resigns or is dismissed from the Team Championships, the entire record of that team shall be deleted from the Team Championship records.
b. If a club cannot meet the obligations of all of its teams in the Team Championships, the LMC may decide which team is to be withdrawn.
a. A Team Knock-Out competition shall be held from September 1st to April 30th each year.
b. The fixtures for each round shall be determined by a draw made by the LMC and communicated to the club secretaries by the Match Secretary. The team drawn first in each fixture shall play at home.
c. Each match shall be between two teams of eight players, and shall be played on a knock-out basis. If the match is tied, board count will be used to break the tie. If this fails to resolve the tie, board elimination will apply. If the match is still tied, the match shall be replayed at the away team's premises.
Entry to the Team Knock-Out is open to any Member Club whose League subscriptions are fully paid up. A club may enter only one team. Entries to the Team Knock-Out shall be delivered to the Match Secretary on or before July 1st prior to the start of the season. There is no fee.
A player may play for only one team in the Team Knock-Out in any one season.
These are as in division 1 of the Team Championships.
A Minor Club Team Knock-Out competition ('The Minor Club Knock-Out') shall be held from January 2nd to April 30th each year. The format is otherwise as for the Team Knock-Out.
a. Entry to the Minor Club Knock-Out is open to any Member Club who have entered one team in the Team Knock-Out. Entries to the Minor Club Knock-Out shall be delivered to the Match Secretary on or before July 1st prior to the start of the season. The LMC may, at its discretion, invite further entries after this date
b. The LMC shall place, in order, eligible clubs by considering their highest place team at the end of the previous season's Team Championships, first place in any division being considered lower than last place in the next more senior division. The LMC shall use its discretion in placing entries from clubs who did not compete in the previous season's Team Championships. The eight lowest-placed eligible clubs who apply for entry shall form the Minor Club Knock-Out competition.
c. The Match Secretary shall publish a list of teams accepted into the competition before the start of the Team Championships season. The LMC may remove a club from the competition if it fails to satisfactorily carry out its fixtures in the Team Knock-out.
Only players who have already played at least one game for the same club in the current season's Team Championships may play in the Minor Club Knock-Out.
These are as in division 1 of the Team Championships.
All other competitions shall be played according to rules laid down by the LMC. The LMC shall organise a Summer Lightning Competition, an Individual Knock-Out competition, Individual Championships to be decided by a weekend congress open only to Members, and other competitions as it sees fit.
The League will support and participate in the BCF Game Fee scheme. The Game Fee charged by the League will be that charged by the BCF to the League,
a. All games played in all divisions of the Team Championship, the Team Knockout and the Minor Club Knockout are subject to Game Fee. Games in the Summer Lightning Competition are not subject to Game Fee.
b. These Game Fees will be treated as a club due on the basis of an estimate of games to be played in the season.
c. Clubs will be notified in September of the due for the season, which will be payable by 31st December. Early payment will attract a discount equal to any early payment discount received by the League from the BCF. The LMC may fine the club up to £5 per team for late payment.
d. Clubs dues for the following season will be adjusted to reflect any difference between the original estimate and Game Fees actually incurred during the season.
a. All games played in the Individual Championships are subject to Game Fee.
b. These Game Fees will be collected as part of the entry fee.
a. No Game Fee will be due to the BCF on defaulted games, but the team(s) or player(s) defaulting will still be charged the Game Fee by the League.
b. Any surplus on the year's Game Fee transactions as a result
of this will be donated to the Bristol Chess Educational Trust.
END