Chess Rules

CSGA District & Regional Chess Tournament Rules 2014-2015 Season

District & Regional Chess Tournament Eligibility, Fees, & Bye Requests 2014-15

• Invitational 1st Grade to 5th Grade Section. Schools/Clubs withing the ISD 621 attendance area may by invited to participate. Each school’s coach may designate, at his/her choosing, 10 players to participate. This section will have 6 rounds. You will be asked to submit your rosters with a player ranking from 1st to 10th in your electronic invitation.
• Open K-5 Elementary Section. This is a regional section and is open to any student within or outside the ISD 621 attendance area in grades K-5. Number of rounds will be dictated by number of registered players.
• Open 6-12 Secondary Section. This is a regional section and is open to any student within or outside the ISD 621 attendance area in grades 6-12. Number of rounds will be dictated by number of registered players.
• We will be using SwissSys software for the entire tournament for all sections.
• Bye requests must be made prior to the tournament starting. Up to two, ½ point, byes may be requested. 0 point byes only for the final round.

The entry fee for each Open Tournament is $8 per player. Fees are paid by the individual players online using PayPal or Cash and Check at the door the day of the event. Please arrive early if paying on the day of the event.

The entry fee for each Invitational is $80 per School/Club. Fees are collected and paid by the Coach/Facilitator of each School/Club.

All checks should be made to “CSGA”.

Rules for the Chess Tournaments:

1. Tournament play will take place in the east gym. Signs will be posted at the entrance to assist you. Parents and the siblings of the participants must remain outside of the east gym during match play. Please bring camping chairs to wait in the “skittles” area. The playground will be available for kids to blow off steam between rounds, weather permitting. The west gym will be used in case of rain. No cell phone use by players in the east gym. No electronics of any kind in the playing area (defined as the tables where the players play). Exceptions will be made for portable notation devices but must be approved before use.
2. Players do not need to bring chess sets or clocks. These will already be set up and ready to go. Of course feel feel to bring sets for practice between rounds in the hallways. Please label all personal equipment if you do bring any.
3. Pairings will all be posted outside of the gym to minimize noise in the playing area.
4. Coaches may act as proctors but will not make rulings on games involving their own players. When a game has concluded, players will leave the board as is, raise their hands, and have a proctor confirm the result. A draw offer may be made at any time but only once per turn. Then both players will set the board up for the next round and report the result at the results table in the gym. Rich Lessard of Turtle Lake will have final say of any issues arising in the Invitational section. Rich Weber will have the final say in any issues arising in the Open sections.
5. Proctors must sign off before starting any game in the Invitational and Elementary Open sections. We want to ensure players are on the correct boards and playing as the proper color.
6. All tournament games will have clocks on them with time controls of 35 minutes per player, per game, no increment or delay settings. Black gets choice of which side of the board the clock will be on. Players should NOT reset the clocks, but rather should pause the timer which will be explained during rules. If a clock runs out of time, the opponent wins the game assuming they have checkmate material. If checkmate material does not exist, the result will be a draw.
7. Touch move rules will be in effect. If you touch your piece (grab it), that counts as intent to move it and you must do so if legally able to. Likewise if you grab your opponents piece that counts as intent to capture it and you must do so if legally able. Reaching across the board and accidentally grazing or knocking over a piece does not count as intent. If a player needs to adjust a piece on the board they must say, “I adjust” prior to doing so. You are not allowed to adjust your opponent’s pieces.
8. If players have a dispute, they should raise their hand, and the proctors will settle the dispute.
9. Players will be directed to keep talking and noise to a minimum. They should introduce themselves, say good game, good luck, check, checkmate and stalemate but otherwise keep noise low.
10. If proctors notice any player make comments about games being played near them, that player will immediately forfeit either their current game or the last game they played. There will be NO warnings for kibitzing! Players should focus on their own games only.
11. If you need to withdraw from the tournament (example: illness), please let a tournament official know. We do not want a player sitting at a board for 25 minutes just waiting for an opponent who will never show up.
12. Players may use the bathroom between rounds but should not do so during a game. If this cannot be avoided, the player should raise their hand and a proctor who does not coach either player will escort them to the restroom. Clocks will continue to run during this period.
13. There will be beverages and snacks for purchase in the cafeteria. No food or drinks allowed in the playing area at any time with the exception of bottled water. Proceeds will go to CSGA, a non-profit whose purpose is to promote chess and strategy board gaming in our community.

Richard Lessard will be the Chess Tournament Director. Please use richardlessard1@gmail.com for questions.