League Rule Changes for the coming season

There are three changes which will each make a big difference in its own way.

B9) All games must be played with chess clocks. The time limit shall be 90 minutes (75 minutes in the bottom division) to finish the game.

This simplifies the time limit, avoiding the need to adjust analogue clocks and any confusion re how and when digital clocks add time. The time on the clock is what you have to finish the game, as in Rapidplay games.

C4) Once someone has played three times in total on higher boards for any team(s), he or she may not play for a lower team. Higher boards are defined as above the bottom two boards played or won by default.

This is effectively reverting to the old system in place before last season, but with an extra match allowed about the bottom boards before a player becomes ineligible for lower teams.

C7) Players must be arranged in order of playing strength according to the August ECF grading list. Within a team, a player must not be graded more than 20 points above anyone on a higher board. Before any ungraded players are included in a team the team captain should consult the Grading Results Officer who shall assign a temporary grade on the basis of the best evidence available. Any player in breach of this rule will be deemed ineligible, except where a lower graded qualified substitute was used after the commencement of the match.

There are a few points to mention here…

The “August ECF grading list” actually means August revision of the July ECF Grading List.

The temporary grade must be in place before an ungraded player plays.

If a player is played out of order, the team captain must point this out, and supply a full explanation of why this happened, when submitting the match result.

Steve Burke
League Secretary

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