2021 Texas Collegiate Rapid Championship

Joining Zoom with camera is required for this tournament!
Zoom link will be here during the tournament:

GOALS
1.1. Determination of the 2021 Texas Collegiate Rapid Champions.
1.2. Popularization and growth of collegiate chess in Texas.

ORGANIZER AND ARBITER
2.1. The championship is organized by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
2.2. Chief Organizers: GM Bartek Macieja and GM Alex Mista, [email protected]
2.3. Chief Arbiter: IA Grant Oen

VENUE, FORMAT AND TIME CONTROL
3.1. The championship is hosted on the lichess.org platform.
3.2. The information on: tournament rules, registration, pre-entries, pairings, and standings is published on this website.
3.3. The build-in lichess.org rules are used.
3.4. The championship is played as a 7-round Swiss System individual tournament.
3.5. The time control is game in 10 minutes, with a 5-second increment from move one (G/10’+5”).
3.6. At the start of the round, all clocks will be started. The game shall be lost by the player who arrives at the chessboard 10 minutes after the start of the round.

SCHEDULE

Note: all times in Central Standard Time!

Rapid Championship Schedule

DAY	TIME	EVENT
Saturday, January 30, 2021	UNTIL 9 AM	Rapid Registration Closed
	10:00 AM	Rapid Round 1
	10:40 AM	Rapid Round 2
	11:20 PM	Rapid Round 3
	12:00 PM	Rapid Round 4
	12:40 PM	Rapid Round 5
	13:20 PM	Rapid Round 6
	14:00 PM	Rapid Round 7

REGISTRATION AND ELIGIBILITY
5.1. Players shall register through this website.
5.2. Players shall use their official college e-mail address for the registration and communication purposes.
5.3. There is no entry fee.
5.4. A USCF membership is not required.
5.5. The championship is open to students of any Texas post-secondary school (university, college, community college, academy, seminary, conservatory, institute of technology, etc.) enrolled in at least one class in the Spring 2021 semester.
5.6. Players shall not be enrolled in high school.
5.7. Players having a title of GM/IM/WGM/WIM shall be full-time degree seeking students in the Spring 2021 semester. In the final semester of their degree program, the students can be enrolled in fewer classes, if it suffices to complete their degree requirements.
5.8. There is no limit as to the number of participants per educational institution.
5.9. Faculty and staff are not eligible to compete. In this context, “staff” is not intended to include student workers or teaching assistants.
5.10. If you have any problems with the registration, please send an e-mail to Chacha Nugroho.

BYES, WITHDRAWALS, CANCELLATIONS
6.1. Players can take as many zero-point byes as they wish, but they shall request it before registration closes (one hour before the start of the championship).
6.2. Players wishing to withdraw during the championship shall inform the Chief Arbiter before the pairings for the next round have been published.
6.3. If you need to cancel/withdraw before the tournament, please use this form.

PAIRINGS AND RATINGS
7.1. The newest available version of SwissSys shall be used for pairing purposes.
7.2. Players from the same educational institution can be paired against each other.
7.3. The USCF regular ratings shall be used for pairing purposes for all participants.
7.4. Players with no regular USCF rating shall have their FIDE standard rating converted per:
http://www.glicko.net/ratings/rating.system.pdf
USCF = 180 + 0.94 × FIDE if FIDE ≤ 2000
USCF = 20 + 1.02 × FIDE if FIDE > 2000
7.5. The championship is not FIDE or USCF rated.

STANDINGS

8.1. A win is worth 1 point, a draw is worth ½ point, and a loss is worth 0 points in every game.
8.2. The Final Standings are determined by (in the descending order):

a) Number of scored points.
b) Solkoff: For each player, this system sums the number of points earned by the player's opponents. Unplayed games by the opponents count ½ point. Unplayed games by the player count zero points.
c) Cumulative: To calculate this, sum the running score for each round. For example, if a player has (in order) a win, loss, win, draw, and a loss; his round-by-round score will be 1, 1, 2, 2½, 2½. The sum of these numbers is 9. Additionally, one point is subtracted from the sum for each unplayed win, and ½ point is subtracted for each unplayed draw. In the previous example, if the fourth-round draw was instead a ½ point bye, then ½ point would be subtracted and the final sum would be 8½.
d) Cumulative of Opposition: This sums the cumulative scores of the player's opponents.
e) Coin Toss: If necessary, a coin toss will be the final tiebreak.

AWARDS
The Final Standings are determined by (in the descending order):
9.1. The following State Titles shall be awarded to the winners:

a) 2021 Texas Collegiate Champion
b) 2021 Texas Collegiate Women’s Champion

9.2. There will be three additional classifications:

a) under 2200
b) under 2000
c) under 1800

DISCONNECTIONS AND TECHNICAL ISSUES

10.1. A short disconnect (<1 minute) will keep the clock running. A longer disconnect will result in a forfeit.
10.2. It is every player’s individual responsibility to have:

a) Working playing device,
b) Working camera,
c) Working microphone,
d) Stable Internet connection,
e) Account created and verified on lichess.org,
f) Knowledge and experience how to play on lichess.org.

10.3. Players are required to be on a video call via Zoom during the championship.
10.4. The Zoom link will be e-mailed to all the participants before the start of the first round.
10.5. Players are required to share their screen with the Zoom call.
10.6. Players are not allowed to use virtual background.
10.7. Players shall have their microphones off.
10.8. The tournament staff may turn on a player’s microphone for the purpose of ensuring fair play.
10.9. Players without a camera, or refusing to turn it on, will be forfeited for that round.
10.10. Players shall remain in front of the camera during the game. Players that go off-camera may be forfeited for that round.
10.11. For the purpose of the championships, the playing area is defined as a room in a dwelling where a player has the device connected to Zoom.
10.12. Players are required to move their webcam to show the Chief Arbiter their playing area upon request.
10.13. Zoom monitoring sessions, including video or/and audio, may be recorded for the purpose of ensuring fair play.
10.14. Headphones, earphones and any kind of audio device or electronic devices not used for playing is not allowed during the rounds.
10.15. No other software shall be running during games besides:

a) Operating System,
b) Antivirus,
c) Zoom,
d) Web browser that is connecting to lichess.org,
e) Software needed to make the camera work,
f) Software needed to make the microphone work.

10.16. Outside assistance of any kind is strictly prohibited.
10.17. No spectators are allowed in the playing area.

FAIR PLAY
11.1. Players shall obey the Terms of Service of lichess.org.
11.2. Fair play concerns will be governed by the Fair Play Panel nominated by the Organizers.
11.3. The Fair Play Panel will actively monitor the course of the championship and inform the Chief Arbiter on suspected fair play violations.
11.4. The Fair Play Panel may use resources of lichess.org and approved external tools.
11.5. A fair play violation may potentially lead to severe punishments, including:

a) Warning,
b) Forfeit of a single game,
c) Expulsion from the championship,
d) Other penalties the Chief Arbiter deems adequate.

11.6. Upon consultation with the Fair Play Panel, it is at a sole discretion of the Chief Arbiter to choose the most adequate penalty for a fair play violation.
11.7. Serious fair play violations may be reported to players’ colleges or/and to the US Chess Federation Ethics Committee. Players found guilty of cheating may be excluded from further chess competitions, including over-the-board events.
11.8. If a player was forfeited for a violation of the Fair Play Rules or the Terms of Service of lichess.org, the opponent shall receive:

a) One point (1.0), if the following round has not started,
b) Extra half point (0.5) for that game, not to exceed one point (1.0), if the following round has started.

11.9. Upon the completion of the last round of the championship, the Chief Arbiter will be given 2 weeks to analyze fair play data gathered by lichess.org and the Fair Play Panel. This time can be extended, if deemed necessary.
11.10. By entering the tournament, each player accepts the above-mentioned fair play measures as a condition of entry in a voluntary event and agrees that his/her participation takes place subject to these fair play measures. Each player acknowledges and agrees that he/she consents to the transfer of all his/her personal data by lichess.org to the tournament staff and the US Chess Federation, including his/her real name, games played, evidence of non-compliance with the fair play rules, including audio or/and video recording of games (if any).

MISCELLANEOUS
12.1. Decisions of the Chief Arbiter are final.
12.2. The final interpretation of this document belongs to the Chief Organizers.
Original document of this regulation, can be downloaded here.