British Federation for Correspondence Chess

(New Rules with effect from 1 September 2010)

The individual championship of the BFCC shall be known as the British Correspondence Chess Championship.

1. The BFCC Executive Committee shall appoint a Tournament Director to organise and run the tournament.
2. The BFCC shall appoint a Championship Committee comprising the BFCC President, BFCC Secretary, the Tournament Director and one nominee. This shall be responsible for the general supervision of the Championship and for the selection of players from the entrants subject to the provisions hereinafter contained.
3. Sections
   There shall be -
   1) one Championship Section, having a minimum of eleven and a maximum of fifteen competitors,
   2) one Candidates' section, having between nine and thirteen competitors, and
   3) Reserve sections, each having between seven and eleven competitors where possible.
4. Competitors shall play one game against each of the other competitors in the section. The tournament announcement shall indicate what transmission method is to be used for each level.
5. The championship shall be open only to full members of BFCC and its member organisations who are eligible to represent England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland (in the case of Ireland, only players residing in Northern Ireland are eligible) in ICCF tournaments. Details of membership shall be clearly stated at the time of entry.
6. The following rules shall apply unless the Championship Committee decides that special circumstances justify an alteration. The ICCF rating list (valid as at September 1st annually) shall be used to rank the players in order and place them into sections appropriate to their rating subject to Rule 6.1 and Rule 6.2 below. For players with no ICCF rating, FIDE and/or ECF ratings will be considered by the Championship Committee.
   1) Championship Section
   a) The first five players in the previous Championship shall be entitled to re-enter.
   b) The winners and runners-up of the candidates' section of the previous tournament shall be entitled to enter.
   
   2) Candidates' Sections
   a) The winner of each previous Reserve section shall be entitled to enter a Candidates Section.           b) The players who finished 3rd and 4th in the previous Candidates section shall be entitled to enter a Candidates Section                                                                                                                                        c) The players who finished 6th, 7th or 8th in the previous Final shall be entitled to enter a Candidates section.                                                                                                                                                               
   3) Reserve Sections
   a) Relegation from a Candidates' or Reserve Section shall not preclude entry to the reserve sections.
   b) The number of Reserve Sections shall be increased as necessary to include all that wish to participate.
   
   4) The Championship Committee at its sole discretion shall fill vacancies in the Championship or candidates' sections. In addition, holders of ICCF Grandmaster, Senior International Master and International Master titles, and players with a rating of 2350 or above on the current ICCF rating list, may apply for direct entry to the Championship section.
   
   5) Players shall be placed by seeding, not by chance.
    
7. The Tournament Director shall receive entries with entry fee by 1st September of each year. Play shall commence on 5th October and the adjudication date shall be August 12th of the following year or any other dates as decided by the BCCC Committee. Any move played on or after that date shall not be counted as a move in the game and no claim other than a claim for adjudication shall be entertained.  
   Claims for adjudication together with the adjudication fee and any supporting analysis shall be submitted to the Tournament Director within seven days of the date set for close of play. If you do not submit analysis with your claim you lose your right of appeal. If only one claim is received, that claim will be the result of the game. A player may not be awarded a win when he has submitted a claim of a draw, or when he has submitted a claim of a win without supporting analysis. In the event that both players claim a draw, the Tournament Director shall declare the game a draw. The adjudicator shall be a player of Senior International Master strength or above appointed by the BCCC Committee. An appeal against the adjudicator's decision detailing full analysis, including any additional analysis not already submitted, to support the appeal together with the appeal fee must be received within 7 days of the receipt of the decision by the Tournament Director. The appeal must clearly show that the original adjudicator's decision was incorrect. The BCCC Committee will appoint an appeal adjudicator who shall be a player of Grandmaster strength. The tournament director will send to the appeal adjudicator all comments and analysis made by the original adjudicator. No further appeal will be entertained once the Tournament Director has informed both players of the final decision of the adjudicator. At the end of the adjudication procedure, the comments and analysis of the adjudicator(s) will be supplied to the players by the Tournament Director if requested. However, the names of the adjudicator(s) will remain confidential if he/she so wishes. A copy of this Rule and a copy of the BFCC Guidelines for Adjudicators (see below) shall be sent to all adjudicators who decide the outcome of the position, and these will take precedence over any of the ICCF Procedures and Guidelines in connection with adjudication. The adjudication fee of the player whose claim is upheld shall be returned. Should an appeal against the adjudicator's decision be upheld, the claimant's appeal fee and adjudication fee shall be refunded.
8. All sections of the competition shall be be played only via the ICCF web server (the server). The ICCF web server playing rules current at the start of the competition shall apply, except as otherwise stated in these rules.
9. The time limit for the competition will be 35 days for each 10 moves, with time doubling after 15 days.
10. The amount of leave is 14 days per calendar year (up to 14 days between 5 October and 31 December; and 14 days between 1 January and 12 August the following year), with the T.D. allowed to grant extra leave in appropriate circumstances.
11. In the event of a tie for first place involving the Champion, those involved shall be declared joint champions. Other ties shall be resolved by the application of the Sonneborn-Berger system where promotion or relegation is affected but prizes shall be pooled and shared.
12. Any matters concerning the organisation and running of the tournament not covered in these rules or the Playing Rules shall be decided at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
13. Competitors may appeal against decisions of the Tournament Director to the BFCC Secretary by e-mail. Such appeal shall be e-mailed within seven days of receiving the decision in question. The appeal shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the BFCC whose decision shall be final.
14. The BFCC reserves the right to decline an entry or entries without stating a reason or entering into any further correspondence.

 BFCC GUIDELINES FOR ADJUDICATORS

First of all, the BFCC wishes to thank you for adjudicating the enclosed position. The following procedure should be followed:-

The adjudicator should consider any analysis submitted by the players and his own knowledge and ability regarding general chess principles e.g. extra material; exchange, typical endgame patterns, etc. In those cases where both players have submitted analysis that does not diverge for several moves, the adjudicator shall accept these moves as if played and start the adjudication at the new position reached. The adjudicator may assume that both players have access to available tablebases for endgame positions.

The adjudicator may use his own analysis to find a win that was not presented in any submitted analysis. 

When you submit your decision to the Tournament Director, you may also include any comments or analysis to support your decision. It is possible for a player to appeal against your decision. Should that occur, your decision, comments and analysis will be sent to a further adjudicator who will be of Grandmaster strength. His/her decision will be the result of the game.

Please note that it is possible that the comments and analysis of the adjudicator(s) will be supplied to the players by the Tournament Director if requested by either or both players. However, the names of the adjudicator(s) will remain confidential if they so wish.

It should also be noted that these Guidelines take precedence over the ICCF Guidelines for adjudication.

Thank you once again for your continued support of the BFCC.

The entry fees and prizes for the British Championship events, are

Entry fees are £12 for the BCCC and £8 for the Veterans' and Ladies' Championships.