UPDATED April 10, 2016
The Final will run over two seasons to ensure a continuing high standard of play and reduce the need for adjudications. Candidates & Reserves will continue to run on an annual basis. All three sections (Final, Candidates & Reserves) will start annually so, from 2013/14 onwards, there will be two Finals running concurrently.
Changes from the previous Rules are marked in red.
The individual championship of the United Kingdom shall be known as the British Correspondence Chess Championship ("the championship").
1. The Federations of England, Scotland & Wales shall appoint a tri-federation sub-committee comprising one delegate from each federation plus the Tournament Director. The sub-committee 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. The Tournament Director forms part of the sub-committee for consultation only and shall not vote.
2. The Sub-Committee shall appoint a Tournament Director to organise and run the tournament.
3. Sections
There shall be -
a) one Championship Section, having a minimum of eleven and a maximum of fifteen competitors.
b) one Candidates section, having between nine and thirteen competitors and,
c) 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.
5. The Candidates & Reserve sections shall commence and finish play inside one season, in accordance with Rule 8. The Championship section may extend over two seasons in accordance with Rule 8.
6. The championship shall be open to any player who is born or are currently residing in the United Kingdom, a Crown Dependency or a British Overseas Territory. Details of membership shall be clearly stated at the time of entry.
7. The following rules shall apply unless the Championship sub-committee decides that special circumstances justify an alteration. The ICCF rating list (valid as at 1 September annually) shall be used to rank the players in order, and place them into sections appropriate to their rating subject to Rule 7.1 and Rule 7.2 below.For players with no ICCF rating, FIDE and/or ECF ratings will be considered by the Championship sub-committee.
7.1 Championship Section
a) A maximum of three players will be nominated by the Scottish CC Association, and a maximum of two players will be nominated by the Welsh CC Federation. The nominated players must all have an ICCF Rating above a figure laid down by the tri-federation sub-committee.
b) The winners and runners-up of the candidates section of the previous tournament shall be entitled to enter. This entry cannot be deferred and must be used in the following season or it is void.
c) The participants in the previous or ongoing Championship who finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th or who have scored at least +2 (i.e. 8 points in a 15-player Final; or 7 points in a 13-player Final or 6 points in a 11-player Final) shall be entitled to re-enter.
d)Holders of the Grandmaster Title with an ICCF rating above 2350.
e)Holders of the Senior International Master Title with an ICCF rating above 2375
f)Holders of the International Master Title with an ICCF rating above 2400
g)All other players in rating order.ÂÂÂ To bring the number of players within the maximum allowed, players under 7.1(g) will be excluded starting with the lowest rating until the maximum entry is reached. If necessary, then onto 7.1(f) with the same principle, then 7.1(e), then 7.1(d) etc.
7.2 Candidates Section
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 scored at least -1 (i.e. 6.5 points in a 15-player Final; or 5.5 points in a 13-player Final; or 4.5 points in an 11-player Final) in the previous or ongoing Final shall be entitled to enter a Candidates Section.
7.3 Reserve Sections
The number of Reserve Sections shall be increased as necessary to include all that wish to participate.
8. The Championship Sub-Committee at its sole discretion shall fill vacancies in the Championship or candidates' sections.
Players shall be placed by seeding, not by chance.
9. The Tournament Director shall receive entries with entry fee by 1st September of each year. Nominations from Scotland & Wales must reach the Tournament Director, with the entry fee, by 31 August at the latest of each year. Play shall commence on 1st October and the adjudication date shall be August 12th of the following year for the Candidates & Reserves. For the Championship section, the adjudication date shall be June 30th of the 2nd year of play allowing approximately 21 months playing time.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 shall be submitted to the Tournament Director within seven days 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. (Following the introduction of the ICCF automated Adjudication procedure, the part of this section relating to Adjudications & fees are no longer applicable. The ICCF adjudication procedure will be used & players must follow the Server instructions)
10. All sections of the competition shall 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.
11. The time limit for the Championship will be 40 days for each 10 moves, with time doubling after 20 days. The time limit for the Candidates and Reserves will be 35 days for each 10 moves, with time doubling after 15 days.
12. The amount of leave for the Championship is 21 days per calendar year with the T.D. allowed to grant extra leave in appropriate circumstances. The amount of leave for the Candidates and Reserves is 14 days per calendar year (up to 14 days between 1 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.
13. Tie-breaks will be resolved in the following order of priority:-
(a) number of wins by each tied player in the tournament,
(b) points evaluation by the Sonneborn-Berger-System,
(c) results of the tied players against each other.
If necessary, the organiser of the tournament is entitled to set up further tie-breaking procedures. These procedures must be indicated in the start list at the latest. If players or teams are still tied after all relevant tie-breaking procedures have been used, the players or teams will be considered equal.
13. 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.
14. Competitors may appeal against decisions of the Tournament Director to one of the sub-committee members 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 sub-committee whose decision shall be final.
15. The Sub-Committee reserves the right to decline an entry or entries without stating a reason or entering into any further correspondence.
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