2021 U.S. Online Collegiate
Rapid and Blitz Championships

Saturday-Sunday, September 25-26
Online: https://collegiate.chess.stream/


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

  1. GOALS

    1.1. Determination of the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Rapid and Blitz Individual Champions.
    1.2. Determination of the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Rapid and Blitz Team Champions.
    1.3. Popularization and growth of collegiate chess in the U.S.

  2. ORGANIZER AND ARBITER

    2.1. The tournaments are organized by the Texas Tech Chess Program.

    2.2. Organizing committee: GM Alex Onischuk, GM Bartek Macieja, IA Grant Oen, Kacy Hokett, Dr. Jeff Day
    2.3. Chief Arbiter: IA Grant Oen, [email protected]
    2.4. Decisions of the Chief Arbiter are final and not appealable.
    2.5. Deputy Tournament Directors will be assisting during the event.

  3. VENUE

    The tournaments will be hosted on the chess platform lichess.org
    The pairings, standings, registration, and information of the event can found at this website. Links are on the tabs of this page: PAIRINGS PAGE, STANDINGS PAGE, and TEAM STANDINGS PAGE.

  4. SCHEDULE (all times in CENTRAL TIME!)
     

    Rapid Championship Schedule
    DAY CENTRAL TIME EVENT
    Saturday, September 25
         		 10:00 AM Rapid Registration Closes
    10:45 AM Players Must be Online
    11:00 AM Rapid Round 1
    11:40 AM Rapid Round 2
    12:20 PM Rapid Round 3
    01:00 PM Rapid Round 4
    01:40 PM Rapid Round 5
      BREAK
    02:40 PM Rapid Round 6
    03:20 PM Rapid Round 7
    04:00 PM Rapid Round 8
    04:40 PM Rapid Round 9

    Blitz Championship Schedule (Central Time)
    DAY CENTRAL TIME EVENT
    Sunday, September 26
         		 10:00 AM Blitz Registration Closes
    10:45 AM Players Must be Online
    11:00 AM Blitz Round 1
    11:20 AM Blitz Round 2
    11:40 AM Blitz Round 3
    12:00 PM Blitz Round 4
    12:20 PM Blitz Round 5
    12:40 PM Blitz Round 6
      BREAK
    01:20 PM Blitz Round 7
    1:40 PM Blitz Round 8
    2:00 PM Blitz Round 9
    2:20 PM Blitz Round 10
    2:40 PM Blitz Round 11
    3:00 PM Blitz Round 12

  5. FORMAT

    5.1. The 2021 U.S. Collegiate Rapid and Blitz Championships shall be treated as two back-to-back events that include a 9-round Swiss System rapid tournament and a 12-round Swiss System blitz tournament.
    5.2. The pairings, registration, and information of the tournaments can found at this website.
    5.3. The build-in lichess.org rules shall be used.

  6. REGISTRATION AND ELIGIBILITY

    6.1. Players shall register at this website for one or both championships using their official school email address (.edu).
    6.2. There shall be no entry fee for the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Rapid and Blitz Championships.
    6.3. A USCF membership is required. Foreign GM/WGM/IM/WIM are exempted from the requirement.
    6.4. The tournaments are open to students of any U.S. post-secondary school (university, college, community college, academy, seminary, conservatory, institute of technology, etc.) enrolled in at least one class in the Fall 2021 semester.
    6.5. Players having a title of GM/IM/WGM/WIM shall be full-time degree seeking students in the Fall 2021 semester. In the final semester of their degree program, students can be enrolled in fewer classes, if it suffices to complete their degree requirements.
    6.6. A player shall not be enrolled in high school.
    6.7. There is no limit as to the number of participants per educational institution.
    6.8. Faculty and staff are not eligible to compete. In this context, “staff” is not intended to include student workers or teaching assistants.

  7. TIME CONTROL

    7.1. Rapid: The time control shall be game in 10 minutes, with a 5-second increment from move one (G/10+5).
    7.2. Blitz: The time control shall be game in 3 minutes, with a 2-second increment from move one (G/3+2).
    7.3. The clocks will be started by the arbiter one minute after the start of the round. Players who do not show up in time to make their first move before they run out of time will be forfeited and removed from the tournament unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise.  

  8. PAIRINGS & SCORING

    8.1. The tournaments shall be paired and scored individually. There are individual and team awards and titles.
    8.2. The newest available version of SwissSys shall be used for pairing purposes.
    8.3. US Chess OTB regular ratings shall be used for pairing purposes. USCF Online ratings will not be used for pairing purposes.
    8.4. If a player does not have a regular US Chess rating, their FIDE standard rating shall be adapted 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

    8.5. The Rapid Championship will be US Chess Online Quick rated. The Blitz Championship will be US Chess Online Blitz rated. US Chess membership is required for all players. The tournaments will not be FIDE rated.
    8.6. Players from the same educational institution shall not be paired against each other in any round.
    8.7. Players can take as many zero-point byes as they wish, but they shall request it before registration closes (one hour before the tournaments).
    8.8. Players wishing to withdraw shall inform the Chief Arbiter before the pairings for the next round have been published.
    8.9. A win is worth 1 point, a draw is worth 1⁄2 point, and a loss is worth 0 points in every game.
    8.10. The top four individual scores from a school will count toward team prizes. If more than one team ties for first place, the teams will be declared co-champions.

  9. STANDINGS

    The Final Standings are determined by (in the descending order):
    9.1. Number of scored points.
    9.2. Solkoff: For each player, this system sums the number of points earned by the player's opponents. Unplayed games by the opponents count 1⁄2 point. Unplayed games by the player count zero points.
    9.3. 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, 2 1⁄2, 2 1⁄2. The sum of these numbers is 9. Additionally, one point is subtracted from the sum for each unplayed win, and 1⁄2 point is subtracted for each unplayed draw. In the previous example, if the fourth-round draw was instead a 1⁄2 point bye, then 1⁄2 point would be subtracted and the final sum would be 8 1⁄2.
    9.4. Cumulative of Opposition: This sums the cumulative scores of the player's opponents.
    9.5. Coin Toss: If necessary, a coin toss will be the final tiebreak.

  10. EQUIPMENT, INTERNET CONNECTION AND ZOOM CONNECTION

    10.1. Players are required to be on a video call via Zoom during the tournaments. The Zoom link will be e-mailed to all the participants before the start of the first round. Players are not allowed to use virtual background.
    10.2. Players shall have their microphones off.
    10.3. Players without a camera, or refusing to turn it on, will not be allowed to play that round.
    10.4. Players are required to share their screen with the Zoom call.
    10.5. Headphones, earphones and any kind of audio device or electronic devices not used for playing will not be allowed during the rounds.
    10.6. Outside assistance of any kind is strictly prohibited.
    10.7. Players must remain in front of the camera during the game. If a player goes off-camera during the game, that player may be forfeited for that round.
    10.8. No other software shall be running besides Zoom, the web browser that is connecting to lichess.org , the tournament website, and software needed to make the camera work.
    10.9. Players are required to move their webcam to show the Chief Arbiter their playing area upon request.
    10.10. Players are responsible for ensuring their internet connection is stable for the tournaments.
    10.11. A short disconnect (<1 minute) will keep the clock running on lichess.org . A longer disconnect will result in a forfeit.

  11. FAIR PLAY

    11.1. By participating in the tournaments, the player agrees to adhere to the rules and regulations presented here. The player is also responsible for adhering to the Fair Play Rules and the Terms of Service of the hosting website: lichess.org. The rules can be found at www.lichess.org/terms-of-service.
    11.2. During or after the event, players found or strongly believed to be using outside assistance may be expelled from the event and their results adjusted based on US Chess rules. 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.
    11.3. Players that were paired against someone that was found to be in violation of the Fair Play Rules or of the Terms of Service will receive an extra half (1/2) point for that game, not to exceed one point (1.0).
     

  12. AWARDS

    12.1. The following National Titles will be awarded to the winners:
    a). 2021 U.S. Collegiate Rapid Champion
    b). 2021 U.S. Women's Collegiate Rapid Champion
    c). 2021 U.S. Collegiate Rapid Champions (team)
    d). 2021 U.S. Collegiate Blitz Champion
    e). 2021 U.S. Women's Collegiate Blitz Champion
    f). Second and third-place individuals in each event

    12.2. Prizes will also be awarded to:
    a). The second and the third-place individuals in each tournament,
    b). The top player in each tournament rated under 2200, under 2000, and under 1800 based on over-the-board USCF Ratings.  

  13. MISCELLANEOUS

    13.1. Decisions of the Chief Arbiter are final.
    13.2. The final interpretation of this document belongs to the Organizer.
    13.3. If you have any questions send email to Chief Organizer GM Alex Onischuk, [email protected], Chief Arbiter Grant Oen, [email protected] and Chacha Nugroho, [email protected]
    13.4. If you need to cancel/withdraw before the tournament, please use this form, or email Grant Oen or Chacha Nugroho if any problems.