Canberra Chess Club

The club is taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period. The first tournament in 2026 will be the Summer Lightning on Thursday January 22nd.

RULES

The following rules apply to all Canberra Chess Club tournaments.

If you have any questions about rules or the conduct of tournaments please talk to the Director of Play (DOP) for your tournament.

Laws of Chess

Games will be played in accordance with the rules of chess as specified by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). These rules may be found here.

Spectators

Spectators are very welcome, though are asked to switch their mobile phones off and to make as little noise as possible when observing games.

All Tournaments

Joining a Tournament

Players may join a tournament (subject to payment of membership fee) during the first half of the tournament, eg in rounds 1, 2 or 3 of a 6 round tournament, or in rounds 1, 2, 3 or 4 of a 7 round tournament.

Players may join a tournament (subject to payment of membership fee) at any time.

Eating at the Board

Players may not eat at the board.

Electronic Equipment

Players may not use electronic media devices (including smart phones and media players) at the board.

Mobile Phones

If a player’s mobile phone makes any noise during the course of a game, the player will be given a warning. If the player’s mobile phone makes any further noise during the course of the same evening, the player will forfeit the game being played.

Winning on Time

A player must claim a win on time (by indicating to his or her opponent that they have run out of time). The Director of Play (DOP) will not intervene to indicate that a player’s clock has reached zero.

Long Time Control Tournaments

Long time control tournaments are those where the time control is 60 minutes + 30 seconds per move.

Time Control for Juniors

Juniors (those under 18 at the start of tournament) may opt to play a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds or 60 minutes + 10 seconds for the tournament. Once a time control has been chosen for a tournament, all games for the junior for that tournament will be played at that time control.

Missed Rounds

Players may miss rounds with the agreement of the DOP:

  • A player will be awarded a bye for any missed round, provided the DOP receives the bye request prior to one hour before the scheduled start time of the round. If the bye request is received within one hour of the scheduled start time of the round, the DOP may optionally award a bye or declare a forfeit.
  • A player may receive up to two 1/2 point byes during a tournament. Any further byes will be 0 point byes.
  • A bye in the second half of a tournament will be a 0 point bye. For example, in a six round tournament any byes in the last three rounds will be 0 point byes; in a nine round tournament any byes in the last four rounds will be 0 point byes.

Forced Byes

In the absence of a house player and if there is an an odd number of players in a round, the DOP will allocate a one point bye (a forced bye) to the lowest player on the cross table, provided that player:

  • is not a junior (ie not under 18 at the start of tournament), and
  • is not a new player (ie has played 10 or more long time control games at the club), and
  • has not already been allocated a forced bye in the calendar year.

Late Arrivals

The scheduled start time for games is 7.00 pm.

Players who are in the draw and have not arrived by the scheduled start time and have not advised the Director of Play they will be late will be removed from the draw.