B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup

The B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup is open to any club playing in the B&DCL or the Dorset League.

2024 Rules

1. Teams of 6.

2. The latest live monthly ECF rating list will apply i.e. If a match is played in March then it is the March 2024 live rating that is applied.

3. The average rating strength of the team is to be calculated and used prior to the commencement of each match. Where there is a player default, the average rating of the remaining players will be used.

4. Unrated players (these are players who do not have an ECF ‘A’ or ‘K’ rating), subject to the controller’s approval in advance of the match, will be provided with an local estimated rating. This may differ with the player’s local rating on LMS which is often set at the start of the season.

5. A player is only eligible to play for one team.

6. It is the responsibility of the home captain, upon receiving notification of the draw, to contact the away captain within 7 days of possible dates for the match, otherwise the home advantage will be reversed. A neutral venue may be used where there is more than 30 miles distance between the two clubs.

7. When two teams meet in any round, the difference in the average ratings is compared and the higher graded team will need to win by the following scores:-

Average Rating
Difference
Score Required Comments
    0 –   30 3 – 3 Tie break rules apply (see rule 8)
  31 –   90 3.5 – 2.5
  91 – 150 4 – 2
151 – 210 4.5 – 1.5
211 – 270 5 – 1
271 – 350 5.5 – 0.5
351 or more 6 – 0

8. Tie break rules. If the score is 3 – 3, then the team that wins individual games on the higher boards will be deemed the winner. This can be determined initially by adding together the winning boards. If team A wins on boards 1 and 4 (= 5) and team B wins on boards 2 and 5 (= 7) then team A wins. If this is equal, then the result on the bottom board is eliminated. e.g. If team A wins on boards 4 and 5 (= 9) and team B wins on boards 3 and 6 (= 9) then there is a tie on the first tie break rule as above but team A then wins 3 – 2 as the board 6 result is eliminated. If board 6 is a draw, then the result on board 5 is eliminated and then board 4 etc until a result is achieved. If all individual matches are draws then there will be a replay.

9. The away team has White on odd boards.

10. The time control is 1 hour plus 30 second increments with an option to use a time control of 35 minutes in 75 minutes then 15 minutes for the remainder of the game if both captains agree or if there are insufficient digital clocks (but please contact the away team captain first as they may have some).

11. FIDE rules apply. However, the Tournament Controller’s decision is final.

Please see the following Results Sheet which should be printed out and used in matches.

If the Results Sheet does not appear on your screen, then please check your download folder.