College Chess Final Four Officially Begins

Saturday & Sunday, April 2-3, 2016 at the historic Marshall Chess Club in New York, NY
with deepest appreciation to our Sponsors … Two Sigma and Booz Allen Hamilton

Featuring the Teams from:

Webster University (defending Champions)
Texas Tech University
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Columbia University

Rules for the 2016 Final 4 of College Chess 

Eligibility:  Each player must satisfy the eligibility requirements established by the USCF College Chess Committee (CCC).  The requirements are the same as those for the Pan-American tournament played Dec 26-29.  If not already provided in advance, each team must furnish the Chief TD with their Eligibility Letter printed on University stationery on Friday evening at the Team Captains’ Meeting. 

Teams:  Each team has four players and up to two alternates.  Board-order based on March ratings (50-point transpositions allowed among USCF ratings) is also determined in the same way as for the Pan-American.

Scoring: The President’s Cup is a Team Round Robin scored by total individual points.  In the event of a tie, the teams are declared Co-champions.  The following tie-breaking systems are for sole possession of the President’s Cup and will be applied in this order:

1.  Total team match wins.

2.  Head-to-head outcome.

3.  Armageddon (5-4 minute “shootout”).  White must win with 5 minutes, and Black must win or draw with 4 minutes.  There is no delay or increment time.  Winner of a coin toss chooses color.  Each team selects one team member to represent them.  This team member can be any Player or Alternate from your Official Team Roster for the tournament, it does not have to be your “Board 1” player.

Team rosters:  Each team’s Official Roster must be presented to the Chief TD no later than Friday at the Team Captains’ Meeting.  Rosters will identify which team member is the Team Captain.  If a Team’s roster is not in Board Order for Round 1, the Team Captain must ensure the Chief TD is aware of your team’s Round 1 lineup.  Round 1 Lineups will be posted by the Chief TD one hour before the start of the round.  After Round 1, Team Lineups for Rounds 2 and 3 must be submitted to the Chief TD at least one hour prior to the beginning of the next round.  Otherwise, if the Chief TD does not receive a Lineup change, he will assume the previous round’s lineup is being used for the next round.  The Chief TD will post the updated Team Lineups on the tournament web site as soon as possible and also will email copies to each team’s point of contact for the tournament.

Team Captains:  There will be a Captains’ Meeting on Friday evening immediately after the Team Dinner concludes.  It usually takes about 30 minutes.  It is at this meeting where we all agree upon rules for certain situations that are not specifically addressed.  At this meeting be prepared to provide the Chief TD with the phone number and email address of your team’s Captain and a backup point of contact.  The Chief TD will use this information to distribute instructions, Lineup Changes, etc. during the tournament.

Communicating with others During Play:  No player whose game is in progress may talk with another person without the Chief TD being present before the communications begin.  This includes players wanting to talk with their Team Captain about whether to accept or decline a draw offer made by the opponent.

Cell Phones, Other Communication Devices and Calculation Devices:  We will discuss this at the Captains’ Meeting on Friday night.  The Chief TD’s initial position is:  No player with a game in progress is allowed to physically possess (e.g. have on their person during the game) or to have access to any communication-capable or calculation-capable device.  If you are playing a game during the Round, don’t bring such devices into the Playing Room.

Sets, Boards and Clocks:  DGT Boards will be provided by the Tournament Organizer for play.  They must be used.  The TD is responsible for the Time Control programmed into the clocks provided by the Organizer, not for incorrect Time Controls set on clocks provided by a team.

Pairings:  The team pairings/seeds are predetermined by the March 2016 US Chess Rating Supplement.  There will be a drawing for Round 1 and Round 3 colors on Board 1 at the Friday evening meeting before the tournament.

•  Rd 1:  1 vs. 4; 2 vs. 3

•  Rd 2:  1 vs. 3; 2 vs. 4

•  Rd 3:  1 vs. 2; 3 vs. 4

Official Time Controls: Game 90 with a 30-second increment each move.

The tournament is FIDE & US Chess rated.

Chief TD:  The Chief TD for this tournament is National Tournament Director and FIDE Arbiter Mike Hoffpauir from Virginia.  Mike has been the Chief TD (and organizer) of several College Final 4 Championships and also has been the Chief of the Pan Ams.  

Round 1 (10 am – April 2):

Webster vs Columbia / Texas Tech vs UT RGV

Round 2 (5 pm –  April 2):

UT RGV vs Webster  / Columbia vs Texas Tech

Round 3 (9 am – April 3):

Webster vs Texas Tech / Columbia vs UT RGV