Guidelines of Chess Tournament for  2014 Manila Division Meet
By: National Arbiter Ernie P.Baltazar

A.   GENERAL RULE
              The general FIDE laws shall be applied .The following specific regulations for the  Division Meet.
1.    Only players who have been properly screened and approved by the screening committee can play after submission of all requirements.

2.    The mode of competition shall be a single round robin

3.    The scoring shall be as follows, a player who wins his game, or wins by forfeit, scores one point (1), a player who loses his game, or forfeits scores no points (0) and a player who draws his game scores a half point (1/2).

4.    The final team ranking shall be decided by the number of game points. In case of a tie, the following order shall be considered :  a.  match points    b.  result of the individual match between the teams tied.  c. in case the match is drawn , the tie shall be decided by the result of the game in Board 1. If the game is drawn, then the result of the game in Board 2 and so on down to the last board.
if a tie still results between teams, one player from each team shall play a sudden death knockout of 6 minutes for white and 5 minutes for black to be decided by the Chief Arbiter.

5.    From the team event, the best scores on each board shall be the individual board champion.  Individual Tie-break :  a. game results among the player in the tie breaker.  b. more wins as Black  c. number of won games d. more games as Black.

6.    Mobile phones and similar electronic means of communications should not be brought to the tournament hall. The arbiters are going to penalize the players who do not obliged with the rules.

7.    Photos and motion pictures allowed to be taken within the first 3 minutes of the round. Journalist and guest should leave the hall without the warning of the officials.

8.    Any views or demands about the organization should be made to the Tournament Director. Only the Heads of the Delegates should clarify the demands and opinions about the organizations. Parents are only responsible for their children.

9.    It should not be forgotten that winning or losing is only meant for the players.You should be responsive in terms of complying with the rules without forgetting that the Chief Arbiter and the arbiters are going to behave impartially and fairly in order to complete the event without a problem.

10.   The use of chess clocks is mandatory. All participating Districts are required to bring at least four (4) chess clocks (functional) and four (4) tournament size chess sets for their own use.

10.1  If the player,having the move,has less than two minutes left on his clock, he may claim a draw (insufficient losing chances) before his flag falls. He shall stop the clocks and summon the arbiter.
         a. if the arbiter agrees, then he shall declare the game drawn or reject the claim.Otherwise he shall postpones his decision and award two extra minutes to the opponent and the game shall continue.The arbiter shall declare the final result later in the game or after a flag has fallen
         b.A player can also claim a draw according to articles 9.2b and 9.3b of the Laws of Chess. If the claim is found to be correct, the game is immediately ended as a draw. If the claim is found to be incorrect, the Arbiter shall add three (3) minutes to the opponent’s remaining time and the game continues with the intended move in accordance with Article 4 of the Laws of Chess. A maximum of two (2) incorrect claims for a draw can be made by each player. If a player makes a 3rd incorrect claim, the arbiter shall declare the game lost for this player.

11.   Time control is one hour and one minute to finish the game.

12.   Recording the moves is obligatory. The scoresheets shall be used only for recording the moves, the times of the clocks, the offers of the draw, matters relating to a claim and other relevant data.

13. Uniforms
To present the image of chess as a sporting event, all Players should use their official
Uniform.

14.Pairing, colour and publishing rules
1.Adjourned games are considered draws for pairing purposes only.
2.Byes, and pairings not actually played, or lost by one of the players due to arriving late or not at all, will not be taken in account with respect to colour. Such a pairing is not considered to be illegal in future rounds.
 3.Unplayed games do not count in any situation where the colour sequence is meaningful. So, for instance, if a player has a colour history of BWB=W (i.e. no valid game in round-4) will be treated as if his colour history was =BWBW. WB=WB will count as =WBWB, BWW=B=W as ==BWWBW and so on.
 4.A player who is absent without notifying the arbiter will be considered as withdrawn unless the absence is explained with acceptable arguments before the next pairings are published.

15. The appeals committee
No member of the Appeals Committee shall sit in judgment in a dispute involving a player
or party from his School
All protests must be submitted in writing to the Appeals Committee not more than one
hour after the relevant playing session, or the particular infringement complained against.
The Committee may decide on the following matters:
a. an appeal against a decision by an arbiter or a FIDE principal,
b. a protest against a player's behaviour,
c. a complaint alleging false interpretation of the regulations,
d. a request for the interpretation of specific regulations,
e. a protest or complaint against any participant, or
f. all other matters which the Committee considers important.
If possible, the Committee shall reach a decision not more than one hour after the
submission of a protest. The appeals process shall include written representations and a
written decision. . Each protest must be accompanied by a
deposit fee of P500.00 . If the protest is accepted, the fee shall be returned.
The written decision of the Appeals Committee arising from any dispute in respect of these
regulations shall be final.

15.Guidelines for coaches

a.  All coaches must be present during the game. No team shall be allowed to play without a coach.
b.  Coaches are expected to instill discipline to his players inside / outside the playing area.
c.  No coaches or spectators is allowed inside the playing area.
d.  The coach of the champion player  shall be the coach of the team in the next level of competition.
e.   Bord 1 champion for boys and girls automatically gets one (1)slot each in the team composition.
e.   Play  offs  for the other slots for boys and girls shall be as follows:

 Individual Events:

The Semifinal for Boys Division (Elementary and Secondary) shall be paired as follows:

SF1: Runner up of  Board 1 vs. Winner of Board 4 champion
Board 4 champion advance to the final in case of a draw
SF2: Winner of Board 2 vs. Winner of Board 3
Board 3 champion advance to the final in case of a draw

The Semifinal for Girls  Division (Elementary and Secondary) shall be paired as follows:
SF1: Runner up of  Board 1 vs. Winner of Board 3 champion
Board 3 champion advance to the final in case of a draw.

The Final for Boys Division (Elementary and Secondary) shall be paired as follows:
SF1: Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2
Winner of SF 2 gets the slot in case of a draw.

The Final for Girls  Division (Elementary and Secondary) shall be paired as follows:
Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of Board 2 champion
Board 2 champion gets the slot in case of a draw

TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT
To ensure the strict observance of this statues, the FIDE Laws of Chess and the Tournament Regulations. National Arbiter Ernie P. Baltazar of the Philippine Blitz Chess Association shall be the Chief Arbiter.

Prizes

Team Events
First Prize  :       Gold medal for each participating members of the winning team.
Second Prize :   Silver medal for each participating member of  the first runner-up team.
Third Prize  :      Bronze  medal for each participating member of the second runner-up team.

AMENDMENTS
The organizer reserves the right to amend or alter any provisions in the aforementioned Rules and Regulations for the success and interest of the tournament.