The Ron Evers Trophy will be competed for annually in memory of the lasting contribution to Durham Chess made by Ron Evers.
The Tournament is FREE to enter and teams from outside the DCCA are welcome to enter.
Depending upon entries the Ron Evers Trophy will be run as either a 5 Round Swiss Tournament or an all-play-all tournament.
Games played in the Ron Evers Tournament will NOT be rated.
| 1. If the Ron Evers Tournament is to be run as a 5 Round Swiss Tournament then each round will be drawn at the end of the previous round. The first round being preset by the organiser. |
| 2. Any club may enter any number of four-man teams. All players must be bona fide members of the club. Each team must have a clear designation by letter or by name. A team may field one player who has previously played for another team in that season’s competition; anything above this and the team shall be disqualified. A team cannot change its players in between the two rounds held at a single venue. |
| 3. Each team’s average rating is calculated and the difference between the two teams is used in the following handicap system: |
| Stronger team’s advantage : Weaker team’s handicap |
| Average rating difference between the two teams : Game points received by Weaker team’s handicap |
| >=300 : 3.5 |
| >=225 : <300 – 2.5 |
| >=150 : <225 – 1.5 |
| >=75 : <150 – 0.5 |
| 4. Clubs must estimate the rating of any new unrated player(s). These estimated rating(s) are to be used until official rating(s) are available. |
| Note: An September rapid play rating takes precedence over an September standard play rating, if it exists for a player. September ratings will be used throughout that season’s matches. |
| 5. Players shall be listed in order of strength, with the strongest player on board 1 etc. Players can swap between boards, providing the difference between their rating strengths is between +/-75 ECF points; e.g. a player rated 1825 can only change places with a player with a rating of between 1750 and 1900. |
| 6. Each round will have all the teams playing at the same venue. A team winning their match will score 2 match points, a team drawing will score 1 match point and a team losing will score 0 match points. |
| 7. The time limit for each game is 25 minutes plus an increment of 10 seconds after each move. If not enough suitable clocks are available, some matches can alternatively be played with a time control of 30 minutes for all moves with no increment. If 3 Rounds are due to be played on one night, the organiser has the discretion to shorten the time controls by 5 minutes for each player. In all cases ECF quickplay rules apply. Score sheets need not be kept, but claims for a draw by repetition of moves or under the second part of rule 8 cannot be made without a completed score sheet. |
| 8. To win on time, a player must have the material to force mate against the worst legal play, including blocking in his own king, by the opponent whose time has run out. Furthermore, he should be making a positive attempt to win, not merely making innocuous moves until his opponent’s clock runs out. To claim a draw under the second part of this rule, a score sheet must be produced and the claim must be made before the flag has dropped. If the claim cannot be upheld this amounts to resignation. A draw will be awarded if the provisions of either part of this rule are found to apply. |
| 9. Ties for all places in the tournament shall be decided in favour of the team with the highest number of game points, only the first four boards of every match being counted. In the event of two or more teams finishing tied on both match and game points these teams will be joint winners of the Ron Evers Trophy. |
| 10. The tournament is intended to be contested in a spirit of good fellowship. The short playing sessions should give enough time for some social contact. |
| 11. It is hoped that disputes between clubs will not arise, as the tournament is a social one. Both team captains should seek to conclude a definite result acceptable to both on the night. If they cannot, they should each report back to the Ron Evers organiser. The Ron Evers organiser who will consider the information and the organiser’s ruling shall be adopted. |