The individual championship of the BFCC shall
be known as the British Correspondence Chess Championship.
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The BFCC
Executive Committee shall appoint a Tournament Director to organise
and run the tournament.
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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.
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There shall be
1) one Championship Section, confined to British subjects, having up
to eleven competitors,
2) six candidates' sections, each having nine competitors where possible,
and
3) six or more reserve sections, each having nine competitors where
possible.
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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.
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The championship shall be open only to full
members of BFCC and its member organisations who are resident in the
British Isles (except the Irish Republic ). Details of membership shall
be clearly stated at the time of entry.
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The following rules shall apply
unless the Championship Committee decides that special circumstances
justify an alteration.
1) Championship Section
a) The first five players in the previous Championship shall be
entitled to re-enter.
b) The winners of the six candidates' sections of the previous
tournament shall be entitled to enter.
2) Candidates' Sections
a) The last six players in the previous Championship Section shall
be entitled to enter a Candidates' Section.
b) Those gaining places two to five in each previous Candidates'
Section shall be entitled to re-enter a Candidates' Section.
c) When possible, the first four players in each previous Reserve
Section shall be entitled to enter a Candidates' Section depending
upon the number of vacancies.
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.
5) Players shall be placed by seeding, not by chance.
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The
Tournament Director shall receive entries with entry fee by
1st September of each year. Play shall commence on 15th October and
the adjudication date shall be July 31st of the following year.
Any move posted 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 shall be submitted to the Tournament Director
within two weeks of the date set for close of play. 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.
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Postal
games shall be played in accordance with the ICCF Playing Rules
(for individual tournament games played normally by post) in
being at the commencement date except as may otherwise be provided
in these rules. E-mail communication may be used providing
both players agree to its use. However, the rules for postal play
still apply (Ref. ICCF playing rule # 2m.) There shall be no
requirement to use the registration or recorded delivery services.
There shall be no requirement to send an informational copy
to the T.D. with a repeat move or a reply to it.
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All sections
of the competition may be designated to be played only via the
ICCF web server (the server). For sections played via the server,
the ICCF web server playing rules current at the start date of
the competition shall apply, except as otherwise provided in
these rules. Rules 11-13, 15-17 shall not apply to games played via
the server.
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The time limit for the competition will be
20 days for each 10 moves, with the option of 40 days for each 10
moves if both players agree to play by e-mail. The time
limit for games played via the ICCF web server will be 40 days
for each 10 moves.
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Moves shall be sent in the algebraic
or a mutually agreed notation. Scoresheets or scorecards
may be used only if both players agree; they must understand that
this method of transmission does not provide positive proof
of the moves played or the dates of transmission or receipt.
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The
transmission of moves shall be by first class post unless
the use of e-mail has been mutually agreed
between players. Communication with the T.D. shall be by
first class post unless both players are using e-mail, in which case
the T.D. must also be contacted by e-mail.
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Transmission
of moves by e-mail: The moves shall be numbered and sent
in algebraic or a mutually agreed notation by e-mail messages
bearing the name and e-mail address of the sender and a continuous
record of all moves and confirmation of the date on which
the opponent’s
latest message was sent. The sender
shall record on the message the date on which the opponent’s
latest move was received and the expected date
of the reply. Failing this, reasonable dates shall
be assumed by the recipient and notified with the
reply move. When the expected reply date does not
agree with the actual e mailing date shown on the
message time stamp, the recipient shall correct
this and inform the sender with the reply move.
The time used for the move and the accumulated
time for the game shall also be recorded. Normal
accepted time of the e-mail transmissions is one
day. If a longer transmission time is declared,
it may be referred to the T.D. for a ruling.
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If e-mail or server is being
used then the T.D. must be notified immediately
if any substantial failure of hardware or software
occurs.
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Records and reports: All transmissions
from the opponent concerning the game and
a record of the moves and dates shall be
kept until the end of the tournament and
sent to the T.D. upon request. If a player
does not answer enquiries from the T.D.
that player may be deemed to have withdrawn from
the tournament. Changes of postal and/or
e-mail address must be notified to the
opponent and the T.D. The T.D. must also be notified
immediately of any disagreement between
competitors about their game.
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Impossible, illegal or illegible
moves shall be referred back to the sender for correction
and ambiguous moves for clarification. Additional reflection time
shall count for the guilty player as if for separate moves
but no other penalty shall normally apply.
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Players claiming
that the time limit has been exceeded need only send
to the Tournament Director, in the first instance, the card or scoresheet
on which the opponent has indicated an accumulated time
in excess of the permitted number of days. If e-mail is being
used, then evidence of transmission/receipt dates on
the e-mail copy for each move shall be sent to the T.D.
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If
a first claim for exceeding the time limit is upheld, then the
player who has exceeded the time limit shall be deemed to have
lost the game.
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The amount of leave is 14 days, with the
T.D. allowed to grant extra leave in appropriate circumstances.
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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.
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The title of British CC Master shall be
bestowed for life upon the winner of the Championship
Section.
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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.
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Competitors may appeal against
decisions of the Tournament Director to the BFCC Secretary
whose address shall be shown on the pairing notice. Such
appeal shall be posted 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.
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The
BFCC reserves the right to decline an entry or entries without
stating a reason or entering into any further correspondence.
