MCA
TOURNAMENT RULES
INDEX
(1) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
(2) ADMINISTRATION
(3) FREE ENTRIES
(4) AWARDS
(5) TIEBREAKS
(6) TEAM EVENTS
(7) ORGANIZING
(8) DIRECTING
(1) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
Membership Required:
MCA membership (or
equivalent) is required of all players in all sections of MCA tournaments,
including sections which are not rated. Current membership in another state’s
chess association and current membership in another country’s national chess
federation are acceptable substitutes for MCA membership for players who do not
reside in Michigan. (92-02) Membership Expiration: For tournaments
that require MCA membership, said membership must be valid
throughout the tournament's duration. Most non-consecutive memberships
(new, or renewing after a lapse in membership) will expire on the last day of
the previous month in the appropriate year (the next year for one-year
memberships, the second year for two-year memberships, etc.). The only
exceptions are those memberships purchased at the Michigan Open; they will
expire on August 31st of the appropriate year. Example: a membership purchased
in February will expire on January 31st.
(85-01)
Byes: Half-point byes are allowed in
any round except the last round, if asked for in advance.
One half-point bye is allowed in tournaments of up to five rounds,
and two half-point byes in tournaments of more than five rounds.
(01-09) Ratings: MCA tournaments will use
ratings published in the latest available rating supplement, regardless of its
cover date, and MCA will publicize this in tournament advertisements, and will
urge other organizers/directors in Michigan to do the same. Note: The USCF's distribution of the rating
supplements is staggered across the country and is postdated intentionally in
an attempt to standardize usage. (85-03) Pairings: Standard pairing rules will
be followed at all MCA tournaments, using ratings wherever possible. (87-02) Smoking: Smoking will not be allowed
in the tournament room(s) of any MCA sponsored tournament. (This was a
re-affirmation of a long-standing policy of the MCA). (87-01) Computers: Computers are not eligible to play in MCA
tournaments, except in computer-eligible sections of the Michigan Postal
Championship. (92-03) Playing Up: Players participating in the
Masters/Experts/Class Tournament must play in their own class, as determined by rating.
"Playing up" is not allowed, except that a player will be allowed to play up a class
if his rating over the past year would place him in that class, and if
his current rating is within 100 points of qualifying for that class.
(90-07 Adopted 09/28/90, amended 01/30/98)
Checks: MCA will accept personal
checks only from Michigan residents or current MCA members. (93-03) Wagering: MCA does not condone wagering
on skittles games at MCA-sponsored tournaments. USCF policies will be followed
regarding wagering on tournament games. If wagering on skittles games at
MCA-sponsored events causes any disturbance, MCA reserves the right to take
whatever action the offense merits.
(93-01) Titled players: Grandmasters and
International Masters receive free entry at MCA championship tournaments. (93-05) Board members: By vote of those present
at the general membership meeting, all MCA board members have been granted free
entry to all MCA sponsored tournaments.
(86-05) Magazine Staff: Free entry to MCA tournaments is granted for up to three members of
the Editorial staff. (98-02) Guaranteed Prizes: Scholastic half-price
entries shall count as half an entry when computing "based on" prize
targets. (97-01) Title Eligibility: Any player in an MCA
tournament is eligible to win cash prizes and their associated trophy in that tournament.
To be eligible for the title and associated trophy awarded to the State Champion
of each MCA tournament, the player must be an MCA member at the start of the
tournament and a resident of the state of Michigan. Full-time students at a Michigan
school are considered Michigan residents for this purpose.
(01-08). State Titles:
State titles will be awarded to the highest-finishing Michigan overall winner
and section winners in all chess tournaments the MCA designates as a
"Championship Tournament." The winner of the Michigan Open is considered
Michigan's official "State Champion" for state records and national lists.
The present list of such titles and tournaments is as follows:
TITLE and CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT Trophy Awards In State Title
Events: In a chess
tournament or section where the highest finish by an eligible player receives a
State Champion title, trophies will be awarded in the following manner: (1) Any player who finishes in a tournament position
for which a trophy is awarded is entitled to get a trophy for that particular
place, regardless of whether the player is eligible for the state title. (2) A player who wins the state title will be
awarded a trophy for that honor, whether or not the player finishes in a
tournament position assigned a trophy. (3) The recommended way of facilitating these rules
is to omit the words "1st place" from the engraving on the top
trophy, and use only the word "Champion." (Example: the trophy for
the "Michigan Amateur Champion" should use these words, rather than
something like "1st place Michigan Amateur.") That way the title
trophy's name plate will not need to be re-engraved. This trophy may then be
awarded to whoever wins the title, regardless of tournament place. If a player
ineligible for the title wins the tournament, that player will be awarded the
place trophy that would have been won by the person winning the state title,
and a new name plate with the appropriate engraving for 1st place will be sent.
If a place trophy is unavailable for reassignment (because the state title
winner did not finish in a place eligible for a trophy), the MCA will purchase
a new trophy for 1st place, appropriate in size and engraving, and award it to
that player. (00-09) Incorrect Prize
Awards: It is the policy of the MCA to correct any error in the awarding
of prizes, titles, or trophies at an MCA tournament. There will be a statute of
limitations of 180 days from the day a tournament ends to challenge the
correctness of an award. An award may be challenged by an injured party, any
MCA Board member or officer, or member of the tournament staff for that
event. (01-02) USCF Notification: The Secretary of the
Michigan Chess Association will notify the United States Chess Federation of
all State Champions for inclusion in the annual Chess Yearbook published in the
April issue of Chess Life. Information should include: The full name of the
event, plus the date and city; The full name and home town of each winner; and
for scholastic teams include the full school name and city where located. A press release should also be prepared for
distribution to major newspapers and television stations in the state. (85-05) Perfect Scores: Any players completing
an MCA tournament with perfect scores shall be declared co-champions. (80-01)
Ties: Ties between Michigan players
or teams in MCA Team Tournaments, or the Michigan Junior Championship, shall
not be broken for purposes of title. Ties shall be broken for purposes of
awarding non-divisible prizes. Additional trophies shall be awarded for perfect
scores. (90-03 and 00-06)
Re-entries: The tiebreak points
for all opponents of a player who re-enters a tournament shall be the same. The
total used will be the score of the re-entered player on the latest
attempt. (00-08)
MCA Tiebreak Rules: The Michigan Chess Association will use this
ordered list of tiebreak systems in all MCA tournaments. (If a player who scored in actual
play ties with one whose entire point total is due to unplayed games, tiebreak points
should not be used; the player who scored in actual play wins automatically.)
In team tournaments, total game points scored by
all team members is the first tiebreak method used. This list conforms
to all USCF rulebook requirements.
(01-01) (1) MODIFIED MEDIAN.
First, compute the adjusted score of each opponent played by counting each unplayed game
(bye, forfeit, round not played after a withdrawal) as 1/2 a point.
If the player involved in the tie has any unplayed games (byes, forfeits, unplayed rounds),
those games count as opponents with an adjusted score of zero.
Next, discard ineligible adjusted scores as specified. Players with plus scores
have the lowest opponent's adjusted score dropped. Players with even scores have
the highest and lowest opponent's adjusted scores dropped. Players with minus scores
have the lowest opponent's adjusted score dropped. Then add the remaining adjusted
scores to determine the player's tiebreak points. (2)
SOLKOFF. Add the adjusted scores of all opponents (same as
Modified Median except no scores discarded). (3) CUMULATIVE. Add the scores after each
round; subtract one point for each one-point
bye or forfeit win. Example: A player has a bye in round 1, wins in 2,
loses in 3, draws in 4, wins in 5. The
cumulative tie break score is 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 1/2 + 3 1/2 -1 = 10. (4) RESULT BETWEEN TIED PLAYERS. If the tied players played
each other, the one who wins the game wins this tiebreak. If more than two
tie, all results among tied players should be considered, with rank according
to plus or minus, not percentage (3-1 is "plus two" and beats 1-0 which is "plus one").
(5) MOST BLACKS. The player who plays as
Black the most times wins this tiebreak. (6) SONNENBORN-BERGER. Add the adjusted scores of each opponent defeated,
plus half the adjusted scores of each opponent drawn. (7) KASHDAN. Add four points for each
game won, plus two points for each game drawn, plus one point for each game
lost. (This way, a win and a loss are
worth more than two draws.) Each
unplayed game counts as two points. (8) COIN FLIP. The coin flip is used only for non-divisible prizes;
it shall not be used to break a tie for any MCA title. Number Of Players: The MCA Team event is
defined as having three players per team.
(98-03) Shortage Of
Players: At all MCA team events, team entries will be
accepted with no fewer players than one less than full team complement.
Example: three players may play as a team in a four-player team event; two may
not. (85-02) Lineup Order:
A team receiving a forfeit on the bottom board that is
known to be occurring may alter its lineup by designating any player of choice
to receive the forfeit, regardless of rating. The purpose of this rule is to
allow a particular player normally on bottom board the opportunity to participate
in an actual game. The players actually playing games must be kept in the proper order.
(01-05) Board Order: Regarding board order
in team tournaments: Rated players should generally be placed in rating order;
unrated players may be placed anywhere. This should be done with fairness in
mind: The strongest player on each team should play on first board, no matter
whether he has a relatively high or low rating or is unrated. The tournament
director may, at his discretion, change submitted player placements, after
considering evidence from various sources (non-USCF ratings, other coaches,
etc.). (84-03) Team Tiebreaks: In team tournaments,
total game points scored by all team members is the first tiebreak method used
(before median). (part of 88-03) Listings: Free listing(s) in the
Michigan Chess Tournament Calendar will be granted to all tournaments which
require MCA membership of Michigan residents, with exceptions as noted
below. Free listing(s) are available up
to one year in advance as space permits. Other listing(s) may be purchased as
advertising space. This policy in no
way restricts activities of the USCF clearinghouse(s) for Michigan. Exceptions:
(1) Tournaments in the following categories may be listed, even if they do not
require MCA membership: (a) Region V regional championship tournaments (b) USCF national championship tournaments
(c) Rated scholastic tournaments (d) Non-rated tournaments held in conjunction with
rated tournaments which do require MCA membership.
(2) Reciprocal free listing arrangements with other associations are permitted.
(3) Tournaments held on the same date(s) as
MCA open state championship tournaments, or on the same date(s) as previously
scheduled tournaments not sponsored by MCA within a 75-mile radius of each
other, will generally not be listed.
One-day tournaments reduce the 75-mile radius to 25 miles.
(4) MCA retains the right to not list any
tournament, free or paid, for just cause.
If a paid advertisement is not published payment will be returned (or
another arrangement as agreed to by both parties). Just cause may include, but
is not limited to, organizers who change the duration or existence of a listed
tournament without published notice.
(90-02) Forms: Permission is granted to copy
all MCA tournament forms for educational use and MCA tournaments. (85-06) Sanctioning Tournaments: The President
or Vice President is empowered to bind MCA as the official
organizer for non-MCA tournaments, and use MCA's USCF affiliation to sponsor
the event, providing that the tournament is personally supervised by an officer
of MCA or a member appointed by the President. No individual or group shall be
assisted in this manner more than once, unless the MCA Board approves such
additional assistance. (84-01) Vending: The President, or organizer
or director, if designated by the President, is empowered to negotiate vending
terms with vendors for each tournament in advance of that tournament. (85-04)
TD Pay:
The fee paid to the Tournament Director(s) for all MCA events will be $75 per day.
The Michigan Open is considered a four-day event for determining TD fees.
For the Michigan Open, two TDs will be hired all four days.
(01-10) Membership Fees: Tournament Directors are required to turn in MCA memberships within
15 days of the tournament. Repeated violations will result in suspension of
advertising privileges in Michigan Chess. (91-15)
Supply Purchases:
MCA officers and directors are empowered to purchase supplies without
specific Board authorization for each purchase.
(82-02) Magazine
Report: The MCA
will require the chief TD of all MCA tournaments to be responsible for
providing a cross-table complete with tiebreaks and a list of prize winners to
the Editor of Michigan Chess. (88-02)
(2) ADMINISTRATION
(3) FREE ENTRIES
(4) AWARDS
Open Champion: Michigan Open Championship
Reserve Champion: Michigan Open Championship
Booster Champion: Michigan Open Championship
Master/Expert Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Expert Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Class A Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Class B Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Class C Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Class D Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Class E Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Novice Champion: Master/Expert Class Championships
Bottom-half Class Champion: Bottom-half Class Championships
Under 1900 Champion: Bottom-half Class Championships
Under 1700 Champion: Bottom-half Class Championships
Under 1500 Champion: Bottom-half Class Championships
Under 1300 Champion: Bottom-half Class Championships
Junior K-12 Champion: Junior Championship
Young Junior K-8 Champion: Young Junior Championship
Young Junior Reserve K-8 Champion: Young Junior Championship
Children's K-5 Champion: Children's Championship
Children's Reserve K-5 Champion: Children's Championship
Young Children's K-3 Champion: Young Children's Championship
Young Children's K-3 Reserve Champion: Young Children's Championship
Senior Champion: Senior Championship
Senior Reserve Champion: Senior Championship
Women's Champion: Women's Championship
Amateur Champion: Amateur Championship
Action Chess Champion: Action Championship
Quick Chess Champion: Quick Championship
Speed Chess Champion: Speed Championship
High School 9-12 Team Champions: High School 9-12 Team Championship
High School K-12 Reserve Champions: High School K-12 Team Championship
Junior High K-9 Team Champion: Junior High K-9 Team Championship
Elementary K-6 Team Champion: Elementary K-6 Team Championship
Elementary K-6 Team Champion: Elementary K-5 Team Championship
Primary K-3 Team Championship: Primary K-3 Team Championship
(01-07).(5) TIEBREAKS
(6) TEAM EVENTS
(7) ORGANIZING
(8) DIRECTING
