• The arbiter of a chess tournament is in charge of the running of the day.
  
• Players must follow his/her directives at all times.

PLAYER INTERFERENCE & FAIR PLAY

• Our expectation is that all players in our Interschool Chess Community behave ethically and treat their opponents fairly at all time.
• Players may watch their team mates playing games, but must NOT interfere in any way!
• Interference is any communication to players who are playing a tournament game. Communication is not only verbal, but also gestures and signals.
• Players who interfere in tournament games may be forfeited a point.
• At any time if a player has a question they should immediately Raise Their Hand and an arbiter will come and assist them.
• Please read our Fair Play Policy & Procedure here.

Chess Clocks

• Players should press the clock with the same hand with which they moved the piece. 
  
• ​Chess Clocks put a limit on the maximum thinking time each player can use. The time limit on the clock will be different for each type of event, please check the time on the page of the event.
• MANUAL CLOCK (FACE-TO-FACE EVENTS): After each move the player presses the closest button of the clock. This pauses his time and starts the opponent’s time counting down. The opponent considers a move, makes the move and then presses their button. This starts the first player’s time counting down again.
• ONLINE EVENTS CLOCK: Tornelo will be your clock, once you make your move, the clock will automatically stop after each move.

• You may use as little or as much time as you like on any one move. 
• If you time counts down to 0:00 then you automatically LOSE the game. This means you need to pace yourself. The best strategy is to play slowly at the start and then sprint for the finish line once you have a winning position, or plenty more pieces.
• The biggest mistake new players make when using clocks is to play TOO FAST. On average a player can spend 20-30 seconds on each move and not run out of time. 

TOUCH MOVE

• ​If a player touches a piece the “Touch Move” rule states that the piece Must Be Moved. While the player is still holding the piece it can be changed to a different square, but the first piece touched must be moved.​
  
• Touch move works on opponents’ pieces (called Touch Take). If you touch an enemy piece with your hand and it can be captured you Must Take It.​
  
• The only time during a game when it is NOT touch move is when your King is in check.
  
• A player should say “j’adoube” (meaning “I adjust”, or you can say "I adjust" or "adjusting") which frees them from the touch-move rule temporarily while straightening a piece into the center of a square. 

CHECKMATE / Ending the Game

• ​If your King is in check you MUST get out of check. This can be by:
  • a) Kill the enemy piece
  • b) Block the check
  • c) Run away
• If a player makes a move which leaves the King in check you MUST allow your opponent to retract that move, and give them the opportunity to get their King to safety. 
• The King is never ‘killed’, but only checkmated. 
• Checkmate is when the King is under attack and no matter what move is played there is no way out of check. This is when the game is won.
• When a game concludes, if both players are in agreement that the game is over they should:​
  • a) Shake hands
  • b) Reset the board ready for the next game
• If one player is not 100% sure that the game is over then they should raise their hands to attract an arbiter. The arbiter may provide advice about how to get out of check, or declare the game over.
• Once a game is complete and the board reset the WINNER is responsible for reporting his score. If the game is a DRAW then BOTH player must report their scores. A player losing a game is not required to report.

Variations from INternational Rules

If you have played in an Internationally Rated chess tournament then you will be familiar with the FIDE Laws of Chess which are the rules which govern international events.
Be aware that we apply variations on some of the FIDE Rules to take into consideration the experience of the players taking part. Our rules have the same intent, but with less intensity.

The key rule variations are as follows:

The 50 Move Rule
When one player has nothing other than a King – then he/she may start counting moves. The player must move his King 50 times (to a safe square) – and only then will the game be declared a draw.
a) The player must count out-loud
b) An arbiter may intervene prior to a lone King remaining and declare that a count can start at any time
c) An arbiter should always be called to declare the draw 

3-fold, 3x (triple) repetition 
If both players do the same thing 3 times in a row, then the arbiter may declare the game a draw. In practice you will always explain the rule and offer both players the opportunity to do a different move and take the chance of playing on to win or lose. Then you will observe the next few moves – if players choose to break the repetition then the game continues. If they continue to repeat you can declare the game a draw. A player must count repetitions out-loud. 
 
Touch-move
The first piece you touch you must move. It is NOT touch move when a player is in check. Note this is slightly different from International Rules where you can be forced to lose material if you did not notice you were in check. Touch move works on enemy pieces (touch-take), but only when it is legal to move/capture.
Eg. Touching a Bishop on move 1 means nothing. No move is possible. 

Castling
You may move either the King or Rook first when castling. It is recommended to get into the habit of moving the King first. Technically it is a King’s move. Arbiters in this situation will look at the intent of the player. 

En passant 
If one player uses this rule and it was unknown to the other player, the arbiter will need to first ask the opponent if he/she knew the rule. If not, then this is a perfect time to educate about the rule – then give that player the chance to take-back the recent pawn move (if they wish) and play a different move. Explain to the first player that he/she did not know the rule – and it is a bit unfair to be caught by a rule you didn’t even know existed.

“Accidentally” knocking over the King
It all comes down to intent. If a player intentionally touches a piece it MUST be moved. If it was accidental they should say “j’adoube” (meaning “I adjust”) which frees them from the touch-move rule temporarily.  
 
If a player intends to resign by knocking the King over – that is fine and the game is over. Both players must agree. If one player tells the arbiter it was accidental then the game must continue. A resignation is by definition intentional and done willingly – if there is a question about intent to resign then it is clear that the player wishes to continue the game and must be given that right. 

ETIQUETTE

• ​There are two aspects of technique which often come into dispute: 
  • 1. Pressing Clocks 
  • 2. Pawn promotion 
• There are rules governing the way in which you handle these situations; but generally our arbiters are somewhat flexible and these become recommendations rather than rules.
• Promotion - It is the player who is promoting the pawn whose responsibility it is to change the pawn to clearly reflect the fact that it is now a queen. They should do this on their own time (although if there is no immediate way of doing so they can stop the clock and request an arbiter assist them).
• ​The most common ways of indicating the pawn has changed to a queen are:
  • a) Replacing the pawn with a spare queen (or one from the next-door set)
  • b) Using a rook upside down
  • c) Placing 2 pawns diagonally in the same square

WHEN TO CALL AN ARBITER?

• Players should raise their hand and attract the attention of an arbiter ANY TIME that they have a question, concern or problem which needs resolving.  Arbiters should be called IMMEDIATELY.
• If something untoward happens the player MUST call an arbiter at the time of the incident. If the player plays on then that is tacit acceptance of the situation. The arbiter cannot make any decisions after a game has concluded. 
• So, if you think it's checkmate, or your opponent does something fishy, or touches a piece and doesn't move it, don't make another move! Call the arbiter over and explain the situation so a decision can be made. Coming to an arbiter after a game and complaining that there was a touch-move not enforced in the middle of your previous game will not get you anywhere. 

APPEALS

• ​Schools who are not satisfied with an arbiter's decision on the day may lodge a formal appeal. This must be in writing and come from the school teacher or chess coordinator in charge.
  
• When lodging an appeal please include:
  
  • a) Full description of the situation
    
  • b) The decision that was made and how that affected you/your team
    
  • c) What actions you'd like taken to resolve the situation
    
  • d) Your contact details
    
• Appeals should be emailed to events@kidsunlimited.com.au​
  
• All decisions after appeal are final.

TEAMS Structure & MiNIMUM REQUIREMENT

1. Schools may enter any number of teams.
2. A school team comprises a minimum of 4 players and a maximum of 14 players in the same division.
3. All members of a team must be enrolled at the same school.
4. Students who are enrolled in an official home-school program may participate under the banner "Home School" and will be grouped with other Home Schooled students participating in that event.

​Divisions and Age Rules

1. Students will be divided by the following Year Level (Age) divisions:
   

• Primary  (Prep- Year 6 or equivalent year levels, Ages 5-12)
• Middle Years (Years 5 - 9 or equivalent year levels, ages 11-15)
• Open Secondary (Years 7 - 12 or equivalent year levels, ages 13-18)
• Girls Only (All year levels, ages 5-18)

1. A participant age for the current school year is calculated as <current year> minus <year of birth>.
2. For schools with accelerated learning programs, a student may compete in the year level they are currently in, OR the year level they would have been in if not in an accelerated program.

PAIRINGS

1. At the start of each round the chief arbiter will pair the students using Tornelo.
2. At a ON-SITE tournament, a list of Pairings (who plays who) goes up on the wall. All players need to identify the board number they are playing and their opponent (arbiters will guide the students).
3. ​Players should scan the page for their name. Names are sorted with the highest scores at the Top of the page and the lowest scores at the bottom.
4. Once you find your name, the one Line across the page tells you all the information you require. The first Number on the left side is the TABLE NUMBER - all tables will be labelled with easy to find numbers.  All player names in the Left Column are playing as WHITE and all players in the Right Column are BLACK.
   
5. The pairings will also display your SCORE (1 point for each win, 0.5 for each draw, 0 for a loss) and a RATING (if you have one). A rating is a measure of your past performance and can be an indicator of a player's expected performance.
   
6. At an ONLINE tournament, students will automatically be assigned their opponent, they will just have to flag they are ready to play.
   

The “Swiss Format” ensures that all students play against players of a similar standard; we expect both beginners and experts to enjoy a fun, learning and social experience.

• All players play all games, regardless if they win or lose. 
• If a player wins a game, they score 1.0 point. In the subsequent game they play against a harder opponent.
• If a player draws a game, they score 0.5 points. In the subsequent game they play against a similar level opponent.
• If a player loses a game, they score 0.0 points. In the subsequent game they play against an easier opponent.

Computer pairing software Tornelo.com will be used to match players. Where possible, the computer algorithm ensures students from the same Team will not compete against each other.

RESULTS

• There will be TEAM and INDIVIDUAL awards.
• TEAMS are ranked the end of the event on the following calculation:
  • TEAM SCORE = the SUM of the Individual Scores from the Top 4 Players in each team
  • If 2 teams are Tied (ie. the sum of the best 4 scores is equal) then the Tie will be broken by considering the Score of the 5th player in the team, if still tied then the 6th and so on until all players are exhausted. If all players are equal and team sizes are the same, the SUM of the Bonus Score for the Top 4 Players will apply.
• INDIVIDUAL scores are counted as 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw and 0.0 for a loss.
  • If players are tied the tie is broken by the SUM of Opponents' Scores. This means that the player who had harder opposition during the event finishes higher.
  • The Top 3 Individual players will be awarded.
  • At the discretion of the Arbiter additional awards may be presented for Top Girl / Top Boy or Most Improved Player.​