The following has been sent to me from the Mid Sussex Chess League. Our club gets 6 votes at the AGM because we have entered 6 teams into the league. Members other than those delegated to vote by our committee can attend, if they wish.
MID-SUSSEX CHESS LEAGUE
Annual General Meeting
7:30 pm, Monday 24th May 2010
Main Hall, Luxford Centre, Library Way, Uckfield TN22 1AR
Annual General Meeting
7:30 pm, Monday 24th May 2010
Main Hall, Luxford Centre, Library Way, Uckfield TN22 1AR
AGENDA
1. Chairman’s opening remarks and apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of 2009 AGM (previously circulated).
3. Secretary's Report and matters arising.
4. Treasurer's Report and matters arising.
5. Fixtures Secretary’s Report and matters arising.
6. Match Recorder’s Report and matters arising.
7. County Adjudication Secretary’s report and matters arising.
8. Presentation of Trophies.
9. Election of Officers:
i) Chairman
ii) Secretary
iii) Fixtures Secretary
iv) Treasurer
v) Match Recorder
vi) Webmanager
vii) Auditor
10. SCCA Matters relating to the League and its clubs.
11. Management Committee's proposals for rule changes on nominations. (Rule 4.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3 and 4.2.2)
12. Management Committee's proposals for rule changes on defaults. (Rule 6.2)
13. Management Committee's proposals for interpretation of rules. (Rule 8.1)
14. B&H's proposal to extend the playing season to 14th May and hold the AGM in June. (Rule 2.1 and 14.1)
15. Horsham's proposal to increase first teams to six boards. (Rule 4.1.1 and 5.1)
16. If 15. is rejected then Management Committee's proposal to abolish second division winners' option to decline promotion. (Rule 1.3)
17. Vote on whether to hold 2011 AGM in Uckfield or Lewes.
18. Any other business.
Proposals for Rule Changes 2010 with amendments in red
Agenda Item 11:
There is a problem with a much higher rate of teams in fulfilling their fixture obligations. We suggest part of the cause is the lack of restriction on nominations on those clubs with the highest number of teams.
Declaring nominations
4.1.2 .... a minimum of its next 4 strongest players for its second team. ........... a minimum of its next 4 strongest players for its 3rd team, and so on.
4.2.2 .... may appear on a match score card twice for higher teams....... Upon appearing on a match score card a 3rd time for any higher team.....
New 4.1.3 It is recognised that a player’s grade may not be the best guide to current form. However, the Management Committee may require changes to be made where there is sufficient discrepancy between gradings and nomination order.
An alternative would be no nominations. Clubs must schedule their players in strength order for allocation to the teams. Once a player has played three times for a team they are automatically debarred from lower teams.
Agenda Item 12:
6.2 Seriously defaulting teams A team that postpones or rearranges a match other than in accordance with Rule 2.6 or has insufficient players....
Agenda Item 13:
In the light of issues that have arisen in recent years the MC consider that the above rules require amendment. In some areas it appears to the MC that additional material will be beneficial to assist clubs in interpreting the rules and ensuring consistency. We believe this would best be covered as guidance material appended to the rules which we have drafted.
New rule 8.1 (ie before the current 8.1) The FIDE laws apply in general and the MC will utilise the version produced by the Chess Arbiters Association for interpretation of the various aspects of these laws in the context of the MSCL.
Agenda Item 14:
2.1 Season The season will commence with the distribution of Fixture Lists in accordance with rule 2.5. All matches, other then additional matches [see rule 12], should be completed by 14th May, unless permission has been obtained from the League Secretary to play the game at a later date.
14.1 Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the League will be held in June each year. The League Secretary shall circulate the AGM agenda to clubs at least 14 days before the date of the meeting in order that clubs have time to consider proposed rule changes. The business of the meeting shall include reports from league officers, submission of annual accounts and election of officers for the forthcoming season, and may include proposals for rule changes and consideration of other matters of concern to the league."
Agenda Item 15:
5.1 Team size Teams in the first division shall have 6 boards. Five-board matches shall be played in all other divisions.
4.1.1 Each club entering two teams where at least one team is in the first division must nominate a minimum of its 5 strongest players for its first team. If the club does not have a team in the first division it must nominate a minimum of its 4 strongest players for its first team.
Agenda Item 16:
1.3 Promotion & relegation From season to season, promotion and relegation shall operate on a two-up, two-down basis across all divisions. Each team that wins promotion must take their place in the higher division next season, (DELETE with the exception of teams in the second division, who may decline promotion.) Other adjustments may also be made by the Management Committee from time to time as teams enter or withdraw from the League.
GUIDANCE NOTES
1. Purpose, Status and Amendment of Guidance Notes.
The Rules of the League cannot expect to address every situation that might arise. Indeed, attempting to do so would risk the Rules becoming ever more extensive and overly prescriptive. However, as in any competitive activity, inconsistent interpretation or application of the Rules by or to participants can create problems. These Guidance Notes should be read in conjunction with the relevant Rules, but they do not have the status of Rules. Rather, they give guidance to members on how the Management Committee are likely to exercise their responsibilities under Rule 16.1 (“Interpretation of the rules”). Guidance Notes may be issued or amended from time to time by the Management Committee as the need arises. They are not intended to require approval at a General Meeting, but participants in the League are invited to raise comments on them, either directly with Committee members or through the Forum facility on the League website.
2. Multiple Team Entries and Home Venues. (See Rules 1.1, 2.3 and 2.5)
With the playing season running from mid-October to mid-April, there are approximately 21 weeks available, after allowing for holiday periods, to fit in all the match fixtures. With typically 9 or 10 teams in each Division, each team can expect to have 4 or 5 home matches. Consequently, if a club’s home venue can only accommodate 1 match per evening, it is highly unlikely that entering more than 4 teams can be catered for. Even with 4 teams, experience shows that some compromises may arise over trying to fit everything in and give a reasonable spread of matches throughout the season. The more a team takes advantage of the right under Rule 2.5 to declare up to 15 “blackout dates” when they do not wish to be scheduled to play a match, the more this situation will be exacerbated. With more than 4 teams, and one home match night per week, a venue with facilities to accommodate at least 2 matches simultaneously will be necessary. Alternatively, a club might consider designating more than one match night per week. In any event, the ability to accommodate 2 or more matches simultaneously can greatly ease the task of arranging the fixtures list within the constraints of the playing season.
3. Fixture Changes and Penalties for Defaulting Matches. (See Rules 2.6, 6.2 and 8.4)
Rule 2.6 requires that any requests to make changes to match fixtures are to be agreed with the opposing team(s) within 14 days of the fixture lists being circulated. After then, changes are only permitted under ”exceptional circumstances”. The Rules do not attempt to define what might constitute “exceptional circumstances”. The Management Committee will exercise a degree of discretion in this matter. However, circumstances that reflect lack of planning rather than force majeure are unlikely to be considered “exceptional”. Severe weather, particularly snow, has traditionally been accepted. A car transporting the majority of the away team breaking down on the way to the venue has also been accepted. On the other hand, shortage of players or lack of a driver would not normally be accepted.
Requests to postpone matches more commonly originate from the away team. Given the facility to declare “blackout dates” before the start of the season and, that with typical division sizes, there are unlikely to be more than 4 or 5 away fixtures per season for each team, expecting clubs to fulfil their commitments to the League is not unreasonable. Not only can it be difficult to accommodate re-arranged matches in the overall match schedule, but doing so can disadvantage other teams who do fulfil their match commitments, even if it means sometimes fielding a below strength team, or are requested to agree to a new date at short notice.
Clubs need to bear in mind the rather onerous penalties imposed on “seriously defaulting teams” under Rule 6.2. These involve a 1 match point penalty and the requirement to re-arrange the match for a date convenient to the team defaulted against. Failure to replay the match results in all the defaulting team’s matches for the season being declared void and automatic relegation for the following season. Simply conceding an all-boards loss by default is not permitted under League Rules. These penalties associated with “seriously defaulting” can apply under any of the following circumstances:
- the entire team fails to turn up at the appropriate venue without warning or valid reason (e.g. car breakdown or accident en-route to the venue)
- a team notifies their opponents that they are unable to make the match on the scheduled date, but the reason for this does not satisfy the “exceptional circumstances” criterion of Rule 2.6, as discussed above
- a partial team turns up, but with insufficient players to win a match, by the deadline established under Rule 8.4 (again, excluding exceptional circumstances such as car breakdown or accident en-route)
4. Determining Playing Strength for Declaring Nominated Players or Team Order. (See Rules 4.1, 4.3 and 5.2)
Clubs entering more than 1 team are required to nominate a certain number of players for each team except the lowest, in accordance with Rule 4.1. These “nominated players” are then ineligible to play for a lower team that the one for which they have been nominated. Under Rule 5.2, all teams must play in descending order of playing strength. While a player’s grading is the most readily quantified guide to playing strength, both these Rules acknowledge that grading alone is not necessarily the only or best guide. Reasons for deviating from strict grading order might include a junior player whose current playing strength is judged to have increased noticeably over a short period of time, or a player whose grading might have been based on a minimal number of games and been unduly influenced by just a few abnormally good or bad results. The League depends upon the judgement of the player’s club to exercise this discretion.
Where a club has 2 or more players with similar gradings, their nomination order might also be influenced by the desire to enable a particular player to act as a playing captain of a particular team, or because the player is generally relied upon to provide transport to away matches. While perhaps not directly permitted under the Rules, the Management Committee is unlikely to make an issue of small grading “discrepancies” for reasons such as this. (It is interesting to note that for the 2004 / 05 season, one club nominated a player for their second team to enable him to play as captain even though his grading exceeded those of 2 players nominated for their first team. The grading discrepancy was up to 22 points. This was accepted, but a special condition was imposed on this player preventing him from playing for the first team.)
Another issue that can arise is that of a player who is recognised to be relatively strong but who, for whatever reason, does not have a current ECF grading. Again, the judgement and discretion of the player’s club is called upon to respect the spirit of these Rules.
Clubs must also take note of Rule 4.3 in the case of any new players joining during the season and slot them into teams accordingly.
However, instances may arise where the Management Committee are called upon to review apparent discrepancies in nominations or team order. This may arise from their own scrutiny of match records or from a complaint raised by another club. Deviations from strict grading order of up to 10 grading points, in either player order within a team or overlap of gradings of nominated players between successive teams, would normally be considered as lying within the reasonable judgement of the club or team captain involved. Where any such deviation exceeds 10 grading points, the club or team captain, as appropriate, should notify the Management Committee of their reasons for this.
5. Laws of Chess and Conduct of Matches. (See Rule x.x)
In general, the FIDE Laws of Chess apply to all games played in the League. However, a limited number of deviations or interpretations are appropriate to suit the circumstances of MSCL matches being played without an independent arbiter and in regular club venues with other chess activities taking place in close proximity. The following specific points are noted:
- use of Descriptive Notation is permitted as an alternative to algebraic notation. (Article 8.1 of the FIDE Laws refers.)
- where a player has a good reason to leave a mobile ‘phone or other communication device on (e.g. on call or a sick relative) this should be notified to the opponent and agreed between the team captains before the match starts. (Article 12.3 b)
- all those present at the match venue must observe and respect normal chess etiquette. All noises should be kept to a minimum. Players should not be disturbed in any way. No discussion of the conduct or status of a game, or concerning the clock or time limits, should occur with either player or between spectators within audible range of either player. In particular, the home team must ensure that this is understood by all their members or supporters who are present but not involved in the match. However, it applies equally to the away team with respect to anyone accompanying them. (Article 13.7)
The satisfactory conduct of League matches relies heavily upon the self-discipline and goodwill of all involved. Where any dispute or infraction of the Laws of Chess is alleged or suspected, every effort should be made to resolve this between the players involved and / or the team captains. This should be done without disturbing other games. Team captains playing on other boards and who become involved in attempting to resolve any such incident may stop their clocks while they do so. If the situation cannot be resolved locally, it will need to be referred to the Management Committee. However, this should be a last resort as it will inevitably be difficult for anyone not present at the time to ascertain the full facts and circumstances.
Whether at local level or by the Management Committee, the latest version of the FIDE Laws of Chess with comments and advice from the Chess Arbiters Association, obtainable via the ECF website, should be consulted in the event of any dispute. To this end, it would be useful for all clubs to have a copy available at their venue.
