06. Rules for the European Team Championship

Rules for the European Team Championship Approved by the 1986 General Assembly. Amended by the 1991 Executive Council, 1992 and 1996 General Assemblies.
1.	Participation
	1.1	All Chess Federations in Zones 1.1 to 1.9 shall have the right to participate in the European Team Championships.
	1.2	Each federation shall have the right to be represented by a men's team of four players and one reserve and by a women's team of two players and one reserve.
	1.3	The players must be entitled by birth, citizenship or naturalization to represent their Federation. Detailed eligibility rules are in Reg. C.05.
		1.3.1	A player who has resided for at least three years in a country of which he or she is not a citizen after the date on which FIDE shall have received notification of change of Federation and who proves that he or she has applied for citizenship in that country or intends to do so as soon as the legal requirements are fulfilled may become a team member of a Federation after a thorough examination and clearance of the case by the FIDE President.
		1.3.2	A player with dual citizenship may only represent one Federation and is eligible by citizenship to participate in the European Team Championship on condition that he or she has not represented any other Federation in any FIDE team or individual competition at any time in the preceding year.
	1.4	Applications for the contest must be made by the national federations.
	1.5	At least 4 months before the beginning of the tournament, the organizing federation will send invitations to federations of Zones 1.1 to 1.9. The letter of invitation shall be approved by the Continental President for Europe.
	1.6	Copies of the invitation are to be sent to the FIDE President, Continental President for Europe and Presidents of Zones 1.1 to 1.9.
	1.7	At least two months before the beginning of the tournament each federation accepting the invitation will send its entry to the organizing federation with copies to the Continental President and Zone President concerned. The entry fee stipulated in the Financial Regulations shall be paid to FIDE.
2.	Organization
	2.1	The Championships shall be held on the Swiss system in 9 rounds, on the model of the Olympiads, with one section for the men's teams and one section for the women's teams, considered as separate competitions.
	2.2	The organizing federation shall hold in reserve a second men's team and a second women's team (B Teams), which shall take part in the respective competition if, and only if, it is required to make even the number of teams in the first round.
		2.2.1	Once the reserve team has played the first round it shall remain in the competition even if the number of participating teams is uneven.
		2.2.2	When the organizing federation is represented by two teams, only the results of one team shall be counted for ranking purposes.
		2.2.3	When the organizing federation is represented by two teams, if a player of the team not counted for ranking should qualify for an individual board prize, the organizing federation shall provide an additional and equivalent board prize for the player who would have won the prize if the reserve team had not taken part.
	2.3	Every match in the men's competition shall be played over four boards and each match in the women's competition shall be played over two boards.
3.	The Matches
	3.1	One month before the scheduled start of the Team Championships, each participating federation shall send to the organizing federation the overall team lists of 5 men (4 players and 1 reserve) for the men's competition and 3 women (2 players and 1 reserve) for the women's competition.
	3.2	Following the Olympiad schedule Chapter L of D.II.07a, the team captain shall present to the arbiter the specific lists, in board order, of the 4 men for the men's competition and of the 2 women in the women's competition who are to play in this round.
		3.2.1	If any specific team list is not presented on time, the team in question must play the round using the top four players in the case of the men's team, and the top two players in the case of the women's team.
		3.2.2	The order of the players, as indicated by the overall team list, cannot be altered; hence reserves may play on the bottom boards only.
		3.2.3	If the board order in which a team plays differs from the board order of its overall list, the team's score for that round shall be reduced by one game point for every deviation from the correct sequence. (Example: for playing 1-2-4-3, (considering only the men's team) two points are forfeited; the score shall not, however, be reduced below zero.) The use of any player who does not figure in the overall list will cause the round to be forfeited 4:0.
	3.3	The matches shall be played under FIDE rules. The first session of each round shall be six hours with two time controls: 40 moves in the first two hours and 20 moves per hour thereafter, before adjourning.
	3.4	The playing conditions shall conform to the recommendations for the organization of top-level tournaments, as approved by the FIDE Congress.
	3.5	The Chief Arbiter shall be appointed by the FIDE Continental President in consultation with the organizing federation.
	3.6	Protests, including protests against decisions of the Chief Arbiter or his assistants, must be submitted in writing to the Chairman of the committee on appeal within two hours after completion of the playing session.
4.	Appeals Committee
	4.1	Before the beginning of the tournament a committee of appeal shall be selected. This committee will consist of five members and two reserves, elected by the team captains. The committee will elect a chairman. The persons chosen for the Appeals Committee shall represent seven different federations.
	4.2	No member of the committee will have the right to decide on questions concerning his own federation. In such cases the member concerned will have the right only to partake in the discussions in the committee.
5.	Expenses
	5.1	The travelling expenses of the teams are to be paid by their federations.
	5.2	The organizing federation is responsible for the living expenses of the participating teams (assuming a maximum of 9 persons per team) during the days of arrival, play and departure; it shall also provide adequate pocket money (at least 5 Swiss Francs per person per day).
		5.2.1	The host federation shall make available three single and three double rooms to each team.
	5.3	The host federation is also responsible for the expenses of the Chief Arbiter (travelling costs - either first class rail travel with sleeping car, or air travel - living expenses, fee and pocket money).
	5.4	The FIDE President and the FIDE Continental President are to be invited to attend the championships at the administrator's expense for travel, hotel and meals.
	5.5	(GA '96) The organizing federation may require a maximum financial contribution of US$150 for each participant up to a maximum of nine persons per team. This amount may be increased in exceptional cases.
6.	Scoring
	6.1	The scores determining the finishing order are calculated as follows:
		6.1.1	Each team's place in the order of classification will be decided by the number of game points it has scored.
		6.1.2	If any teams finish with equal game points, the tie-breaking procedure, as set out in the Olympiad regulations, D.II.07a paragraph G.12, shall apply.
	6.2	The title of "European Men's (or Women's) Team Champion 19__ (current year)" is bestowed on the winning team.
		6.2.1	Each winning team shall receive a trophy from the organizing federation.
		6.2.2	In addition, the winning team in the men's competition will represent the Continent of Europe in the World Team Championship
	6.3	Each member of the winning team (players, reserves and captaimn) shall receive a gold medal. The members of the second and third placed teams shall each receive a silver and bronze medal respectively (GA 97).
	6.4	The players who obtained the best individual results on their respective boards shall receive gold medals and silver and bronze medals shall be awarded to the second and third place winners on the same principles as in Olympiad (GA 97).