UNITED STATES CHESS LEAGUE

League Rules

A. Team Makeup

1. Each team’s roster consists of eight main players and two alternates.

2. Each match consists of four players from the roster whose average rating is no more than 2400.75

3. Any player rated above 2590 will count only as 2590 when determining whether a lineup has a legal average.  Thus, a player rated 2700 will count as 2590 when computing the average rating of a lineup; this is done to reward teams for using the strongest players in the country on their rosters.

4. Any female player's rating will raise the team's rating limit for a match that she competes in to 2410, instead of 2400. If two females play this would rise to 2420, and so forth.

5. When a team determines the board order of their players, for two players whose ratings differ by more than fifty points, the higher rated player must always play on the higher board.  For two players differing by fifty points or less, assuming the higher rated player does not have a higher FIDE title than the lower (if so, the higher rated must still play on the higher board), the order of the two players is at the discretion of the manager.  That order must be decided on the first time the players in question are slated to play in the same match, and whatever it is decided to be then, that same order must be maintained for the remainder of the season.  Note that the “higher FIDE title” restriction applies only to the titles of GM and IM and not WGM, WIM or FM.

6. Any team will be allowed to use a player rated U2000 for any match even if they are not on the roster in case of emergency.  This should only be done in case of extreme emergency, never for strategic purposes.  In particular, when utilizing this stipulation, a team will never be allowed to stack their lineup in a way which wouldn’t be possible using only their normal roster members.

7. Once the season starts (that is, once a team begins its first match), each team will be able to replace at most two players on their main roster.   A new player must be rated U2400 or if not, should be no more than fifty points higher than the player they are replacing.  Like the previous rule, this should be done only in case of emergency and never for strategic reasons.  When a team adds a player to their roster, they must also wait one week before using that player in a match, unless waiting will result in the team having a team rating of Under 2200 for the upcoming week.  To use a player on a given Wednesday, they must be added by Wed 11:59 PM EST of the previous week.

8. No player will be allowed to compete in the playoffs unless they have played at least two matches for their team (this restriction still applies to those who might have joined their team late in the season as a replacement player).

9. The lineups for teams playing on Wednesday are to be received by the Commissioner by Sunday 9:00 PM EST (for those playing on Monday, by Friday 9:00 PM EST, and if a match happens to be on some other day, likewise three days prior at 9:00 PM EST).  Should emergencies occur which force a team to make late changes to their lineup, the following penalties will be enforced (these apply to those playing on Wednesday who have the Sunday 9:00 PM EST deadline, but synonymous penalties will be applied to those who happen to be playing on other days).

            9a. If the League is notified by Monday 9:00 PM EST, the board in question will lose one-fourth of its starting time.  If more than one board is affected by this change, each affected board will lose one-fourth of their starting time as well. We recently changed this rule (9/23/2008), as it used to be that teams lost less time per board if there were multiple changes, however the league felt that because multiple changes are more disruptive, that this was an illogical rule.

            9b. If the League is notified by Tuesday 9:00 PM EST, the board in question will lose one-third of its starting time and if more than one board is affected, each board in question will also one-third of its starting time.

            9c. If the League is notified after Tuesday 9:00 PM EST, the canceling player must be directly replaced on the same board (i.e. if your board three cancels, you cannot move your board four up to board three and put the new player on board four, the new player must go directly to board three).  The new player must not be more than twenty five points higher than the canceling player (if such a player on the roster cannot be found, then you may be forced to use a player U2000 in that slot) and will lose one-half of his starting time.

            9d. If a team makes last minute changes on multiple occasions, the penalties may become more serious than those stated above.  The Commissioner has the right to impose time penalties even harsher than the ones listed if it is felt that they are warranted, and this can also extend to the team in question receiving sponsorship penalties if once again the Commissioner feels it is warranted

            9e. Although a penalty listed above may be written as “losing one-fourth of his starting time”, it may not be applied directly by subtracting that amount from the offender’s starting time.  For example, in a game at time control 60 + 30, if a player is penalized one-third of his starting time, instead of starting the game at 60 vs 40, it will likely be started at 70 vs 50 to schedule the game to end at about the same time as the other games in the match.  Once again, exactly what time control the game does use is at the discretion of the Commissioner.

            9f. If any individual player cancels last minute on multiple occasions, that player may be barred from competing in the League in future seasons if again the Commissioner deems it fit.

10. Although this will hopefully be extremely rare, the League has the discretion to make special exceptions to the normal roster rules when it appears a team will be unable to field a lineup with average at least 2250.  This is because when a team is unable to do so, it gives their opponents too much of an advantage in schedule strength which undermines the fairness of the League.  Should this be necessary for some team, they may face sponsorship penalties unless it’s clear that the inability to field an appropriate lineup was beyond their control.

11. Each team must have one manager and at least one assistant manager.  If an issue arises, and it’s impossible to contact any of these managers within a twenty four hour period, the League has the right to impose any penalties (either time penalties or loss of sponsorship) which are considered appropriate.

12. Given that these matches are taking place online and the League is relatively young, obviously unforeseen problems or difficulties may occur.  If this should happen, it is up to the League to determine the fairest course of action. Also if any team should try to circumvent the rules in a creative way that was not yet considered by the league, but in the Commissioner's opinion clearly violates the spiirt of the league, the Commissioner has the right to change the rules during the season.

B. Game Rules, Playing Sites, and TD Rules

1. If a team scores more than two points, they win the match.  If the score ends two to two, it’s a tie and both teams get a half match point in the standings.  Match points are the most important statistic in the League; overall game points come into play only as the first tiebreaker to determine playoff seeding should two (or more) teams be tied in match points.  So while winning a match is the most important thing, winning by a large margin can be beneficial in giving tiebreak advantages.

2. The only clock time that matters is the time which is displayed on ICC.  If you run out of time on ICC, you lose the game.

3. Some players use a physical board (either then entering their moves on ICC or having a relayer do it).  When such a player gets low on time, it's permitted for them to switch to making their moves directly on the computer if they wish.

4. We recommend that if a player has time that he type his moves as a preventive measure against mouseslips (see section C for more on this topic).  It is further recommended that each player when typing his moves makes sure to type them in the fashion of “a1 – b1”, “f8 – c8”, or the like to prevent any possible ambiguity which might result in an unintended move.

5. If a player plays with a physical board at their side and moves first on their chessboard, that player is FORCED to make the same move on the computer that they made on the board.  If a TD sees that they have done otherwise then the player will be penalized (the exact penalty is at the discretion of the USCL Official).  Using a physical board is a good preventative measure against mouseslips as if a player makes a move on the physical board and then they (or the relayer) mouseslips on ICC, the League is much more likely to grant their takeback request (again see section C for more on this policy).

6. Team members may not speak to other team members while playing; they must use their own judgment when deciding whether or not to accept a draw.  It should be made very clear to the player in question what the current score of the match is, and they should be allowed to view their teammates’ games in progress before deciding whether or not to accept a draw.  The reason for this is that if a player were to ask a much higher rated player whether they should take a draw, it would be difficult for the stronger player not to take his evaluation of the position in question while giving advice; we would want such advice to be limited only to the match situation, not based on how the other player might evaluate the position.  Since that clearly cannot be enforced, each player must make the judgment of whether to take or offer a draw by themselves.

7. Each team must have a League approved TD present at all times during their matches.  This TD does not have to be a USCF TD, though that would be preferable.  Each TD will need to be advised by the Commissioner about certain rules and requirements for the league.

8. Each team must play at a public location where chess fans can come to observe the games in person.

9. Fan attendance should be encouraged as we would like to have as many chess enthusiasts as possible watching the matches in every city.

10. For the most part all team members will be required to play at the same site as their team members.  However, exceptions can be made at the Commissioner’s discretion.  The following features would make it more likely that you could play a match in another city or state.

            10a. You are away due to a major chess event or obligation.

            10b. If the place you will play at is a public area where fans can observe which may help to generate publicity for the League in areas where it is lesser known.

            10c. Your team has not used this option earlier in the season.

            10d. There is a League approved TD present to observe your game.

            10e. The opposing team is agreeable to this arrangement.  The final word on whether this will be allowed is the Commissioner’s decision since maintaining the integrity of the League is the foremost concern, but the opposing team being agreeable to it makes it more likely for it to be allowed in an otherwise unclear situation.

            10f. It is a regular season match.  It’s extremely unlikely that this would ever be permitted in the playoffs, unless you are representing the United States in major chess competition such as the Olympiad, World Championship, World Junior etc.Also if there is a very good non-chess related excuse and the absence of this one player makes your team significantly weaker and compromises the competitive aspect of the league, we may allow it, even in the playoffs. (changed 10-9-2008)

            10g. If you are playing at the location of your opponent for that given week, and the opposing team is okay with it, this will always be allowed.

The League will treat every such instance of this very seriously.  It will only even be considered if it’s obvious that being away was completely unavoidable.  We do not want to prevent our top players from playing due to being away at some serious chess event.  We also do not wish to put any team at a huge disadvantage (which in addition to hurting their chances can compromise the overall integrity of the League) by preventing them from using one of their players so we will try to remain as flexible as possible in these situations. However, do note that this option has been permitted just twice in the first three seasons and so a large majority of the time, such a request will be denied.

C. Takebacks and Disconnections

1. If a player mouseslips on ICC, they may request a takeback which will be reviewed by a USCL official and whether it is granted will be based upon the following conditions.

            1a. The official should be nearly 100% certain the move in question was a mouseslip.

            1b. Neither player should have been especially low on time.  There is no exact line at which a takeback will no longer be granted, but the lower the clock times are in general, the less likely a takeback is to be accepted. For instance in a complex position this standard may be 5 minutes or less. If the position is a totally elementary win for one player, we may give takebacks with just 2-3 minutes on the clock. However in general we will err towards the side of caution in not giving the takeback.

            1c. You made the move on a physical board first and then you (or the relayer) slipped on ICC.  If your TD can verify this, it is almost certain that your request will be granted; however if you are low on time it may be impossible still. Do not ever expect a takeback if you are under 5 minutes on the clock. If the opponent is under 5 minutes a takeback is only likely to be granted in the case of a relay error.

            1d. No player on your team should have received a takeback earlier in the match.  If they have, the takeback can be granted only if the other team is also willing to accept it (this does not apply if either takeback involves a player using a physical board)

            1d. You should not have received a takeback previously in the season.  If you have, once again the takeback can be granted only if the other team is agreeable to it (this again does not apply if you are using a physical board).

2. The opponent of a player who does receive a takeback will receive a time bonus of at least five minutes (once again the exact length is up to the USCL official).  We have raised this minimum from two minutes as was the policy in previous years in the hopes of cutting down on mouseslips as much as possible and especially the animosity that can be created when they are granted.

3. Whenever a player disconnects, their opponent may receive a time bonus.  If a player disconnects during their own move, their opponent will get a minimum of one extra minute and sometimes two if its later in the game and a relatively long disconnect. If a player disconnects during their opponent’s move, the opponent may not receive any time, however with under 10 minutes on the clock the player will receive one minute for the disruption. Like takebacks, the exact penalty is at the discretion of the USCL official. Sometimes we will consider two rapid disconnections as just one disconnection. Also if someone disconnects extremely early in the game, before there is any real chance that their opponent could use this extra time as an advantage, it's possible that no time bonus will be given.  Once again, this decision is at the discretion of the USCL Official.

4. The League has the right to log on as the actual players when they are disconnected so that their clocks are still running. We generally will only do this early in the games if a connection problem seems like it may take a few minutes to sort out, so that the games will not take too long.

5. In time scrambles, teams should expect the league to be much harsher than usual in giving time bonuses to the opponent. Do not be surprised to see bonuses of more than 2 minutes being given in extreme scrambles. (10/22/2008)

D. Playoff Structure

1. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the postseason.  For determining seeding, match points are the first criteria, and then there is a set of TIEBREAKS if teams have the same number of match points.

2. The first seed will play the fourth seed, and the second seed will play the third seed in each division in the Quarterfinals.

3. The Quarterfinal winners in each division will meet in the Semifinals.

4. The Semifinal winners meet to determine the League Champion.

5. In the Divisional Playoffs (i.e. Quarterfinals + Semifinals), when a team faces a team it is seeded at least two higher than (i.e. 1 vs 3, 1 vs 4, or 2 vs 4), the higher seed receives both draw odds and color choice for the match in question.  When the seeding difference is only one (i.e. 1 vs 2, 2 vs 3, or 3 vs 4), the higher seed picks either draw odds or color choice (prior to choosing lineups), and the lower seed gets the other advantage.

6. In the Championship Match neither team receives draw odds while the team with the better regular season record (using the same tiebreaks that were used to determine playoff seeding if necessary) gets color choice.  If the match ends up tied, there will be a blitz tiebreaker right after the match to determine the League Champion. Here are the rules for that blitz tiebreaker.

7. The Championship Match, unlike any other match, will likely be scheduled for a weekend afternoon to avoid it going too late since the blitz tiebreaker may be needed.  The lineups for the Championship Match may also be required a week in advance, unlike three days for all other matches, for publicity reasons.

E. Alternate Rules

1. Two players of any rating can be declared as alternates by each team before the season.

2. Each of these players may play at most two games, and a combined total of at most three games.

3. Alternates are not eligible to compete in the postseason (semi-exception in E6 though).

4. The main intent of the alternate spots is to give each team an extra degree of flexibility.  As such, the alternates should really be local players who will generally fill in during extreme circumstances (though teams can use them whenever they see fit).  For example, naming a GM from the other side of the country who is scheduled to be in your city for a tournament would not be considered in the spirit of the alternate system.  In general, any GM or IM alternate will need to reside in reasonable locale to the team in question to be allowed as an alternate.  The League has the right to declare ANY alternate who is felt not to be in the spirit of the system as ineligible.

5. Once the alternates are named, and your season begins, they can only be replaced by a player who lives approximately within 100 miles of your playing site. Once an alternate has played a game, they cannot be replaced on the alternate list under any circumstances. Any team replacing an alternate who hasn't played a game yet during in the season must comply with the same rules that are used to replace someone on the main roster, in that they must be either rated U2400 or within 50 points of the player they are replacing.

6.  For teams wishing to switch players on the main roster with those who are alternates after the season begins, or simply wanting to switch an
alternate to the main roster, this is how it works.  Regardless of which of the three below scenarios this switch or replacement follows, this
change must also fall under the rule of general replacing outlined in A7.

(a) Assuming neither player has played a game, teams may switch a main player and alternate with no penalty (i.e. this does not require the use
of one of their two allowed replacements).

(b) If the alternate has already played a game, then when moving them to the main roster, the player they replace is removed from the roster
entirely (i.e. cannot switch to an alternate spot).  The team effectively loses that alternate spot, and this, unlike (a), does require the use of
one of the teams' two replacements.

(c) If the main player has already played a game and the alternate has not, then once again the main player is removed from the roster entirely, but in this situation, the team is permitted to replace that alternate (following the rule mentioned in E5, but again they cannot be replaced with the main player who's place they are taking). This also does use up one of the teams' two allowed replacements.


Note that if a team switches an alternate to the main roster, any games that player has already played still count towards the three total allowed for
alternates.  Also, when an alternate moves to the main roster they must play at least two regular season games AFTER being added to the main
roster (i.e. at least two games as a non-alternate) to be allowed to compete in the playoffs; this is done since we don't want teams putting
an alternate on the main roster during the final week, realizing that player might be more useful than some other in the postseason.

F. Ratings

1. Teams may use any monthly rating list from September of the previous year to August of the current year to pick their players’ ratings – with the main stipulation being that they must use the same rating supplement for ALL of their roster members.  We allow teams to use fairly old rating lists both to allow teams to start planning out their rosters well before the season begins and to reward teams for using young, improving juniors on their rosters.

2. Although this is not especially relevant to the way the League works (only truly pertinent in determining All Star Teams, Rookie of the Year, and Most Improved Player), the ratings displayed on players’ ICC accounts, the ratings used to compute performance ratings, and the ratings listed on the player pages will be ratings from the August (or maybe the June/July) supplement of the current year rather than the “League Ratings” which vary amongst months for different teams.  This will make those statistics more up to date and uniform for all players.

G. Team and Player Responsibilities

1. Teams are expected to put the maximum effort into all of their matches and games.  Short or pre-arranged draws will not be tolerated even if the match/game in question has no playoff significance.  Teams in violation of this run the risk of sponsorship penalties or in some cases even tiebreaker penalties. Also any draw offer made early in the game could result in extra time for the opponent. This is up to the discretion of USCL officials.

2. Just as in basically any playoff system, it is of course possible that some teams may have matches in the last few weeks which aren’t relevant to their playoff situation (e.g. already having clinched first or already being out of contention).  In that case, such teams are still expected to use lineups reasonably close in strength (rating-wise) to their best lineups as their matches may still have huge implications for their opponents and by transition for other teams in the League.  Both for the League’s image and for maintaining the integrity of the playoff system, we must require this.  Once again, teams who are believed to not be following this policy without sufficient justification are subject to sponsorship penalties.

3. Each team must have a back-up internet connection in case their primary internet fails.  They are also expected to be able to switch to their back-up internet in a reasonably timely fashion if it is necessary so that their match is not forced to end far later than scheduled.  Teams which do not satisfy this requirement are subject to additional time penalties if it becomes an issue and possibly even forfeiture of the match if it is felt extreme enough by the Commissioner.

4. Players are expected to be on time for their games (it is recommended that all players try to arrive fifteen minutes early so that unforeseen delays do not cause them to be excessively late).  Games will be started promptly at the listed starting time, and those who are late will have their clocks started.  Both to avoid this and to show respect to the other player as well as the League, players should not be habitually late to arrive at their games.

5. Players are expected to behave in a sportsmanlike fashion during their games.  In particular, intentional disconnections or excessive draw offers are subject to penalties if the Commissioner deems it warranted.

6. Players are only to use their own league account; no player may login to an account of a team member under any circumstances.  Any player caught doing so is subject to time penalties in their next game.

7. Players must give all electronic devices (cell phones, palm pilots, etc.) to their TD prior to each match, who is required to keep them until the player’s game is completed.  Players (or relayers) may also not have any programs other than ICC open on the computer which the game is being relayed on.  Any player not complying with these rules risks immediate forfeiture of their game.

H. Miscellaneous

1. Given that the League is relatively young, there is always the possibility of something unusual occurring.  For this reason, all managers will be given the phone numbers of the opposing manager, the Commissioner, and possibly other USCL officials.  If something unusual takes place, the managers should immediately call these numbers.

2. While we fervently hope that this never happens, there is of course the chance that the ICC server itself might crash for a long period of time on a given night making it impossible to complete some or all matches.  Should this happen, the League will explore many options based on the exact situation including canceling all matches in question, replaying them at some mutually convenient time, declaring the matches as drawn, or having matches adjudicated based on what was happening at the time.  Once again, we really hope that this never occurs, and is extremely unlikely, but it is within the realm of possibility.  Do try to understand that should this unfortunate happening take place, it will be very hard for the League to rectify it in a way that will be perceived as “fair” to all teams this affects, but we will do our best to find an equitable solution.

3. Once again, we hope this never happens, but it is conceivable that some team may “fold” in the middle of the season (e.g. due to whatever circumstances, they become unable to field a 2200+ lineup for a reasonable portion of their remaining matches).  If this happens, that team is likely to lose their franchise permanently, and for the current season, the League will put a “replacement team” in their stead.  That replacement team will compete in all remaining scheduled matches the team in question had left (the starting times and time controls of those matches may be altered, but other than that the same).  The replacement team will only be eligible for the postseason if they play at least half of the other team’s regular season matches, but in every other aspect, they will take that team’s place in entirety for the remainder of the season and will likely become a permanent part of the league in future seasons.

4. The League reserves the right to postpone any match if circumstances seem to warrant it.  The main time where this might prove necessary would be a weather situation in one city making it impossible for that team to reasonably compete on the scheduled day.  Should this be needed, all efforts will be made to reschedule the match at a mutually beneficial time (almost certainly prior to the following week’s matches), but of course it might simply be impossible (for rescheduling in general, a lot of leeway will be given to the team not involved in the emergency, but they are still expected to try to work this no-fault situation out to the best of their ability).   If rescheduling proves impossible, the match may be called a draw, or if the League feels one of the teams isn’t being sufficiently reasonable in trying to rectify the situation, that team might be forfeited.  Once again, it’s hoped that this dilemma never comes up (but did in Season One, with Hurricane Katrina) as we don’t like teams to be able to agree to a draw without playing (as that can adversely affect them or other teams), but in this situation it will once again be very difficult to correct it in a way which will be fair to everyone.

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