Laws of Chess

The A4C Basic Laws of Chess, to govern online turn based chess play.

PREFACE

The Laws of Chess cannot cover all possible situations that may arise during a game, nor can they regulate all administrative questions. Where cases are not precisely regulated by an Article of the Laws, it should be possible to reach a correct decision by studying analogous situations, which are discussed in the Laws. The Laws assume that arbiters / TD's have the necessary competence, sound judgement and absolute objectivity. Too detailed a rule might deprive the arbiter of his freedom of judgement and thus prevent him from finding the solution to a problem dictated by fairness, logic and special factors.

A4C appeals to all chess players and online chess systems to accept this view.

An online chess system is free to introduce more detailed rules provided they:

1. do not conflict in any way with the official A4C Laws of Chess
2. are limited to the territory of the online chess system in question; and
3. are not valid for any A4C match, championship or qualifying event, or for a A4C title or rating tournament.

BASIC RULES OF PLAY

The game of chess is played between two opponents who move their pieces alternately online using a online system that allows players to play chess creating a electronic or visual representation of a square board called a chessboard. The player with the white pieces commences the game. A player is said to have the move, when his opponent`s move has been made. Moves are made using a pointing device (mouse) or the keyboard, in some cases a DGT system is used to allow the player to move a chess piece on a chessboard that is designed to then make the move electronicly.

The objective of each player is to place the opponent`s king under attack in such a way that the opponent has no legal move. The player who achieves this goal is said to have checkmated the opponent`s king and to have won the game. Leaving one`s own king under attack, exposing one`s own king to attack and also capturing the opponent`s king are not allowed. The opponent whose king has been checkmated has lost the game.

If the position is such that neither player can possibly checkmate, the game is drawn however, a draw must be requested and claimed.

The chessboard is composed of an 8x8 grid of 64 equal squares alternately light (the white squares) and dark (the black squares).
The chessboard is setup in such a way that the near corner square to the right of the player is white.

At the beginning of the game one player has 16 light-coloured pieces (the white pieces); the other has 16 dark-coloured pieces (the black pieces): These pieces are as follows:

A white king, usually indicated by the symbol
A white queen, usually indicated by the symbol
Two white rooks, usually indicated by the symbol
Two white bishops, usually indicated by the symbol
Two white knights, usually indicated by the symbol
Eight white pawns, usually indicated by the symbol
A black king, usually indicated by the symbol
A black queen, usually indicated by the symbol
Two black rooks, usually indicated by the symbol
Two black bishops, usually indicated by the symbol
Two black knights, usually indicated by the symbol
Eight black pawns, usually indicated by the symbol

The initial position of the pieces on the chessboard is as follows:

The eight vertical columns of squares are called files. The eight horizontal rows of squares are called ranks. A straight line of squares of the same colour, touching corner to corner, is called a diagonal.

It is not permitted to move a piece to a square occupied by a piece of the same colour. If a piece moves to a square occupied by an opponent`s piece the latter is captured and removed from the chessboard as part of the same move. A piece is said to attack an opponent`s piece if the piece could make a capture on that square according to Articles 3.2 to 3.8.
A piece is considered to attack a square, even if such a piece is constrained from moving to that square because it would then leave or place the king of its own colour under attack.

The bishop may move to any square along a diagonal on which it stands.

The rook may move to any square along the file or the rank on which it stands.

The queen may move to any square along the file, the rank or a diagonal on which it stands.

When making these moves the bishop, rook or queen may not move over any intervening pieces.

The knight may move to one of the squares nearest to that on which it stands but not on the same rank, file or diagonal.

1. The pawn may move forward to the unoccupied square immediately in front of it on the same file, or

2. on its first move the pawn may move as in (a); alternatively it may advance two squares along the same file provided both squares are unoccupied, or

3. the pawn may move to a square occupied by an opponent`s piece, which is diagonally in front of it on an adjacent file, capturing that piece.

   
   
   

4. A pawn attacking a square crossed by an opponent`s pawn which has advanced two squares in one move from its original square may capture this opponent`s pawn as though the latter had been moved only one square. This capture is only legal on the move following this advance and is called an en passant capture.

   
   
   

5. When a pawn reaches the rank furthest from its starting position it must be exchanged as part of the same move for a new queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour. The player`s choice is not restricted to pieces that have been captured previously. This exchange of a pawn for another piece is called promotion and the effect of the new piece is immediate.

1. moving to any adjoining square not attacked by one or more of the opponent`s pieces.

   
   

   The opponent`s pieces are considered to attack a square, even if such pieces cannot themselves move.

   or
   
   

2. castling. This is a move of the king and either rook of the same colour on the same rank, counting as a single move of the king and executed as follows: the king is transferred from its original square two squares towards the rook, then that rook is transferred to the square the king has just crossed.

   

   (1) The right for castling has been lost:

   1. if the king has already moved, or

   2. with a rook that has already moved

   (2) Castling is prevented temporarily

   1. if the square on which the king stands, or the square which it must cross, or the square which it is to occupy, is attacked by one or more of the opponent`s pieces.

   2. if there is any piece between the king and the rook with which castling is to be effected.

The king is said to be in check if it is attacked by one or more of the opponent`s pieces, even if such pieces are constrained from moving to that square because they would then leave or place their own king in check. No piece can be moved that will expose its own king to check or leave its own king in check.

Each move must be made using a pointing device (mouse) or the keyboard, in some cases a DGT system is used to allow the player to move a chess piece on a chessboard that is designed to then make the move electronicly.

Once a player as made a legal move and that move has been submitted (committed) using the mouse or keyboard or any other device, the move can not be retracted.(undone, takeback etc)

1. The game is won by the player who has checkmated his opponent`s king. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the checkmate position was a legal move.

2. The game is won by the player whose opponent declares he resigns. This immediately ends the game.

1. 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.

2. 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. This must be requested and reviewed.

3. The game is drawn upon agreement between the two players during the game. This immediately ends the game. (See Article 9.1)

4. The game may be drawn if any identical position is about to appear or has appeared on the chessboard at least three times. This must be requested and reviewed. (See Article 9.2)

5. 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. This must be requested and reviewed. (See Article 9.3)

Clock (time) means: the expiration of the allotted time for a game and for a player.

1. When using a clock, each player must make a minimum number of moves or all moves in an allotted period of time and/or may be allocated an additional amount of time with each move. All this must be specified in advance or granted by the player who has the ability to claim a win.

Time can be displayed in different ways (anolog or digital). Immediately after the set amount of time has expired for a player, the player with time remaining can declare a win or as per Article 6.2(a) allocate more time and allow the game to continue.

Before the start of the game the arbiter (TD) decides the time controls for the game and or tournament.

At the time determined for the start of the game or tournament the clock of the player who has the white pieces is started.

If neither player is present initially, the player who has the white pieces shall lose all the time that elapses until he makes a move; unless the rules of the competition specify or the arbiter / TD decides otherwise..

Any player who fails to make a move in the alloted amount of time for a game after the scheduled start of the session shall lose the game unless the rules of the competition specify or the arbiter / tournament director or the other player (opponent) decides otherwise.

1. During the game each player, having made his move on the chessboard (chess site), will automaticly stop his own clock and start his opponent`s clock.

1. If the game needs to be interrupted, the arbiter / TD shall stop the clocks.

2. A player can request arbitration at any time in order to seek the arbiter`s assistance, for instance when the game has ended incorrectly or there is an error in chess logic or a irregularity occurs or the game is unuseable / unreadable for any reason etc.

3. The arbiter / TD shall decide when the game is to be restarted in either case.

4. Any player who seeks the arbiter`s assistance, the arbiter / TD shall determine if the player had any valid reason for doing so. If it is obvious that the player has no valid reason, the player shall be penalised according to article 13.4.

1. If during a game it is found that an irregularity occurs and the game can not be repaired (returned to where the error occurred) or retrived the game shall be cancelled and a new game played or the game will be considered to have ended and points awarded depending on the circumstances.

Moves are recording automaticly for each player, the acceptable formats are as follows: examples: 1.Nf3 h6 or 1.g1-f3 h7-h6 or any combination of grahics/numerial and/or alpha etc.

A player wishing to offer a draw can only do so on his turn, a move is made. The offer cannot be withdrawn and remains valid until the opponent accepts it, rejects it or the game is concluded in some other way.

The game is drawn, upon a correct claim by the player having the move, when the same position, for at least the third time (not necessarily by a repetition of moves)

1. is about to appear, and requests the arbiter to review, if the opponent fails to accept the offer, or

2. has just appeared, and the player claiming the draw has the move. This must be requested and reviewed if the opponent fails to accept the offer

Positions as in (a) and (b) are considered the same, if the same player has the move, pieces of the same kind and colour occupy the same squares, and the possible moves of all the pieces of both players are the same.
Positions are not the same if a pawn that could have been captured en passant can no longer in this manner be captured or if the right to castle has been changed temporarily or permanently.

The game is drawn, upon a correct claim by the player having the move, if

1. if he declares to the arbiter his intention to make this move which shall result in the last 50 moves having been made by each player without the movement of any pawn and without any capture, or

2. the last 50 consecutive moves have been made by each player without the movement of any pawn and without any capture. This must be requested and reviewed if not accepted by both players.

If the player makes a move without having claimed the draw he loses the right to claim, as in Article 9.2 or 9.3, on that move.

If a player claims a draw as in Article 9.2 or 9.3, he shall immediately request arbitration if the opponent fails to accept the offer and allow his claim to be reviewed. He is not allowed to withdraw his claim. This must be requested and reviewed if not accepted by both players.

1. If the claim is found to be correct the game is immediately drawn.

2. If the claim is found to be incorrect, the arbiter shall restart the clocks.

The game is drawn when a position is reached from which a checkmate cannot occur by any possible series of legal moves, even with the most unskilled play. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing this position was legal.

Unless announced otherwise in advance, a player who wins his game, or wins by forfeit, scores one point (1), a player who loses his game, or forfeits scores no points (0) and a player who draws his game scores one half point (1/2), and a player who receives a bye (pass) scores one point (1).

The players shall take no action that will bring the game of chess into disrepute.

1. During play the players are allowed to make use of notes, sources of information, (databases, books magazines etc) however, computers are not allowed.

2. Computers can be allowed to assist players under certain circumstances however, this must be clearly stated and explained before the game or tournament has started.

Players who have finished their games shall be considered to be spectators.

It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever. This includes unreasonable claims or unreasonable offers of a draw.

Persistent refusal by a player to comply with the Laws of Chess shall be penalized by loss of the game. The arbiter / TD shall decide the score of the opponent.

If both players are found guilty according to Article 11.5, the game shall be declared lost by both players.

The arbiter shall see that the Laws of Chess (A4C) are strictly observed.

The arbiter shall act in the best interest of the competition. He should ensure that players are not disturbed and will supervise the progress of the competition.

The arbiter shall observe the games, and be available if possible when the players encounter any problems, enforce decisions he has made and impose penalties on players where appropriate.

The arbiter can apply one or more of the following penalties:

1. warning,

2. declaring the game to be lost, drawn etc

3. expulsion from the event.

The arbiter may decide to end a game if he/she feels that a player or players are holding up and or delaying a tournament round because one of the players continues to play in what the arbiter believes or considers a hopeless position..

The arbiter must not intervene in a game except in cases described by the Laws of Chess.

1. Spectators and players in other games are not to speak about or otherwise interfere in another player's game. If necessary, the arbiter may expel offenders from the playing system.

2. It is forbidden for anybody to chat to or chat about an on going game in a public forum or chat room that is visible or available to the players playing a game.

The following rules apply to the Swiss tournaments systems and may or may not apply to regular games.

1. A player can request to withdraw from a tournament.

2. A player can request to return to a tournament, if they have withdrawn.

3. A player may request vacation time in a tournament, this request will be reviewed and depending on the circumstances can be allowed or denied.

4. A player can request arbitration at anytime, regular or tournament games.

5. If a player times out in a tournament, this player may be withdrawn after one warning, if he provides a reasonable reason and it is accepted by the TD he can return.

Webmasters and players who promote / support or use online turn based chess systems may request help / assistance or request an official decision about issues related to the laws of chess or any other issue governed by A4C.

Titles are awarded under the following conditions..

1. A player reaching the level of 2000 + will be awarded the special title of Candidate Master [CM],

2. A player reaching the level of 2200 + will be awarded the special title of Master [M],

3. A player reaching the level of 2500 + will be awarded the special title of Grand Master [GM]

Class Ratings

1. [A] 1800 - 1999
2. [B] 1600 - 1799
3. [C] 1400 - 1599
4. [D] 1200 - 1399

Team tournaments follow different rules, pairings are a combination of a round robin with swiss ideas . Also their are points awarded to players based on their performance in these tournaments.

1. AC4 rules are followed.

2. Points are awared : Top half – 1st 20 2nd 15 3rd 10 and the Bottom half 1st 20 2nd 15 3rd 10.

3. Team members with not be paired with team members and pairing are based on a modified version of a round robin and swiss rules.

4. Suspend Game: Because team games are a combination of a round robin and swiss, requests to have a game suspended will be allowed in the same manner they are allowed in regular games.

Pairing Criteria