RULES of the LONDON COMMERCIAL CHESS LEAGUE

GENERAL RULES

2. Membership of the League shall be open to Clubs attached to and representing a Commercial, Public Utility or Public Service organisation within the Metropolitan Area, and to individual persons, who shall be known as "Honorary Members". Honorary Membership is available to individuals from any such organisation which has not a Club affiliated to the League and such Honorary Members will be regarded as being members of the H.M.C. (Honorary Members Club), which may enter a team or teams in any of the League events. As members of the H.M.C. they will be equal in all respects, under these rules, with members of other Clubs. Applications must be made to the League Council, which shall have full discretion and power to grant or refuse membership.

3. The qualification for a player to represent a Club in any competition shall be the receipt of a regular salary for employment, or pension entitlement, or their equivalent, from the affiliated organisation. A player having qualified shall remain eligible for the rest of the season. No player who has played for one of this League's Clubs may qualify for any other Club in the League during that season's competitions.

4. The annual subscriptions shall be as follows: Vice-Presidents £5, Hon.Vice-Presidents £3; for all teams in the League at the rate of £4 per board. Hon. Life Vice-Presidents, who may be nominated only by the Executive Committee, shall not be required to pay any subscription. Subscriptions shall be payable to the Hon. Treasurer on or before 1st August each year. Payment of the annual subscription shall be deemed a declaration of agreement to these Rules, and shall constitute an entitlement to receive a copy of the League YearBook for the current year for each subscription.

5. The business of the League shall be conducted by a council composed of an Executive Committee and one delegate nominated by each affiliated Club. A delegate not being able to attend a Council Meeting may nominate a deputy provided he notifies the Hon. General Secretary in writing at or before the meeting. The Executive Committee shall comprise the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Hon. General Secretary, the Hon. Match Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer, the League Captain, the Trophies Secretary, the Yearbook Editor and four other members, all of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

6. An Ordinary Council Meeting shall be held each year before the start of the season.

7. On written requisition by three or more Clubs, or at the request of the Executive Committee, the Hon. General Secretary shall convene a Special Council Meeting within fourteen days, giving seven clear days' notice to the members of the Council and stating the business to be transacted; no business other than that stated shall be considered.

8. The affairs of the League shall be managed by the Executive Committee under the direction of the Council. In the interpretation of the Rules, or in any matter arising which is not covered by the Rules, the Executive Committee shall have power to make decisions as it may deem necessary.

9. The quorum for the Council shall be not less than two thirds of the number of clubs in the league, and for the Executive Committee four.

10. The financial year shall be from 1st August to 31st July.

11. An Annual General Meeting shall be held no later than 20th July. Elected Officers and persons qualified under Rule 3 shall be entitled to attend, to speak and to vote at this meeting.

12. The power to make or amend Rules is vested only in the Council, and notice of any additions or alterations to be proposed at the Ordinary Council Meeting must be in the hands of the Hon. General Secretary by 30th April.

13. Trophies which are the property of the League shall be presented to the winning teams and individuals on or before the 30th September each year and shall remain in the possession of the winners until the following 31st May when they shall be returned to the Trophies Secretary, except as provided in Rule 14. The League shall arrange for and bear the cost of the necessary engraving.

14. Any Club holding a League trophy shall immediately surrender it in the event of resigning from the League. Any holder of an individual trophy shall forfeit all claim to its retention on ceasing to be a member of his Club or on his Club's resignation from the League, and shall immediately return the trophy to the Hon. General Secretary. The Executive Committee shall have authority to waive this Rule.

RULES FOR THE DIVISIONAL LEAGUE

16. On admission to the League a team shall be entered in whichever Division the Council decides.

17. Each team shall play one match against all other teams in the same Division between 24th September and 10th May, but these dates may be altered by the Executive Committee to extend slightly the period for any season's programme. Where there are eight teams or less in any Division, home and away matches shall be played.

18. The Hon. Match Secretary will arrange a fixture list for the divisional league and the knockout competitions, which he will circulate to all clubs. Changes to this list may be made by mutual agreement between the Clubs and with the consent of the Hon. Match Secretary. The venue may be altered by mutual agreement and shall be fixed when the date of the match is agreed, but the nominal home team shall be responsible for the usual match expenses. Club Secretaries shall forward to the Hon. Match Secretary a complete list of any changes to their fixtures by 31st August. Thereafter dates of matches shall not be altered except in very exceptional circumstances, and then only with the consent of the Hon. Match Secretary in consultation with the other League Officials. Non-availability of players will not be considered a valid reason.

19. Before 1st October each year Clubs entering more than one team shall register with the Hon. Match Secretary their strongest available players for each team other than their lowest team and these players shall be barred from playing in any team below that for which nominated. Clubs are allowed, on application to the Hon. Match Secretary to make one alteration in each registered team covering two members. After a member of a lower team has appeared five times for a higher team or teams he may not be included in the lower team again in the same season. The playing of an ineligible player in any team will result in a penalty of half a match point.

20. One point shall be scored for each match won and half a point for each match drawn. At the end of the season the top two teams of a Division other than the highest shall be promoted at the discretion of the Council and the lowest two teams of a Division other than the lowest shall be relegated at the discretion of the Council.

21. When a team defaults on any board other than the bottom board, it shall count towards a penalty whereby a team shall be penalised half a match point for each four such defaults. This rule will also apply to matches conceded in advance.

22. In the event of Clubs tying on match points their relative positions shall be determined by game points. If game points are also equal their relative positions shall be determined by the (aggregate) score of their league match(es) against each other. If these are also equal board elimination from the bottom board upwards shall apply to these league match(es). If two such matches are involved board elimination from both matches shall be applied simultaneously. If the teams are still level and the relative positions will determine a promotion, relegation or divisional championship then a ‘play off’ will be arranged. If the play off match is drawn the winner shall be determined by board elimination from the bottom board upwards. If all boards in a playoff are drawn the winner shall be the team that had black on board 1.

23. In the event of the withdrawal of a team from any Division, all its match results shall be annulled.

PLAYING RULES

25. Play in each match shall begin not later than 6:30 p.m. and time shall be called not less than two and three quarter hours from the time fixed for starting the match except where team captains have mutually agreed to less than two and three quarter hours play. In no case shall time be called less than two and a half hours after the time fixed for starting the match. Where necessary each player shall be allowed 30 minutes grace from the time fixed for the match, after which his game shall be conceded by default. At any time during the period of grace a reserve may be substituted for a missing player.

26. Clocks shall be used on all occasions on No.1 board downwards, except in such cases where Captains declare them unobtainable. Clubs which cannot obtain clocks for all boards shall advise their opponents not later than two days before the match to allow time for visiting teams to make arrangements to supply their own clocks if they wish to do so.

The rate of play shall be not less than 35 moves in the first hour and a quarter, and seven additional moves for every quarter of an hour afterwards. No game shall be sent for adjudication until the number of moves required for the first time control have been made. These times apply to each player's clock, and any player exceeding the time limit shall, ipso facto, lose the game. A player must record the moves to claim on the time limit, and he must make his claim while his opponent is in time default. All clocks shall be started at the time fixed for the commencement of the match.

27. Team lists shall be exchanged before board colours are determined. Board colours shall be determined by the toss of a coin, the team winning the toss having white on odd numbered boards and black on even numbered boards.

28. Games must be adjudicated where Captains cannot agree the results within seven days of the match.

29. The results of matches in detail must be sent, on forms provided by the League, to the Divisional Recorder or, in absence of a Divisional Recorder, to the Hon. Match Secretary by both Clubs within seven days of the match, with games for adjudication indicated. Positions for adjudication must be clearly set out, stating whose turn it is to move and what result is claimed, and sent in the same way within ten days of the match. If both Clubs have failed to do this within the prescribes time, any outstanding games will be declared drawn. If only one Club complies, the Club shall have its claims upheld. A fee of £7.50 shall be paid to the League for each unsuccessful claim.

30. The Hon. Match Secretary shall forward all properly submitted adjudication positions to one of the official Adjudicators appointed by the Council, and on receipt of his decision shall advise both Clubs concerned accordingly.

31. A Club may appeal against the decision of the Adjudicator, but notice of such action must be received by the Hon. Match Secretary within seven days of receipt by the Club of the Adjudicator's decision, followed within a further seven days by an analysis intended to refute the decision. The Hon. Match Secretary shall forthwith give notice of the appeal to the opposing Club, who may also submit an analysis within the prescribed time. A further fee of £7.50 shall be paid to the League for each unsuccessful appeal. No appeal may be made against the second decision of the Adjudicator.

32. In the event of a match being started but not finished, through exceptional circumstances, and in consequence the Captains cannot agree a result, the Hon. match Secretary shall make such arrangements as he deems fit to resolve unfinished games.

RULES FOR KNOCK-OUT COMPETITIONS