Conduct of Players, Parents and Coaches

All involved with the tournament will conduct themselves with good sportsmanship.

Rules

Rules decisions with be guided by the 5th Edition of the Official Rules of Chess. However, the tournament director may use discretion in how the rules apply to this scholastic event. The event will be "touch move". You are not required to announce check.

Questions and Problems

Players with concerns during a round should raise their hand and call a judge. If they feel the judge has ruled incorrectly, they may ask for an appeal.

Recording Moves

While players are not required to record their moves, players are encouraged to do so to provide a record of the game and to allow certain claims under the rules of chess. Players may wish to cease recording moves when either player has less than five minutes on the clock.

Drawn Positions

When a clearly drawn position, such as K+R vs. K+R, is reached, either player may stop the clock and request that a judge rule a draw. If the judge rules a draw, the game is over. If the judge does not rule a draw, the game will continue. Frivolous requests are poor sportsmanship, and will be handled accordingly.

Late Arrival

A player who is more than ten minutes late for a round will lose by forfeit. The player will also be dropped from the tournament unless the pairings directors are informed that the player wishes to continue.

Early Departure

If for some reason you do not plan to play all five rounds, please advise the pairings directors before you leave the tournament.

Penalties for Rules Violations

Penalties for rules violations are at the discretion of the tournament director, and may vary from warnings and time penalties to forfeiture and expulsion from the tournament.

• All games will be GAME 30 or G/25 with 5 sec delay.
• K-3 may use a clock from the start if both players want to use a clock and supply a clock.
• 4-6 must use a clock from the start if one of the players wants to use a clock and they supply a clock.
• All players who do not use a clock from the start may receive a clock if they are still playing after 40 minutes. Usually less than 20% of the players are still playing at 40 minutes into a round. A clock at this point with 10 minutes each, will ensure that all games will finish in 60 minutes total elapsed time. This has been the traditional way to time Washington State Elementary Chess Tournaments.
• Any player who wants to use a clock from the beginning of the game must provide their own clock since there is a limited number of tournament clocks available. Time delay function clocks will be started with G/25 and 5 second delay.

• When the game is over, raise your hand and call a judge. Do not reset the pieces until the result of the game has been correctly recorded. IT IS YOUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THE RESULT RECORDED IS CORRECT. If both players leave without a result being recorded, a double forfeit may be entered.
• We will do our best to make sure scores are recorded correctly. Only the players will have the right to correct a score, and only during a short period of time, so please encourage them to verify their scores when recording them at the end of each game.
• Corrections to scores after the new pairings are generated will not change pairings, and at the discretion of the TD may not be allowed.

The chess coaches created a policy board in 2004 to enhance the consistancy of elementary chess tournament play in Washington. The policy addresses several topics for Elementary Chess Tournaments, including the requirements for a tournament to be a State Qualifying Tournament, how players qualify to play in the Elementary State Championships, and team membership requirements.