D.IV.01. European Club Cup and European Club Cup for Women

Rules for the European Club Cup and the European Club Cup for Women Approved by the 1991 and 1992 General Assemblies. Amended by 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1998 General Assemblies and 1999 General Assembly of European Chess Union.
1.	Participation.
	1.1	Participation in the European Club Cup is open to:
		1.11	Two teams per federation of the European members of FIDE belonging to Zones 1.1 to 1.9 in which a national team championship is organised.
		1.12	One team per federation of the European members of FIDE belonging to Zones 1.1 to 1.9 in which no national team championship is organised.
		1.13	The previous European Club Cup winner
		1.14	The organising federation shall be entitled to enter an additional team. If there is an odd number of participating teams the organising federation has the right to enter a second additional team. If this second additional team is paired and plays round 1 it shall remain in the tournament to the conclusion even when a team or teams dropping out or a new team or teams arriving subsequently would result in an odd number of teams still in competition.
		1.15	Each club is allowed only one team in each competition.
		1.16	The clubs which play in a federation in which a national team championship is organised, must have ended in the top-half of the ranking of the highest division of this championship organised within one year before the start of the current European Club Cup.
		1.17	The clubs, which play in a federation in which no national team championship is organised, may only enter a team in which at least 6 players have a FIDE-rating. All players have to be listed in the most current FIDE-rating list of this federation.
		1.18	For the European Club Cup for Women, clubs playing in a federation in which no national team championship is organised, may only enter a team in which at least 4 players have a FIDE-rating. All players have to be listed in the most current FIDE-rating list of this federation.
		1.19	The clubs which play in a federation in which no national team championship is organised, and which have not the required number of FIDE-rated players as defined in 1.17 or 1.18, may ask the Tournament Director of the European Chess Union for dispensation. The request shall be accompanied by all relevant information and must be supported by the federation of the club(s) involved.
		1.20	The federations in which a national team championship with at least ten teams in the highest division is organised, are entitled to enter a third club provided that at least 20 grandmasters and/or players with a FIDE-rating over 2600 have participated in this championship one year prior to the current European Club Cup.
		1.21	For the European Club Cup for Women, the numbers specified in 1.20 are 5 women grandmasters, respectively a FIDE-rating over 2400.
	1.2	The teams shall be composed of six players all of whom must be members of the club and were entitled to play for the club in the national team championship of the federation which was organised within one year before the start of the current European Club Cup. However, players who are foreigners to the federation in which the national team championship is organised, must have played at least two games in this championship. Foreigners are defined as those which are either belonging to another federation or have a permanent residence outside the federation in which this national team championship is organised.
		1.21	Each team is entitled to have two reserve players who must fulfil the conditions stipulated in 1.2.
		1.22	The players and the reserve players can represent only one club at the same time. If a player has been playing national team competitions in more than one federation he has to decide before the time of subscription by writing for which team he will play.
		1.23	For the European Club Cup for Women, the teams shall be composed of four players. Each team is entitled to have one reserve player. All players have to fulfil the conditions stipulated in 1.2.
	1.3	The basic players' list of a participating club (cf. 2.5) must be sent at the latest one month prior to the start of the competition to the Tournament Director of the European Chess Union. After verification the team lists will be published on the web site of the European Chess Union. The Tournament Director will immediately send a copy of the team lists by fax or email to the organisers. All clubs have to finish their final players' lists before the captain's meeting at the start of the tournament.
2.	Organisation.
	2.1	The tournament shall take place between September 15th and October 7th of each year.
	2.2	Bids
		2.21	Bids for organising the competition have to be sent by the federation to the Secretary General of the European Chess Union before February 1st of the year in which the competition is taking place.
		2.22	Each bid has to specify whether the organising federation will organise either both competitions or either only the European Club Cup, respectively the European Club Cup for Women.
		2.23	At the same time, the federation concerned must pay a deposit fee of 2500 EURO to the account of the European Chess Union.
		2.24	Each bid has to specify all information required in connection with visas.
	2.3	The dates and venue of the tournament have to be fixed and sent out to all federations not later than March 1st of the year in which the competition is taking place.
	2.4	Notice of participation
		2.41	Not later than April 30 of the year in which the competition is taking place, every federation that intends to participate with one or more teams in either both competitions or either only the European Club Cup, respectively the European Club Cup for Women, must inform the organising federation of its acceptance of the invitation specifying the number of teams in each competition. Copies of the letter of acceptance should at the same time be sent to the Secretary General and to the Tournament Director of the European Chess Union. The letter of acceptance shall include the full name, address, telephone and fax number, and the email address of the participating club(s).
		2.42	At the same time, every federation must pay European Chess Union the requisite entry fee(s).
	2.5	The basic players' list of a participating club must notify the following details to the Tournament Director of the European Chess Union: name of each team member (surname, one first in full, initial of additional first names); FIDE rating and title of each team member (according to the most recent FIDE rating list); FIDE ID number of each team member; nationality of each team member; date of birth of each team member.
		2.51	The basic players' list shall include the board order of each club.
		2.52	The basic players' list shall be accompanied by the declaration of the national federation that the players fulfil the requirements under 1.2.
		2.53	The basic players' list shall be accompanied by the declaration of those player(s) who has (have) been playing national team competitions in more than one federation.
3.	Tournament Regulations.
	3.1	Laws of chess. The general FIDE laws shall be applied with their supplements and interpretations as laid down by the FIDE Rules Commission.
	3.2	Number of rounds. The competition will be played in a 7 rounds tournament. No free day is foreseen.
	3.3	System of play.
		3.31	The competition shall take the form of a Swiss system tournament with fixed rules for pairings. All teams shall play in a single group, except that the European Club Cup, respectively the European Club Cup for Women shall be separate. The pairing procedure and the rules to be applied are set out in detail in the FIDE-handbook under D.II.07, Annex D. However, pairings will be based on the match points instead of the board points.
		3.32	If there are ten teams or less in a competition, the competition will be played as a Round Robin tournament. In such case the drawing of lots will take place at the Captain's Meeting.
		3.33	The teams ranked first in the pairing list will have the white pieces on the odd-numbered boards, the black pieces on the even-numbered boards.
	3.4	Schedule. The matches shall be conducted according to a playing schedule which must be distributed to the participants before the start of the tournament. Only in exceptional cases may the Chief Arbiter, in consultation with the Tournament Director, make alterations to the times of play. If this is done, all those concerned are to be informed directly. However, the cases foreseen in Article 8.1 of the Laws of Chess will not be accepted as an exceptional case as defined above. The following time schedule must be adapted: Day 1: Saturday Arrival of participants Captain's meeting Day 2: Sunday Opening Ceremony Round 1 Day 3-7 Monday-Friday Rounds 2-6 Day 8 Saturday Round 7 Closing Ceremony Day 9 Sunday Departure of participants
	3.5	Time control. In each game each session shall be seven hours with two time controls: 40 moves in the first two hours, then 20 moves in one hour, with accumulation of time. After the second time control, all the remaining moves shall be completed within a half hour by each player. However, if the organisers can provide electronic clocks the following time control may be adapted: 40 moves in 100 minutes, then 20 moves in 50 minutes and finally 10 minutes for the remaining moves. From the first move 30 seconds will be added for each move. The rate of play has to notified by the organisers in the letter of invitation.
	3.6	Final players list. All clubs have to finish their players' lists before the captain's meeting at the start of the tournament. The order of play in the final players list must not be altered. Putting in players on boards that differ from their position in the basic list results in the loss of the game(s) in question. Putting in players who are not on the final players list results in the loss of the match by 6-0.
	3.7	Pairing number.
		3.71	Each participating team is given a pairing number. Number 1 goes to the team with the highest average rating, number 2 to the team with the highest but one average rating, and so on. For this purpose the average of the six highest rated players is counted.
		3.72	For the European Club Cup for Women the average of the four highest rated players is counted.
	3.8	Scoring. The score in each game is 1,   and 0 for a win, a draw, respectively a lost game. The sum of these scores in a match is referred to as the board points. The team which scores more board points in a match than its opponents receives two match points, the opponents receives no match points. In the case a match ends in such a way that the sum of the board points is equal to that of its opponents, each team receives one match point. The team obtaining the highest number of match points will be declared the winner of the competition. In case of equality, 3.8 shall be applied.
	3.9	Tie breaking. The position of teams that finish with the same number of match points shall be determined by application of the following tie-breaking procedures in sequence, proceeding from (a) to (b) to (c) to (d) the extent required: by the number of board points won; by the sum of the board points of all team's opponents; by the sum of the board points of all opponents defeated plus one half of the board points of all the opponents with which a tied result was achieved. by the sum of the board points of all the team's opponents, excluding the two opponents who scored the highest number of board points and the two opponents who scored the lowest number of board points.
4.
	4.1	Prize fund.
		4.11	The organiser has to provide a prize fund of minimum 10.000 EURO which will be given to the clubs on place 1 to 4 of the final ranking (50% to place 1, 25% to place 2, 15% to place 3 and 10% to place 4). In the case that teams end with the same number of match points, money prizes shall be shared.
		4.12	For the European Club Cup for Women the organiser has to provide a prize fund of minimum 4.000 EURO. The same distribution as in 4.11 shall be applied.
	4.2	Titles.
		4.21	The winner receives the title "European Club Champion 20.."
		4.22	For the European Club Cup for Women the winner receives the title "Women's European Club Champion 20.."
	4.3	Trophies.
		4.31	The winning club shall receive a Challenge Cup provided by the European Chess Union. This Challenge Cup is won in perpetuity if a club has won it three times.
		4.32	For the European Club Cup for Women another Challenge Cup shall be provided by the European Chess Union. This Challenge Cup is won in perpetuity if a club has won it three times.
5.	Team captains.
	5.1	Team composition
		5.11	Before the start of a round, the captain of a team must deliver to the Chief Arbiter a list of the team members who are to take part in the round in question. If this list is not delivered by the appointed time, the team may only use its top 6 players.
		5.12	If the captain fails to deliver the list by the appointed time in the European Club Cup for Women, the team may only use its top 4 players.
	5.2	In the exercise of his function the team captain has the right of access to the area reserved for the players, but it is duty to ensure that the members of his team who are not involved in the current match or have finished their games do not enter or remain in this area.
	5.4	During the games the captain must refrain from interfering in any way. He is, however, entitled to advise his players on the offering or accepting of draws or resigning of games, provided that he makes no comment on the actual position on the chess board, and confines himself to giving brief information which can in no way be construed as an opinion about the progress of the game.
	5.5	At the end of the playing session, the captain is responsible both for reporting the result to the arbiters and for delivering to them legibly written score sheets of the finished games.
6.	Appeals Committee.
	6.1	Before the start of the tournament an appeals commission shall be nominated. It will consist of five players and/or team captains who have to belong to five different clubs and to five different federations.
	6.2	The appeals committee will elect a chairman among their members.
	6.3	The members of the appeals committee who are involved in a dispute are not allowed to take part in the discussions. Decisions of the appeals committee are final.
	6.4	Procedure of appeals. Any protest against a decision by the Chief Arbiter or the Tournament Director must be presented (preferably by typing) to the appeals committee within a period of one hour after the end of the playing session. The protest must be accompanied with the sum of 100 EURO or the equivalent in local currency, as a deposit from the signatory. If the appeal is granted, the sum shall be returned immediately. The deposit must be handed to the chairman of the appeals committee. If the appeal is refused, the deposit is forfeited to the European Chess Union. Requests to the appeals committee by organisers of the European Club Cup may be made without payment.
7.	Expenses.
	7.1	Entry fee.
		7.11	The entry fee is 300 EURO per club.
		7.12	For the European Club Cup for Women, the entry fee is 200 EURO per club.
		7.13	The entry fee has to be paid to the account of the European Chess Union at least one month prior to the start of the competition.
		7.14	A club which has not paid the entry fee before the start of the captain's meeting will not be allowed to the competition. In last instance the payment has to be done cash before this meeting.
	7.2	The visiting clubs pay their travelling expenses.
	7.3	The organiser will offer suitable board and lodging for the visiting clubs at the lowest possible price and the visiting clubs pay for it.
	7.4	The organiser is responsible for the expenses of the Chief Arbiter and shall foresee a stipend.
	7.5	The organiser shall also provide suitable accommodation for the President and the Tournament Director of the European Chess Union. The organiser will also pay their travel expenses.
8.	Other matters.
	8.1	All players, team captains and organisers are to take part in the opening and closing ceremony.
	8.2	The logo of the European Chess Union has to visible in the tournament hall.
	8.3	The logo of the European Chess Union has to be put on all printed matter related to the tournament, i.e. letter of invitation, tournament bulletins, announcements during the tournament, and so on.