2. ARRANGEMENT OF TEAMS. The competing teams shall be arranged in divisions according to their estimated strength, or in sections according to locality or other considerations.

3. LEAGUE ENTRIES. All entries shall be made on the Competitions Entry Form to be supplied to associated clubs by the General Secretary not later than June 1st. All entries shall be received by the General Secretary not later than July 1st. The Executive Committee or the General Secretary shall have discretion to waive this requirement in exceptional circumstances.

4. NUMBER OF TEAMS. An associated club may enter more than one team.

5. NUMBER OF PLAYERS. A team shall consist of: Eight players in Division 1; Seven players in Division 2; Six players in Divisions 3 and 4; Five players in any lower Division.

6. FIXTURES. In each Division, each competing team shall play two matches with every other team in that Division (home and away).

7. MATCH POINTS. A team winning a match shall score two points and in the event of a tie each team shall score one point.

8. DIVISION WINNERS. The team in a Division which scores more match points than any other team in that Division shall be the winner of that Division and shall be entitled to hold for twelve months the trophy allocated to that Division and to promotion. If two or more teams in a Division score the same number of match points the relative position of these teams shall be decided by the total number of games won by them in the Division, drawn games counting as half the value of won games. If there is still a tie the positions shall be decided by eliminating the games played on all the bottom boards of the teams concerned and so on until a definite result is achieved.

9. NON TRANSFERENCE. A player shall not play, in any season, for more than one club in the League Tournaments or for a different club in the Knock-Out Tournaments. In the event of a team withdrawing from the league having played not more than 50% of its fixtures, individual players from that team will be eligible to play for other teams in that club or other clubs during that season.

10. LISTED AND INELIGIBLE PLAYERS. Where a club enters two or more teams in the League Tournaments, the following rules shall apply:

a. The Club Secretary shall, before the first league match in which the Club is concerned, send to the General Secretary a list of seven members (listed players) for each team of eight, six members for each team of seven, five members for each team of six and four members for each team of five, who will always be invited to play for that team and have indicated that they expect to be available for the majority of games. Such listed players shall be ineligible to play in any lower team of that club during the season. The General Secretary shall then send a copy of these listed players to each of the League Controllers. There is no need to send a list for the only or last team of any club.

b. If a club fails to send in a list of restricted players before the first league match then the players appearing in the first match shall be considered listed, i.e. the top seven boards in a first division match, etc.

c. The University have until November 8 to comply with (a) above otherwise rule (b) applies.

d. Listed players must have indicated that they expect to be available for the majority of League matches. If when 50% of the fixtures have been played a listed player has failed to play in at least 3 matches then the club will be expected to list an additional player unless it can convince the League Controller that the player in question will complete his obligation. All listed players must be ECF Registered.

e. Where a club has two or more teams competing in the same Division, the interchanging of players between these teams shall not be permitted.  This rule is suspended for teams playing in Divisions 3 and below, where the normal rules relating to the interchange of players between a higher and a lower team shall apply.

f. The playing of one or more ineligible players in a match shall be penalised by reducing the score of the offending team in that match by a game point for each ineligible player played and in addition such ineligible player or players shall be deemed to have lost their games.

g. The penalty in the preceding paragraph shall apply to a club's first contravention of paragraphs (a), (b) or (c). In the case of a further contravention by that club in the same season, the appropriate League Controller may refer the matter to the Executive Committee who may impose a more severe penalty or remove the offending team from the Competition.

h. Any dispute as to the eligibility of a player may be referred to the Executive Committee whose decision shall be final.

11. ARRANGEMENT OF FIXTURES. The dates of fixtures in the League Tournament shall be fixed by the Fixtures Secretary or such other person or officer of the Association as the Executive Committee may appoint. Each club shall have the opportunity to make representations to the appointed person to indicate unsuitable dates for fixtures through such as shift working, annual holidays, etc. As far as possible, the fixtures will give effect to such representations. The list of fixtures shall be communicated to each club not less than fourteen days before the starting date of that club's first fixture.

12. POSTPONEMENT & REARRANGEMENT OF FIXTURES. If at any time a club wishes to postpone a date so fixed, at least fourteen days prior notice must be given to the other club concerned, who will have the right to determine whether the reason for requested postponement is acceptable or not, that is both clubs must agree on the postponement.

In the event of less notice than fourteen days being given of the desire to change the date of the match, or the reason for postponement is considered unacceptable, the offended club shall have the option of offering a rearranged date or claiming the match.

If rearrangement is agreed, notice must be given to the appropriate League Controller when another date no later than the end of the season may be agreed upon by the clubs concerned. In the case of two clubs failing to agree on a new date in accordance with this rule, the matter shall be referred to the League Controller.

In the event of the aggrieved club claiming the match, the offending club may appeal to the appropriate League Controller. If he decides that the circumstances of the requested postponement were beyond the control of the offending club and that it is inequitable that the offending club should forfeit the match then he may order that the match be played or gives such direction as he thinks fit in the circumstances. Compliance with the fourteen day rule will be taken into account.

13. NON-OBSERVANCE OF RULES. If any club fails to play a match in accordance with these rules the matter shall be referred to the Executive Committee whose decision in the matter shall be final. If any team in any given season defaults 50% or more of their matches, all games played by that team in that season shall be declared void.

In the event of any fixture not being fulfilled on the due date both sides shall inform the appropriate League Controller of the circumstances. If the fixture is still unfulfilled at the end of the season the Controller may at his discretion impose a penalty on either or both of the teams concerned.

Where a rule gives a Controller the power to impose a penalty the offended club shall have the right to appeal to the Executive Committee, whose decision shall be final.

14. ALTERATION OF VENUE. Where travelling facilities are inconvenient the venue of a match may be altered by mutual agreement.

15. HOURS OF PLAY. In the absence of any previous arrangement by the clubs concerned, play at a match shall commence at 7.15 p.m. and shall conclude at 10.15 p.m.

The Captains shall then draw for colour; the team winning the draw shall take white on board one and the colours on the remaining boards shall alternate accordingly. One or more reserves may be substituted for any players who have not arrived within thirty minutes of the agreed starting time, otherwise the game(s) shall be forfeited.

If one team is not represented at the agreed starting time it will be assumed that the team present has won the draw and has white on the odd boards. This will enable the match to start at the agreed time.

At the start of play any Captain who knows that he will be unable to field a full team will be obliged to default on the lowest board or boards.

Any team which defaults on any other than the lowest board or boards will have one point deducted from its match score unless it can satisfactorily explain the default to the League Controller.

If the League Controller is not happy with a team's board order he may ask the club to justify its order.

Any team deliberately violating the board order rule or any other part of this rule may be deducted a match point at the recommendation of the League Controller and confirmed at a subsequent executive meeting.

17. RATE OF PLAY. Each player shall keep a record of the moves in each game. Any player may demand that their game be played with a chess clock, in which case they must provide a proper chess clock. It is the duty of the home team to provide sufficient clocks to complete its fixture (including reserve clocks in case of failure on the match night). If the home team fails to notify the away team (no later than five days) before the fixture that there are insufficient clocks, the away team can claim the match (if no clocks are available) as a defaulted win. If the home team informs the away team before the fixture that it has insufficient clocks, then the away team can be asked to fulfill the match without prejudice.

The rate of play shall be :- 35 moves in 1 Hour 15 Minutes followed by 15 minutes to complete the game. The first player whose flag falls shall lose, excepting if his opponent has insufficient material for checkmate, when the game shall be drawn. A player may also claim a draw if the position is such that no other result is reasonably possible.

18. NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS. Both score cards, with players' names (and correct initials) and signed by both match Captains, shall be received by the League Controller from the competing clubs

within fourteen days of the match.