A. Tiebreak System

The choice of the Tiebreak System to be used in a tournament shall be decided in advance taking into account the type of the tournament (Swiss, Round Robin, Teams, etc.) and the special structure of players expected to participate in the tournament.

For different types of tournaments the Tiebreak Rules recommended are as listed below:

(a) Individual Round Robin :
Direct encounter
Sonneborn-Berger
Number of victories
Number of wins with Black

(b) Individual Swiss Systems :
Buchholz Cut 1
Buckholz Cut 2
Sonneborn - Berger
Buchholz Median

(c) Team Swiss Systems:
Games Points scored by the Team
Sonneborn - Berger
Sum of the Match Points of the opponent Teams
Sum of the Game Points of the opponent Teams

1. Tiebreak Rules using the Player's own results
(a) Number of games won
(b) The greater number of games played with the black pieces.
(c) Direct Encounter
If all the tied players have met each other, then the sum of points from these encounters is used.

2. Tiebreak Rules using a team's own results
(a) Match points in Team Competitions decided by game points, for example:
2 points for a won match where a team has scored more points than the opposing team. 1 point for a drawn match, 0 points for a lost match.

(b) Game points in Team Competitions decided by match points.
The tie is broken by determining the total number of points scored.
(c) Combined match and game points
The combined total of match and game points may be used.

(d) Direct Encounter
If all the tied teams have met each other, then the sum of points from these encounters is used.

3. Tiebreak Rules using the Results of Opponents
Note, these scores are determined in each case after the application of the rule concerning unplayed games.

(a) Buchholz System
The Buchholz System is the sum of the score of each of the opponents of a player
(a1) The Median Buchholz is the Buchholz reduced by the highest and the lowest score of the opponents.
(a2) The Median Buchholz 2 is the Buchholz Score reduced by the two highest and the two lowest scores of the opponents.

(a3) The Buchholz Cut 1 is the Buchholz Score reduced by the lowest score of the opponents
(a4) The Buchholz Cut 2 is the Buchholz Score reduced by the two lowest scores of the opponents
(a5) The Sum of Buchholz is the sum of the Buchholz Scores of the opponents

(b) Sonneborn-Berger System
(b1) Sonneborn-Berger for Individual Tournaments is the sum of the scores of the opponents a player has defeated and half the scores of the players he has drawn with.

(b2) Sonneborn-Berger for Team Tournaments is the score made by each opposing team multiplied by the score made against that team. Then add all these sums together.

4. Tiebreak Rules using Ratings
Note, the rating used is after the application of the rule concerning unplayed games. 
(a) The Average Rating of Opponents is the sum of the ratings of the opponents of a player divided by the number of rounds.
(b) The average Rating Cut is the Average Rating of Opponents reduced by one or more of the ratings of the opponents, started from the lowest rated opponent.

(c)Tournament Performance Ratings
TPR is determined by taking the average rating of the opponents.
Where a player has elected not to play more than two games in a tournament, whether as a half point bye or due to ill-health, his TPR shall be considered lower than that of any player who has completed the schedule.

Role of the Arbiter

The arbiter may award either or both players additional time in the event of external disturbance of the game.
The arbiter shall see that Laws of Chess are strictly observed.
Unless authorised by the arbiter, it is forbidden for anybody to use a mobile phone or any kind of communication device in the playing venue and any contiguous area designated by the arbiter.

Recording of the moves

It is forbidden to write the moves in advance.
A player may reply to his opponent’s move before recording it, if he so wishes. He must record his previous move before making another.

Both players must record the offer of a draw on the scoresheet.
The scoresheet shall be visible to the arbiter throughout the game.
The scoresheets are the property of the organisers of the event.

If a player has less than five minutes left on his clock at some stage in a period and does not have additional time of 30 seconds or more added with each move, then for the remainder of the period he is not obliged to meet the requirements of recording moves. Immediately after one flag has fallen the player must update his scoresheet completely before moving a piece on the chessboard.

If no complete scoresheet is available, the players must reconstruct the game on a second chessboard under the control of the arbiter or an assistant. He shall first record the actual game position, clock times and the number of moves made, if this information is available, before reconstruction takes place.

At the conclusion of the game both players shall sign both scoresheets, indicating the result of the game. Even if incorrect, this result shall stand, unless the arbiter decides otherwise. The game is drawn when a position is reached from which a checkmate cannot occur by any possible series of legal moves. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing this position was legal.

Date Limit for Age & age Specification in Junior Tournaments

1. For the purpose of complying with the age-limit of a junior or youth competition, the age of the participant shall be based on the year in which he was born.

2. The year specifying the age limit is calculated by subtracting the age limit of the competition from the year in which the competition is held.

Example:
In a competition for Under 20 held in 2008 the participant must have been born on or after 1st January 1988.

Time Control

There is a single time control for all major FIDE events: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

Swiss system

Swiss Pairing System is designed to maximize the fair treatment of the players. This means that players having the same score should have met as equal opposition as possible during a tournament.
If the Sonnenborn-Berger and/or Buchholz and/or Median, of all players in the same score-group, is nearly equal, the goal is reached. As a Swiss System is a more or less statistical system, this goal can only be reached approximately.

The approach is the attempt to equalize the strengh of the opponents of all players in a given score group. Therefore the pairing of each round will tend to pair players who have high Sonnenborn-Berger (or Buchholz or Median) with players having low Sonnenborn Berger (or Bucchholz or Median) in the same score-group. The ratings of the players should be taken into consideration only when the Sonnenborn-Berger (or Buchholz or Median) is equal (e.g. in the first two rounds); otherwise, only current data of the tournament itself should be the basis for measuring the "strength" of the players and making the pairings thereafter.

Unfinished (or temporarily non played) games shall be considered as draws for pairing purposes.

Two players who have played each other shall not be paired again.

A player who has already received a point without playing shall not receive a bye.

The player from the lowest SG, who has the lowest SB, will get the bye. If there are players with the same lowest SB in the lowest SG, then the player with the lowest Buchholz will get the bye and so on.

The bye has no color.

In the first round the color assigned to player No.1 shall be decided by drawing a lot. All other odd numbered players in the top half of the initial list shall receive the same color.

The difference of the number of black and the number of white games shall not be greater than 2 or less than –2.

A player shall not have the same color three times in a row.

In each SG priority shall be given to pair the highest player (i.e. the player with the highest SB) with the lowest player in that SG that he has not already played. The second highest player shall be paired with the second lowest player etc.

The eight vertical columns of squares are called ‘files’. The eight horizontal rows of squares are called ‘ranks’.

The act of moving the pieces

Each move must be made with one hand only.
Provided that he first expresses his intention (for example by saying “I adjust”), the player having the move may adjust one or more pieces on their squares.
If none of the pieces touched can be moved or captured, the player may make any legal move.

The completion of the game

The game is drawn when the player to move has no legal move and his king is not in check. The game is said to end in ‘stalemate’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the stalemate position was legal.

The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a ‘dead position’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the position was legal.

 
The game is drawn upon agreement between the two players during the game. This immediately ends the game.

The game may be drawn if each player has made at least the last 50 consecutive moves without the movement of any pawn and without any capture.

Chess clock

At the time determined for the start of the game the clock of the player who has the white pieces is started.
A player must stop his clock with the same hand as that with which he made his move. It is forbidden for a player to keep his finger on the button or to ‘hover’ over it.

if a player does not complete the prescribed number of moves in the allotted time, the game is lost by the player. However, the game is drawn, if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves.

Irregularities

If during a game it is found that the initial position of the pieces was incorrect, the game shall be cancelled and a new game played.

 
If during a game it is found that the chessboard has been placed wrong, the game continues but the position reached must be transferred to a correctly placed chessboard.

If a game has begun with colours reversed then it shall continue, unless the arbiter rules otherwise.

If during a game it is found that an illegal move, for the first illegal move by a player the arbiter shall give two minutes extra time to his opponent; for 2nd illegal move by the same player, the arbiter shall declare the game lost by this player. However, the game is drawn if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves.

The conduct of the players

The player having the move is not allowed to leave the playing area without permission of the arbiter.

During play the players are forbidden to make use of any notes, sources of information or advice, or analyse on another chessboard.

Without the permission of the arbiter, a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be a draw.