Entry Form 2015

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES'
CHESS ASSOCIATION
2015 BUCA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Saturday 21st February and
Sunday 22nd February, 2015
Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport,
Coventry Road, Birmingham B26 3QW
Chief Organiser: Alex Holowczak alexholowczak@gmail.com
http://www.buca.org.uk
Schedule of Play
Round 1: Saturday 12:30-15:00
BUCA AGM: Sunday 9:30
Round 4: Sunday 10:30-13:00
Round 5: Sunday 13:30-16:00
Prize giving will follow as soon as possible at the end of the final round.
Sections: There will be three tournaments:
(1) Championship, open to 1st teams
(2) Plate, open to 2nd teams, and 1st teams whose average grade for their top 4 registered players is below
140, and
(3) Shield, open to 3rd teams, and any teams whose average grade for their registered players is below 110.
The organiser reserves the right to transfer one or more teams between any sections as necessary. This shall
usually be done in order to ensure an even number of teams are in as many sections as possible.
Championship & Plate Tournaments:
The time control will be 60 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; all games will be played with DGT clocks.
The tournament will be played over 5 rounds. The tournaments will be ECF standardplay graded.
Shield Tournaments:
The time control will be 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; all games will be played with DGT clocks.
The tournament will be played over 5 double rounds; a total of 10 games. In each round, players will play
two games against their opponent one with each colour. A team may not be changed between both halves
of a match. The tournament will be ECF rapidplay graded.
Pairings & Results
Seeding within scoregroups for the sake of pairings will be done by mean ECF grade. Each team shall earn 2
matchpoints for a win, 1 matchpoint for a draw, and 0 matchpoints for a loss. If a team receives a bye, it
shall be credited with 2 matchpoints and 4 gamepoints. The team with the most matchpoints at the end of the
tournament shall win. If two or more teams are tied on matchpoints after five rounds, then the tie will be
split as follows: (i) The team with the highest scoring using the Olympiad Sonnenborn-Berger tiebreak (ii) If
still tied, the team with the most gamepoints shall be placed higher (iii) If still tied, the gamepoints scored
from the bottom-most player in the team shall be removed from the gamepoints total - similar to board
elimination - the team with the highest remaining number of gamepoints in its total shall be placed higher;
if still tied, this process shall be repeated for the next-lowest board and so on, until no boards remain. (iv) If
still tied, the team with the higher Sum of Opponents Matchpoints shall be placed higher. (v) If still tied, the
places shall remain tied.
Player Eligibility: All students progressing towards an academic qualification at a Higher Education
Institute (HEI) are entitled to play for a team. Of course, the team itself must be from a HEI that is a member
of BUCA. This competition is open to all players regardless of citizenship or FIDE registration.
Number of Players: Universities may field as many teams as they wish, noting that only one team may
enter the Championship and Plate. Each team is composed of four players. Reserves are permitted; squads
have no limit in size. The reserves will be permitted to play in a scratch team, should the organiser create
one to provide an even number of teams in a section. Friendly games will be available for reserves who want
them.
Board Order
Teams must list their players in board order on the entry form. Variances from playing in descending grade
order will be allowed subject to a 10-grading point tolerance. Where players have equal grades, they must
predetermine their order on the entry form, and play in that order throughout the tournament. Players may
play for more than one team of a University, so long as across their multiple teams they remain in the order
they declare on the entry form.
Grades to be Used
The national grades of players will be used depending on the country in which a University is situated. Other
grades may be used upon request. Grades outside England will be converted to ECF using the formula ECF
= Other Elo 700 / 7.5.

Entry Fee: 20 per team.
Entries received after 31st January will incur a further late fee of 20. Accommodation cannot be guaranteed
after this date. Team lists may be modified after this date. Reserves must purchase extra rooms through
BUCA at the above rates as required.
Staying at the Hotel: All entrants must stay at the hotel. If this cannot be done because the hotel is full, then
the team must bring receipts to the BUCA Treasurer at the AGM. The Treasurer will then set a fee that
ensures the late-entering team does not pay less money than a team entering late. It is essential that as
many players stay at the hotel as possible in order to ensure the event's viability.
BUCA Membership: All Universities that field teams must be BUCA Members. BUCA Membership for
the 2013/14 season is 10 if received before 31st December, 2014 and is 20 if paid thereafter.
ECF Membership: All players at English universities must be ECF Bronze Members or above. A team
wishing to register players who do not fulfil this requirement must add a 10 per player surcharge to their
team entry fee.
Prizes: The winner will receive the trophy and the title of BUCA Team Champion. There will be individual
keepsakes for all members of the winning team, and board prizes. To be eligible for a board prize, players
must play a minimum of four games on the same board within their team. The board prizes will be
calculated by (i) Tournament Performance Grade (TPG) using the standard ECF system, i.e. a player scores
their opponent's grade plus 50 points for a win, their opponent's grade for a draw, and their opponent's grade
minus 50 points for a loss, for all eligible games. The 40-point rule is disregarded. The higher the TPG, the
higher the ranking. (ii) If tied, players with a higher percentage score shall be placed higher (iii) If still tied,
players who have played more games shall be placed higher.
Rules: The FIDE Laws of Chess will apply. The default time shall be 30 minutes, at which point teams will
be repaired if possible. A mobile phone that makes a noise shall result in the loss of the game.
Appeals' Committee: An Appeals' Committee of three will be formed, the members of which will be
published at the event. Volunteers to be on this Committee are welcome.
Refund Policy: Universities who withdraw any team entries before 28th January will be entitled to a full
refund. All potential refunds after this date will be considered on a case-by-case basis at the BUCA AGM.
Entries: Entries should be e-mailed to Alex Holowczak at alexholowczak@gmail.com. No entry will be
accepted without payment of the relevant entry and membership fees. Information for transferring the fees
will be provided upon receipt of a completed entry form.
Travel
to
the
Venue:
Information
about
the
venue
can
be
found
here:
http://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/gb/en/birmingham/bhxap/hoteldetail/directions
It may be of particular interest to note that there are shuttle services in place from both the railway station
and airport, which are within 2 miles of the playing venue.

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BRITISH UNIVERSITIES'

2015 BUCA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

= Other Elo 700 / 7.5.

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