ICC Groups - CofC Group

Both Eastern and Western Conference will be a double-round all-play-all tournaments split into two zones with a time control of 5 1 (Five minutes initially plus one second added per move). The games will be unrated on ICC and seedings will be based on USCF ratings. In the event of one conference group not having sufficient numbers, the ICC will have the right to merge two groups into one large group with both the winner and runner-up meeting in the semifinal. The games in the qualifiers will be USCF "quick" rated.

TIP FOR PLAYERS NEW TO INTERNET CHESS: This TC is fast. You should try to play as many games with this TC on ICC prior to the event to get used to it. Most players find they can adjust to it and be comfortable provided they get enough practice games in. Be forewarned!

2. Qualification to the Finals

In both Eastern and Western Conference, the top two finishing players from each zone will qualify for their conference semifinals, the winners of which will play in a final which will have one player from the Eastern Conference and one from the Western Conference. In case of ties in the Conferences, the same rules as in the Finals (see there) will apply.

3. Finals

Each round of the finals (semi finals, finals) will be played in two rounds, alternating colors, with a time control of 60 minutes initially plus 3 seconds added per move. If a match of two games ends 1-1, there will be two games with a time control of 5 1 between those two players to determine the winner. Should this tiebreak match also end 1-1, there will be an 'Armageddon game': White will receive 5 minutes against Black's 4 minutes, no time increments. Black will advance on draw in that game. The responsible ICC tournament director will draw lots in order to determine colors in this Armageddon game. The games in the finals will be USCF "dual" rated.

In the semi finals, pairings will be:

Eastern Conference Zone 1 winner vs. Eastern Conference Zone 2 winner (SF1)

Western Conference Zone 1 winner vs. Western Conference Zone 2 winner (SF2)

In the finals, the winner of SF1 will meet the winner of SF2 and colors in the first game will be determined by the responsible ICC tournament director drawing lots. Should a tiebreak match be necessary, colors in the first tiebreak game will always be the same as they were in the first regular game of that match.

III. PRIZES

Prizes for the tournament are as follows:

1st: 250 US-Dollars

2nd: 150 US-Dollars

3rd/4th: 50 US-Dollars each.

The winner will be seeded into the field and move foward into the US Championships under the following condition:

In the event that the 2007 US Championship is held as a Swiss or a 32 player knockout, the winner will qualify, providing he or she was a current USCF member and US player prior to the start of the event.

IV. TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT, ICC RELATED RULES

1. General

The participants will receive accounts on ICC for the duration of the tournament free of charge. Those accounts have names like "CofC-Alabama". All participants must use the program 'Blitzin 2.31' or a higher version to connect to ICC while playing in the tournament. This program is available free of charge at

http://www.chessclub.com

The new program 'Dasher' may also be used. It is also available at the above website.

In order to obtain their passwords and further instructions, players should email dro@chessclub.com in time.

Players will be prompted to match their designated opponent at starting time.

There is no need to issue any additional commands. The tournament will be organized in ICC channel 227, using the semi-automated pairing robot 'pear'.

2. Playing games on ICC

During an internet chess game, it could happen that one player loses his connection to the server. In this case, the game is automatically adjourned. The disconnected player should try to return to ICC as soon as possible. When he logs back in, he and his opponent are notified of the adjourned game. Both need to resume the game as soon as possible. In order to prevent games from not being adjourned, all players in the tournament must have their “noescape” variables set to false.

ICC has a mechanism which compensates the clocks of both players for internet latency. Details about this mechanism can be obtained by typing help timestamp on ICC.

Draw offers and draw claims may be made by clicking the Draw button prior to making a move. The server does not give draws on repetition or by applying the 50-moves rule automatically. The draw must be claimed by clicking the draw button before moving. There is no possibility to claim draw on insufficient losing chances. The ending King, Knight, Knight against bare King is not called draw immediately, but must be played out 50 moves, if not agreed. Please read:

http://www.chessclub.com/help/draw

for how draws are handled by the ICC server. A game declared a draw automatically by the ICC server stands. No appeal to the TD will be entertained.

3. Miscellaneous rules

The ICC tournament directors may at their discretion make a ruling on a particular game or eject a player from a tournament for any reason including but not limited to: failure to show up on time or to start a game on time, concern that the player's internet connection is not reliable enough for the game to finish in a timely manner, suspicion of chess computer use or suspicion that a player is receiving assistance.

Participants must supply their real name, full address of their playing location and phone number. They agree that their real name is made public during the tournament.

The games in the finals will be proctored by a person chosen by USCF and ICC.

Before the finals begin, the presence of the proctor at the playing location will be verified before by the responsible ICC tournament director. In order to achieve this, the following procedure will be used:

1. The player logs into ICC under his account name.

2. The player lets the proctor use his computer and the proctor sends a tell on ICC to the responsible ICC tournament director containing a pre-agreed password.

3. The player takes over the computer again.

4. After the session is finished, the proctor again uses the players computer and sends a tell on ICC to the responsible ICC tournament director, containing a pre-agreed password in case everything was in line with the rules.

In case a player is disqualified from the tournament, the ICC tournament directors can, at their discretion, rule that the game of that player in the running round is lost for him, and won for his opponent. However, results by that player in prior rounds will not be reverted.

ICC TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS:

Head TD:

"dro"

Duncan Oxley, dro@chessclub.com

Ph# (831) 384-4506

USCF "Local Tournament Director" ID# 12614202

Assistant USCF TD's:

"jmedic", "albi"

APPENDIX

Division of states into Eastern and Western Conference:

Eastern Conference (Saturday, 10 February)

Zone 1.

1. Maine 2. New Hampshire 3. Vermont 4. Massachusetts 5. New York 6. Connecticut 7. Rhode Island 8. New Jersey 9. Pennsylvania 10. Michigan 11. Ohio 12. Wisconsin 13. Illinois 14. Georgia

Zone 2.

1. Virginia 2. West Virginia 3. Delaware 4. Maryland 5. Kentucky 6. North Carolina 7. Tennessee 8. Arkansas 9. Alabama 10. Mississippi 11. Indiana 12. District of Columbia

Western Conference (Saturday, 17th February)

Zone 1

1. Alaska 2. Washington 3. Oregon 4. North-California 5. Idaho 6. South Dakota 7. North Dakota 8. Nebraska 9. Montana 10. Wyoming 11. Minnesota 12. Iowa 13. Florida

Zone 2

1. New Mexico 2. South-California 3. Hawaii 4. Texas 5. Oklahoma 6. Kansas 7. Colorado 8. Nevada 9. Arizona 10. Missouri 11. South Carolina 12. Louisiana 13. Utah

These rules subject to change at any time.

ICC in collaboration with USCF.

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