Candidates Tournament 2012

FIDE has published the official Rules & regulations for the Candidates Tournament of the FIDE World Championship cycle 2011-2013. According to the regulations the 3 top players from the World Cup 2011 qualify (Svidler, Grischuk, and Ivanchuk), the player who loses the World Chess Championship 2012, three players on rating from the average FIDE Rating List of July 2011 & January 2012, and one nominated player by the organizer.

The total prize fund of the event is 420 000 eur and the format is double round robin. The time control is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.

A kind of a Sofia rule will be implemented. The players cannot draw a game by agreement. A claim for a draw is permitted only through the Chief Arbiter (or his Deputy) in the cases of perpetual check, stalemate, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule or insufficient material. Other kinds of theoretical drawn positions are allowed to be claimed by one or both players through the Chief Arbiter (or his Deputy). The Chief Arbiter can then declare it, or not, as a drawn game after consulting his/her Technical Advisor.

Here is the most important excerpt of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2012 regulations, and the bidding procedure for the event.

1. Organisation

1. 1 The Candidates Tournament to determine the challenger for the 2013 World Chess Championship Match shall be organised in the second half of 2012 and represent an integral part of the World Chess Championship regulations for the cycle 2011-2013. Eight (8) players will participate in the Candidates Tournament and the winner qualifies for the World Chess Championship Match in 2013.

1. 2 Governing Body: the World Chess Federation (FIDE). For the purpose of creating the regulations, communicating with the players and negotiating with the organisers, the FIDE President has nominated a committee, hereby called the FIDE Commission for World Championships and Olympiads (hereinafter referred to as WCOC)

1. 3 FIDE, or its appointed commercial agency, retains all commercial and media rights of the Candidates Tournament, including internet rights. These rights can be transferred to the organiser upon agreement.

2. Qualification for the 2012 Candidates Tournament

The players who qualify for the Candidates Tournament are determined according to the following, in order of priority:

2. 1 World Cup 2011 – The three (3) top winners of the World Cup 2011 qualify.
2. 2 World Championship Match 2012 – The player who lost the 2012 World Championship Match qualifies.

2. 3 Average FIDE Rating List of July 2011 & January 2012 – Three (3) players qualify to participate by rating (excluding theplayers who qualify from articles 2.1 and 2.2 above). For the purpose of deciding the 3 rated player qualifiers, the average from the following lists will be used: rating of July 2011 plus rating of January 2012 divided by 2. In case of equality two decimals will be taken into consideration. If the numbers are still equal then the number of games from the twelve months covering the whole year
2011 shall be decisive. That means the player with the greater number of games shall qualify. If the numbers are still equal then the list of March 2012 shall be decisive. If the rating in the March 2012 list is still the same, the player with the greater number of games in this list will qualify. Players who appear in the inactive list in both July 2011 and January 2012 will not be able to qualify as a rated
player. If the player is inactive in one list but appears in the other, then the single rating that is published shall be taken as the average.

2. 6 One nominated player by the Organiser – A player, nominated by the organiser, with a rating of at least 2700 in the FIDE rating list of January 2012.

2. 7 Replacements – Any replacements necessary will be fulfilled from the average rating list of July 2011 & January 2012.

3. Candidates Tournament Regulations

3. 1 Tournament Format & System

The 8 players shall play a double round robin tournament (14 rounds). The players who are from the same federation will play each other in rounds 1 and 8 (if only two) and if up to four players are from the same federation in rounds 1, 2, 3 and 8, 9, 10.
If a player withdraws after completing 50% or more of the games, the rest of his games are lost by default. In case a player completes less than 50%, all his results are annulled.

3. 2 Schedule of the Candidates Tournament

Arrivals: 1 day
Opening Ceremony & Players Meeting: 1 day
Round 1: 1 day
Round 2: 1 day
Round 3: 1 day
Free day: 1 day
Round 4: 1 day
Round 5: 1 day
Round 6: 1 day
Free day: 1 day
Round 7: 1 day
Round 8: 1 day
Round 9: 1 day
Free day: 1 day
Round 10: 1 day
Round 11: 1 day
Round 12: 1 day
Free day: 1 day
Round 13: 1 day
Round 14: 1 day

Tiebreaks / Closing ceremony: 1 day

Departures: 1 day

TOTAL: 22 days

The playing schedule can be changed only upon the approval of the FIDE President.

3. 3 Confirmation of Participation / Conduct of Players

3. 3. 1 The list of qualified players and the reserves will be published on the FIDE website together with the player’s contract. All qualified players should sign their respective contract and send it to the FIDE Secretariat within one month after published on the FIDE website. It is each player’s responsibility to get a copy and send it signed to the FIDE Secretariat by fax and registered mail. A
player who does not submit his contract within the deadline will be replaced according to article 2.7. FIDE may accept late contracts received after the deadline, within a period of 10 days and only for serious reasons. Players not previously qualified but who have the right to play as replacements shall be notified through the FIDE website and will have one further week to send their signed contracts.

3. 3. 2 A player who returns his signed contract but withdraws at least 3 months before the events starts shall be replaced by a player as described in article 2.7.

3. 3. 3 Any player who withdraws at a date when less than 3 months are left for the event to start, shall not be replaced and his opponent in the first round is declared as winner.

3. 3. 4 Players that fail to provide a satisfactory reason for withdrawal, after they have signed the player’s contract, will be excluded from the next World Championship cycle.

3. 3. 5 For security and administrative reasons, all participants are expected to stay in the officially designated hotel(s).

3. 3. 6 Each player will receive at least two free single rooms for their hotel accommodation, including full board, for the whole duration of their matches.

3. 3. 7 No postponement of any game shall be allowed.

3. 3. 8 Separate contracts between the organiser(s) and the players may also be signed.

3. 4 Pairings and draw of colours

3. 4. 1 The draw for pairings and colours will be conducted in the FIDE office in Athens, two (2) months before the start of the event.

3. 4. 2 For tie-break games, there shall be a separate drawing of lots conducted by the Chief Arbiter.

3. 5 Time control.

3. 5. 1 The time control for each game shall be: 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.

3. 5. 2 The games shall be played using the electronic clocks and boards approved by FIDE.

3. 6 Conditions of victory

3. 6. 1 The player with the most points (1 point for each win, half a point for each draw, 0 for each loss) will be the winner of the tournament and qualifies for the World Championship Match 2013. A tie shall be broken according to article 3.7 below.

3. 7 Tie-breaks

If the top two or more players score the same points, the tie will be decided by the following criteria, in order of priority:

a) The results of the games between the players involved in the tie.
If they are still tied:

b) The total number of wins in the tournament of every player involved in the tie.
If they are still tied:

c) Sonneborn – Berger System.

3.7.1.a If there is no clear winner with the above 3 criteria, there will be a special competition between the players who still remain tied after using the 3rd criteria (Sonneborn – Berger): after a new drawing of colors, each tied player will play two (2) tie-break games with the other tied opponent(s). The games shall be played using the electronic clock starting with 25 minutes for each player with an
increment of 10 seconds after each move.

3.7.1.b All tie-break games shall be played according to the following:

1. Play is governed by the World Championship Technical Regulations (annex 1), which apply with the exceptions mentioned below in (2), (3) and (4).

2. The players do not need to record the moves. An arbiter shall record the moves.

3. The player who has the move may stop the clocks and consult the Arbiter’s score sheet and if his next move will produce a threefold repetition of position (according to Article 9.2a of the Technical Regulations), or the 50 moves rule (according to Article 9.3a of the Technical Regulations), he himself must write the intended move on the score sheet and claim the draw if he wants. A player can also claim a draw according to Articles 9.2b and 9.3b of the Technical Regulations. If the claim is found to be correct, the game is immediately ended as a draw. If the claim is found to be incorrect, the Arbiter shall add three (3) minutes to the opponent’s remaining time and the game continues with the intended move in accordance with Article 4 of the Technical Regulations. A maximum of two (2) incorrect claims for a draw can be made by each player. If a player makes a third (3rd ) incorrect claim, the arbiter shall declare the game lost for this player.

4. If a game has ended by resignation, checkmate, time loss, stalemate, triple repetition or any other of the ways described in Article 5 of the Technical Regulations, no claim for irregularities shall be accepted (irregularities include clock settings and all other described in Article 7 of the Technical Regulations).

3.7.2 If after the games in Article 3.7.1a there are still players tied for 1st place then, after a new drawing of colours, these players will play blitz games. Each tied player will play two games with the other opponent(s). Each player will receive 5 minutes on his clock + 3 seconds for each move starting from move 1. If there is a tie again, this process will be repeated for the tied players, for a maximum of two (2) more times.

3.7.3.a After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have only two players still tied, sudden death games will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots, may choose the colour. White shall receive 5 minutes on the clock and Black shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds starting from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

3.7.3.b After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have three players still tied, sudden death games will be played too. The three players will be initially ranked according to their average FIDE rating of July 2011 & January 2012. The players initially ranked No.2 and No.3 will play first and the winner will face the player initially ranked No.1. The sudden death games will be played as described in article 3.7.3.a above. The winner of this procedure is No.1 in the final standings and the loser of the final match is No.2 in the final standings.

3.7.3.c After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have four players still tied, sudden death games will be played too. The four players will be initially ranked according to their average FIDE rating of July 2011 & January 2012. Then No.1 plays No.4 and No.2 plays No.3 and the two winners play the final match. All the sudden death games will be played as described in article 3.7.3.a above.

The winner of this procedure is No.1 in the final standings and the loser of the final match is No.2 in the final standings.

3.7.3.d After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have five players still tied, sudden death games will be played too. The five players will be initially ranked according to their average FIDE rating of July 2011 & January 2012. The players initially ranked No.4 and No.5 will play first and the winner will face the three remaining players as in 3.7.3.c above. All the sudden death games will be played as described in article 3.7.3.a above. The winner of this procedure is No.1 in the final standings and the loser of the final match is No.2 in the final standings.

3.7.3.e After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have 6 players or more still tied, sudden death games will also be played in accordance with the spirit of articles 3.7.3.b, 3.7.3.c, 3.7.3.d and 3.7.3.e above. Further details will be announced by the Chief Arbiter.

3.7.4 If tie-breaks are needed to determine any other possible qualification spots for the next World Championship cycle, then the procedure described in article 3.7 will be applied as well, including 3.7.1.a, 3.7.1.b, 3.7.2, 3.7.3.a, 3.7.3.b, 3.7.3.c, 3.7.3.d and 3.7.3.e.

There shall be a pause of 10 minutes between all tie-break games, unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise.

3. 8 Prizes for the Candidates Tournament

3. 8. 1 The total minimum prize fund of the Candidates Tournament amounts to 420,000 euros. The amount is net and cleared of any local taxes. The money prizes shall be allocated as follows (minimum in euros):

1st place: 95,000
2nd place: 88,000
3rd place: 75,000
4th place: 55,000
5th place: 40,000
6th place: 28,000
7th place: 22,000
8th place: 17,000

All prize money will be divided equally where players have the same score in the tournament (after 14 rounds).

3. 8. 2 If less than 8 players participate or a player withdraws after he has signed his contract or after the start of the tournament, he shall receive no prize money and the said amount remains with FIDE.

3. 9 Playing Conditions.

3. 9. 1 Only the players, principals and steward (-ess)s shall be allowed in the actual playing area except with the permission of the Chief Arbiter. A player may communicate with an arbiter or a steward.

3. 9. 2 During the playing session the following additional regulations shall be in force:

a) The players are not permitted to bring into the playing area telephone, technical and other equipment extraneous to play, which may in any way disturb or upset the opponent. The Chief Arbiter shall decide what constitutes extraneous equipment liable to offend the opponent.

b) The players cannot draw a game by agreement. A claim for a draw is permitted only through the Chief Arbiter (or his Deputy) in the cases of perpetual check, stalemate, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule or insufficient material. Other kinds of theoretical drawn positions are allowed to be claimed by one or both players through the Chief Arbiter (or his Deputy). The Chief Arbiter can then declare it, or not, as a drawn game after consulting his/her Technical Advisor.

c) During the playing session, a player may leave the playing area only with the permission of the Chief Arbiter and only if he is accompanied by one of the arbiters.

Download full regulations here

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