Champions League 4
Tuesday, October 20, 2009: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Registration Information
1. ABOUT THE ICCF Champions League
1.1 What is the ICCF Champions League?
The ICCF Champions League (ICCF-CL) is a correspondence chess Team Tournament event played in 2 years cycle seasons. All registered teams play in several groups’ part of the three existing divisions: A, B and C. At the end of each season, teams are promoted or relegated as explained by these present rules. All games played in ICCF-CL are ICCF rated.
1.2 Who is in charge of the ICCF-CL?
The league falls under the jurisdiction of Non-Title Tournaments Commission. An ICCF-CL Support team consisting of tournament directors (TDs), webmasters, administrators and consultants are in charge of running the daily activities in the league. The current composition of the ICCF-CL Support team is presented HERE.
1.3 Who can enter in the ICCF-CL?
The league is open only to teams of 4 players, who do not necessarily have to come from the same country; mixed teams (mixed nationalities and/or gender) are possible. All players must have internet access and a working email address. A player cannot play for more than one team in a season (see also FAQ 2.2). The responsibility to find or form a team rests with every player himself.
1.4 What if I have never played in ICCF before?
The tournament is available to anyone, as long as they are members of a complete team. New players will be allocated an ICCF number. Only national federations are members of ICCF; single players can only be members of a national federation and not of ICCF. It is not necessary to be a member of a national federation to play in the ICCF-CL, though this gives a player some financial advantages.
1.5 How are the games in the tournament rated?
All new ICCF players will be assigned a "temporary" rating, but this rating will only be used for the calculation of the opponents' updated ratings. Only after a player has completed 12 ICCF games, will his or her name will appear with an official rating on the following ICCF rating list (calculated and published three times a year). If a player has no official ICCF rating at the start of the tournament, his "temporary" rating will be set according to the division where he or she she starts:
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Division A = (2400)
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Division B = (2300)
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Division C = (2200)
2. MANAGING YOUR TEAM
2.1 Must every team have a name?
Every team must have a name, preferably related to CC or chess in general. The team name might be of any language including numbers, but no signs - except !$%&=?
2.2 Does every team need a Team Captain?
Each team must designate a Team Captain (TC), who can be a member of the team. It is possible for a person to be TC for more than one team. Furthermore, a TC could also play for another team where he is not TC, if those teams do not play in the same division. However, no player is allowed to play for more than one team in a season.
2.3 Who is the owner of the team and team name?
If the main organizer behind a team in the ICCF-CL is a chess club (OTB or CC), a magazine or organisation, then this institution owns the team name and has the overall power to decide what happens with the team name and which players are members of the team. If there is no institution behind a team, the Team Captain is the owner of the team name. This also means the Team Captain is the only responsible person for the line-up of a team and he may exclude players and invite new players to the team according to these rules.
2.4 I did not have a team in any previous season - can I nevertheless play?
New teams can enter the CL at the beginning of any new season. For the season 2009-2011, teams that have not played in the ICCF-CL before could start in division C, as explained by these rules (see also FAQ3.11, 3.12, and 3.13). A "new team" is by definition a team:
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Has not previously competed in CL.
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Where at least 2 players have not previously played in ICCF-CL
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Where at least 2 players have not played together with the other 2 players in a previous ICCF-CL team.
2.5 What is the team ID number and how do we get one?
The team ID is a unique number assigned to every team to participate in the ICCF-CL.
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Returning teams can find their team ID number listed HERE
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New teams will be assigned their designated team ID number as their registration is processed and accepted
2.6 Can the team name be changed at anytime?
A team is allowed to change its name between separate seasons. The information of the old and the new name, including the unique team ID number, must be given when entering the team.
2.7 Can players be replaced in a team?
A team is allowed to replace players during and between the seasons. The number of replaced players is limited only to the following rule: If all the 4 players in a team are changed within two seasons, then the team will normally be relegated to a lower division. Exceptions of this rule are possible where the tournament organiser sees a clear need for this.
2.8 Can players transfer from one team to another?
Players can transfer from one team to another only at the beginning of each season during an official transfer period. If all 4 players from a team wish to transfer, that team dissolves automatically. A player does not need the approval of the TC whose team he leaves, but naturally the acceptance of his new team and TC. If a TC transfers, he must pass the captaincy to a remaining player unless the team accepts him to continue acting as their TC.
3. REGISTERING FOR 2009-2011 SEASON
3.1 When can team entries be sent in?
The registration period runs between 21/10/2009 - 15/12/2009 and it is open to active and new teams, as well as inactive teams wishing to re-enter ICCF-CL.
3.2 What is an inactive team?
A team has not played in the previous season 2007-2009.
3.3 Can inactive teams re-enter the ICCF-CL?
Inactive teams can be reinstated as per the present set of rules. They would compete in division C.
3.4 Our team has played in the ICCF-CL before - do we have to pay the entry fee again?
The team entry fee is per season and therefore has to be paid for every new season anew.
3.5 How much is the entry fee for team entries?
All Champions League team entries must be made through the ICCF Direct Entry system. The Team Captain will be presented with an option to pay for the team entry in one of three different currencies: GBP, USD, and EUR. As the entry fee is pegged to the Swiss Franc, the entry fee will fluctuate based on the exchange rates. Please note that only one payment for the entire team will be accepted. Individual player payments will not be accepted and returned.
3.6 How can I enter a team?
The Team Captain must complete two tasks before his or her team’s application will be approved.
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Apply and pay for your team through the Direct Entry system.
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Complete the entry form in its entirety and submit to Valer Eugen Demian (see below).
Once steps 1 and 2 have been completed and validated by ICCF officials, the Team Captain will receive a notice of a successful team registration.
In order to enter the team members and the line-up you have to send the information about your team to Valer Eugen Demian using the entry form from FAQ 3.7. Of course, team entries may consist of players from different countries. Players from all National Federations - accepting or not accepting DE- will be allowed to enter their teams using DE.
3.7 Entry form:
Copy and paste below form into a text document with your team name
+-------------------------------------------------+
| ICCF-CL REGISTRATION FORM – 4th season, 2009-11 |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| TEAM GENERAL INFO |
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| CURRENT TEAM NAME: ? |
| |
| OLD TEAM NAME : ? |
| (IF DIFFERENT) |
| |
| TEAM ID : ? |
| (ENTER "NEW" |
| IF NEW TEAM) |
| |
| TEAM DIVISION |
| FOR THIS SEASON : ? |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| PLAYER BOARD 1 |
| |
| FIRST NAME : ? |
| FAMILY NAME : ? |
| COUNTRY : ? |
| ICCF NUMBER : ? |
| EMAIL ADDRESS : ? |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| PLAYER BOARD 2 |
| |
| FIRST NAME : ? |
| FAMILY NAME : ? |
| COUNTRY : ? |
| ICCF NUMBER : ? |
| EMAIL ADDRESS : ? |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| PLAYER BOARD 3 |
| |
| FIRST NAME : ? |
| FAMILY NAME : ? |
| COUNTRY : ? |
| ICCF NUMBER : ? |
| EMAIL ADDRESS : ? |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| PLAYER BOARD 4 |
| |
| FIRST NAME : ? |
| FAMILY NAME : ? |
| COUNTRY : ? |
| ICCF NUMBER : ? |
| EMAIL ADDRESS : ? |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| TEAM CAPTAIN |
| |
| FIRST NAME : ? |
| FAMILY NAME : ? |
| COUNTRY : ? |
| ICCF NUMBER : ? |
| EMAIL ADDRESS : ? |
------------------------------------------------+
3.8 How can I make a team entry through the Direct Entry facility?
A team can be entered by completing the online Direct Entry form located at http://www.iccf-webchess.com/EventsAnnouncements.aspx . This form is not permanently available on the website, but only during the announced registration period. Payment is made by PayPal.
3.9 What is the method of play for the 2009-2011 season?
The method of play is on the ICCF webserver. Email or postal play will not be available in this competition.
3.10 Will there be live replay of any webserver games?
There will be no live replay of ongoing games. The public can see the games only when they are finished and at least 10 games are finished in the group. The team players and team captain can see the games of their own team live with no delay.
3.11 When is the start date of the tournament?
This season will start on 15/01/2010.
3.12 What are the Playing Rules for this tournament?
The playing rules in effect are the ICCF Playing Rules for Webserver Team Tournaments.
3.13 Where can I find further information about the tournament?
The WebPages of the ICCF-CL located HERE provide all necessary information. Currently the ICCF WebPages are under construction, so information about this new season will be posted on the ICCF forum, the ICCF-CL section.
3.14 Who do I talk with regarding any issues related to CL?
Contact can be made only via your Team Captain. He is responsible for maintaining continuous contact with the ICCF-CL Support Team throughout the season. All inquiries will be followed up promptly. General suggestions should be sent directly to any current administrator.
4. SCORES AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
4.1 What method is used to calculate the team performance?
The result of each team will be decided by adding full individual results of all 4 boards. The result of a team match is taken into consideration only if there is a need for tiebreaks as explained below.
4.2 How are the promotion and relegation rules?
From each group the two best scoring teams promote to a higher level (if available); from each group the eight least scoring teams will be relegated to a lower level (if available).
4.3 What modus is used for tied teams?
If two teams end up with exactly the same total number of points, then ties are split according to the ICCF tournament rules:
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tie breaking on the basis of team results (2 additional points for a won match, 1 additional point for a drawn match),
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the results of the tied teams against each other,
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better individual result on board 1, followed by board 2, 3 or 4 if necessary.
4.4 What happens in case a place in a higher division becomes vacant due to an unused qualification?
If there's a vacancy at any time in any division (due to an unused qualification, team withdrawal, etc.), those free places will be made available for tied or best scoring next placed teams from any group of a lower division, according to the following method:
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First priority to best scoring tied teams (who are not winners).
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Second priority to best scoring next placed teams.
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Third priority, based on "match points" achieved by equal teams.
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Drawing of lots.
5. FINISHING THE SEASON/ADJUDICATIONS
5.1 What happens with the unfinished games of any current season?
Play in all deciding games that directly determine promotion or relegation for the following season will stop at the announced end date of the season, or at a later date decided by the organizers. A valid reason for extending the end date of a season could be the high number of unfinished deciding games. All other games will continue until their normal finish.
5.2 What happens with the stopped games?
All stopped games will be adjudicated in order to decide the final team results and the promotion or relegation places. This will enable the organizers to draw all groups for the next season.
5.3 How do I know if any of my games must be adjudicated?
The Tournament Director (TD) for your group will advise your team captains which games must be adjudicated.
5.4 Games of mine have to be adjudicated - what do I have to do?
Players are responsible to prepare and submit pertinent analysis for the stopped unfinished games to their TC in accordance with the ICCF Playing rules. It is the duty of their TCs to forward the games and analysis to the TDs in charge. A deadline for submission of all pertinent information and analysis is normally given as the organizers see fit.
5.5 Who is going to adjudicate the games?
The names of any adjudicators involved will not be revealed to the public. They are experienced ICCF players, preferably holding at least the ICCF Senior International Master title and a fixed rating of minimum 2500 on the last published ICCF rating list. The ICCF-CL Support team on a case-by-case basis will decide certain exceptions.
5.6 When will the results of any adjudication be known?
Adjudicators are given a reasonable time to come to a decision in all their adjudication cases. Once they reach their decision, all results will be communicated to the players and public.
5.7 Can I appeal against the adjudication result?
Any appeal against the adjudicator's decision must be sent to the TD, through the Team Captain, within 14 days of receiving the notification/ adjudicator's decision. For an appeal, both players may submit additional analysis. The game(s) in question will then be sent to a different adjudicator whose ruling is final; no further appeal will be accepted from either player.
-- ICCF-CL Support team