TOURNAMENT RULES
FOR EUROPEAN RAPID CHAMPIONSHIP
I. PARTICIPATION
1.1. Participation is open to all players representing one of the ECU federations (FIDE Zones 1.1 to 1.9).
1.2. The number of players is unlimited.
1.3. The entry fees are based on the quality of the participants and are regulated by the General Information.
II. GENERAL REGULATIONS
2.1. The playing schedule should be distributed to the players before the start of the first round. Any change in the schedule should be announced by the Chief Arbiter.
2.2. No postponement of games is allowed.
2.3. The rate of play, except of tie-breaks, is G-15'+10'' (15 minutes for a game for a player, with an increment of 10 seconds per move).
2.4. The rate of play in tie-breaks is 5 minutes for white and 4 minutes for black for a game, with an increment of 1 second per move.
2.5. The tournament is played according to the FIDE Laws of Chess.
2.5.1. To G-15'+10'' games the rapidplay rules for inadequate supervision shall apply.
2.5.2. To tie-break games the blitz rules for adequate supervision shall apply.
2.5.3. The game is lost by the player who arrives at the chessboard after his flag hasfallen.
2.6. Players are kindly requested to keep silence at the tournament hall. Players who do not comply with this request may receive the following penalties:
2.6.1. official warning,
2.6.2. time penalty (reduction of time by 50% in the following game),
2.6.3. exclusion from the pairings of the following round.
III. ARBITERS
3.1. The tournament is supervised by the main arbiter with the help of arbiter assistants.
3.2. In the first instance decisions are taken by an arbiter assistant.
3.3. A player has the right to immediately appeal to the main arbiter against the decision of an arbiter assistant.
3.4. Decisions of the main arbiter are final.
IV. SYSTEM OF PLAY
4.1. All participants play 13 rounds according to the Swiss system. The standings are determined by:
4.1.1. number of scored points,
4.1.2. Buchholz without the best and the weakest opponent,
4.1.3. Buchholz (full),
4.1.4. number of wins,
4.1.5. progressive score.
V. TIE-BREAKS
5.1. Tie-breaks are limited to the following cases:
5.1.1. to establish the champion,
5.1.2. to establish the medal winners.
5.2. All players who have scored the same number of points as the player classified on the first place are eligible to participate in the tie-break to establish the champion.
5.3. All players who have scored the same number of points as the player classified on the third place are eligible to participate in the tie-break to establish the medal winners.
5.4. The tie-breaks decide the final ranking and the money prizes.
5.5. The tie-breaks are played according to a knock-out system.
5.6. The starting numbers in the tie-breaks are based on the standings of the Swiss tournament.
5.7. If the number of participants of the tie-break cannot be written as 2n, where n is a natural number, then the last rows of the tournament ladder remain empty (free lots).
5.8. In each tie-break round the first ranked player plays versus the last ranked, the second ranked versus the last but one ranked, and so on. This schedule is valid to the end for the winners and the losers.
5.9. If the lower ranked player wins a match, for the purpose of further pairings the tie-break starting numbers of both players are reversed.
5.10. Each match consists of 1 game. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the colour. If the game finishes as a draw, the player with the black pieces wins the match.
Chief Arbiter
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IA Tomasz Delega