- Organization Team• Michael Khodarkovsky, Kasparov Chess Foundation President
• GM Alex Onischuk, US Chess College Committee Chair
• Grant Oen, International Arbiter
• GM Zlatko Klaric, KCF Adriatic Director
• Graham Jurgensen, KCF Africa Director
• Ignatius Leong, International Arbiter, KCF Asia-Pacific Director
• GM Darcy Lima, KCF Lusophone Director
• Hiquingari Carranza, KCF Ibero-America Director
• Official Contact Email: KCFUniversityCup@chessstream.com, or use this form to contact us - Arbiters2.a. Chief Arbiter – IA, IO Grant Oen
2.b. Technical Director – Chacha Nugroho
2.c. Assistant Arbiters will be present to monitor Zoom and answer questions during the tournament.
2.d. The Chief Arbiter has discretion to make case-by-case exceptions to the below regulations or to make decisions on issues not clearly defined in the regulations.
2.e. Decisions of the Chief Arbiter are final and not appealable.
- Registration3.a. There is no entry fee for the 2nd Annual KCF University Cup.
3.b. Registration for All teams is online at this website. Registration closes 24 hours before round 1. Eligibility must be submitted and verified 24 hours before round 1. Teams without eligibility for all players will not be permitted to play.
3.c. Teams must register using their official academic institution email address.
3.d. To complete registration, each team must also submit an eligibility form (see below).
3.e. Teams must submit the name and contact information of a team captain who will be the main point of contact for the team. The team captain may be a player on the team.
3.f. Although this is a single-section event, each academic institution may only register up to four teams, with a maximum of one team per rating category (2200-2399, 2000-2199, 1800-1999, Under 1800), based on the team average rating defined in #5, and noting the below exception, 3.g.
3.g. Each academic institution may enter multiple teams rated under 1800, but only the highest rated team under 1800 will be eligible for prizes. The other teams may enter and play, but are not eligible for prizes. There is still a limit of four teams per academic institution.
3.h. A team is made up of four players plus up to two optional alternates.
3.i. Teams with less than four players will not be permitted to register and play. - Eligibility4.a. The KCF University Cup is an international online event which is open to teams from any post-secondary school (university, college, community college, etc.) enrolled in at least one class in the January 2022 semester.
4.b. At least 24 hours before the start of round 1, each team must submit an official letter which proves every player’s active status in their academic institution. This letter must be signed/stamped by the registrar or a similar official.
4.c. This eligibility document should be uploaded online through this website page. Teams and players will not be able to play unless all members of their team have their eligibility approved.
4.d. Except for student workers and teaching assistants, academic faculty and staff are not eligible to compete.
- RatingsThe January 2022 Universal Rating System (URS) rating list will be used.
5.a. If a player does not have a URS rating, their January 2022 FIDE rating will be used.
5.b. If a player does not have a URS or FIDE rating, their January 2022 US Chess rating will be used.
5.c. If a player does not have a URS, FIDE, or US Chess rating, they will count as unrated unless the Chief Arbiter assigns a rating.
5.d. If a player does not have a URS, FIDE, or US Chess rating, they will count as unrated unless the Chief Arbiter assigns a rating.
5.e. If a player’s FIDE, US Chess, or other rating greatly exceeds their URS rating, the Chief Arbiter may, at his discretion, assign a different rating for this event.
The team average rating is the average of the four highest ratings, excluding unrated players. For example, a team consisting of 1801, 1800, 1799, and two unrated players will have an average rating of 1800 and are eligible for prizes in the 1800-1999 rating category. This team average will be used for pairings and rating category prize eligibility.
- Format and Pairings6.a. This is a nine round Swiss System tournament played on lichess.org.
6.b. The time control is 10 minutes plus 5 second increment per move.
6.c. This is a team vs team event – each match will be played with 4 boards vs 4 boards.
6.d. The team listed as White on the pairings will have the White pieces on boards 1 & 3, and the Black pieces on boards 2 & 4.
6.e. This is a single section event with additional prizes based on rating category and continent.
6.f. The team rating is the rating average of the top four players on each team.
6.g. There is a team rating cap of 2400 – no team may have an average rating exceeding 2400.
6.h. In addition to the Overall KCF University Cup winner, there are prizes for each rating category: 2000-2199, 1800-1999, and Under 1800. There are not separate rating sections, but prizes to the top-finishing team based on the team average rating.
6.i. Each academic institution may only submit up to one team per rating category for a maximum of four teams, except that more than one team Under 1800 may enter (see 3.g.). 6.j. Half-point byes are not permitted, only zero-point byes. Withdrawals must be submitted to the Chief Arbiter before the next round’s pairings are posted.
6.k. Teams must have four players per match to compete. Teams with less than four players will not be able to register, and teams missing players during the event will be withdrawn.
6.l. FIDE Pairing rules and software will be used.
6.m. Teams from the same academic institutions will not be paired against each other in the last two rounds. They may be paired against each other in rounds 1-7.
6.n. This event is not rated by US Chess, FIDE, or URS.
- Scoring7.a. Team scoring, in order of priority.
7.a.1. Match Points.
7.a.2. Game Points.
7.a.3. Average Opposition (Team) Rating.
7.b. Ties for all places except for first place team will be broken by the above mathematical tiebreaks.
7.c. If there is a tie for first in the overall team standings, the top two teams on tiebreaks (stated above) will contest in a playoff:
7.c.1. Shortly after round 9 concludes, the playoff will be a four vs. four blitz match (3 minutes + 2 second increment) against the corresponding player on the other team.
7.c.2. The playoff lineups must be the same as in round 9. There will be a drawing of lots for colors.
7.c.3. If the above playoff match ends in a 2-2 tie, then each team will designate one player for a one-on-one tiebreak blitz match (3 minutes + 2 second increment) until the first decisive game. There will be a drawing of lots for the color of the first game.
- ScheduleNote: all times in Eastern Standard Time (New York)!DAYTIMEEVENTFriday, February 4
10:00 AMRegistration ClosesSaturday, February 5
10:00 AMRound 110:45 AMRound 211:30 AMRound 312:15 PMRound 401:00 PMRound 5Sunday, February 6
10:00 AMRound 610:45 AMRound 711:30 AMRound 812:15 PMRound 901:00 PMPlayoff (if necessary) - Lineups9.a. Each team consists of four players plus up to 2 optional alternates.
9.b. When one alternate plays, they play on the lowest boards.
9.c. Teams will play in descending rating order, except that 50-point transpositions are allowed.
9.d. Teams must use the fixed board order that they submit upon registration, unless an updated board order is submitted at least 24 hours before round 1.
9.e. Teams must use the same four players for a given day, but may change their lineup between days by submitting an alternate lineup at least 12 hours before round 6.
9.e.1. The same four players must play all the rounds on a given day.
9.e.2. For example, boards 1, 2, 3, 4 may play rounds 1-5 on Saturday, and at least 12 hours before round 6, submit an alternate lineup for Sunday, using boards 1, 2, and both of the alternates.
- Lichess/Connection10.a. All players must have a lichess account (free to register).
10.b. The built-in lichess server rules will apply.
10.c. What happens on the lichess board is official, including flag falls, disconnection, mouseslips, (in)sufficient mating material, threefold repetition, accidental resignation, etc.
10.d. The arbiters will start all clocks shortly after the start of the round.
10.e. Players will have the entire base time (10 minutes) to join their game before being forfeited.
10.f. Players are responsible for maintaining a stable internet connection. While playing, a short disconnection will keep the clock running. A longer disconnection may result in a forfeit.
10.g. In the case of a lichess server crash, the Chief Arbiter has the authority to adjudicate or cancel any games or matches (even if games have started and/or completed) and/or alter the number of rounds in the event.
- Prizes11.a. The first place team winner will be the 2nd KCF University Cup Champions, and will receive the KCF University Cup and an online team training session with Garry Kasparov.
11.b. Plaques will be awarded to the top three teams in the final overall standings.
11.c. The top team in the 2000-2199 category will also receive an online team training session with Garry Kasparov.
11.d. Plaques will be awarded to the top team in the 2000-2199, 1800-1999, and U1800 rating categories.
11.e. Plaques will be awarded to the top team per FIDE Continent (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe). Continental prizes can be earned in addition to the prizes above.
11.f. A plaque will be awarded to the top “Mixed Doubles” team – 2 males and 2 females must represent the team on each day. The mixed doubles prize can be earned in addition to the prizes above.
- Fair Play12.a. Players shall not use outside assistance of any kind.
12.b. Players shall not listen to music, wear headphones, or have other electronic devices near them while playing.
12.c. Players may only have their lichess game, the pairings/standings page, and the tournament Zoom meeting open. While playing, no other browser tabs or programs may be open.
12.d. During or after the event, players or teams found or strongly believed to be using outside assistance may be deemed ineligible for a prize and/or expelled from the event.
12.e. The Chief Arbiter may remove a player or team from the event, make a player and their team ineligible for a prize, or adjust the standings even if lichess does not find the account guilty of a fair play violation.
- Zoom13.a. While playing in the event, all players must be in the event’s Zoom meeting with video and screenshare enabled. The screenshare shall show the entire desktop view.
13.b. Players should expect to join the Zoom meeting 20 minutes before the first round on each day to ensure connectivity and receive announcements from the Chief Arbiter.
13.c. Even during games, players must agree to Zoom requests by tournament arbiters, including turning on audio, giving a scan of the playing area, adjusting the camera angle, etc.
13.d. If possible, players are strongly encouraged to also join Zoom from a secondary device to provide a side or rear-view angle of the entire playing area (see image below) in addition to the front-facing webcam from the playing computer.
2nd Annual Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup
SourceKCF
