2010 LA SCHOLASTIC CHESS LEAGUE (LSCL) RULES

Louisiana Scholastic Chess League (LSCL) News

In an effort to find new ways to improve the LSCL team tournaments, there will be some changes implemented with the 2010 season. 

TEAM FEES

The entry fee will be $75 per team for the first two teams from the same school in the same division..  If a school enters more than two teams in the same division, the entry fee for the additional teams after the first two teams will be $50 per team.  All entry fees will be due by January 8, 2010.

NUMBER OF TEAMS PER DIVISION PER SCHOOL

            Under the old rules:   Each school was limited to two teams per division. 

Under the new rules:  There will be no limit on the number of teams a school may enter in each division.

TEAM/GAME FORMAT – ROSTERS

            Under the old rules:   Each team consisted of six players (plus 2 alternates, if available).  Nine rounds (game in 20 minutes per player) were played in each of the first three team meetings for a total of nine games.  Rosters with names of players for the six board positions were handed in before the start of Round 1 and could not be changed until Round 7.

Under the new rules:  Each team will continue to consist of six players, but since a school may enter more than two teams in each division, the position of alternates will be the decision of the coach.  Nine rounds (game in 20 minutes per player) will be played in each of the first three team meetings for a total of nine games.  Player rosters must be handed in before the beginning of the first meeting . . . therefore, your first roster will have the team player names/board positions for Matches #1 - #3.   You may keep the same roster for the next meeting day (Matches #4 - #6) or you may change it, if you wish, by handing in a new roster prior to Match #4, and those positions will be good for Matches #4 - #6.  Again, if you decide to change players and board positions for Matches #7 - #9, you may do so by handing in an amended roster prior to Match #7.  If your roster does not change from one meeting to the next, you do not have to hand in a new roster – your original roster will stand for your team.

The new roster rules will allow Coaches to place players at any board position for 3 games and change player board positions for future games; a coach may also switch a player on one team to another team (of the same school in the same division) by simply amending his roster and handing it in at the beginning of the day before the first match of that day.  However, please be aware that only a certain number of awards will be given to a team . . . if players do switch teams at some point it will be at the discretion of the Coach as to which players on the team receive these awards.

PAIRING FORMAT

(for the first nine rounds only)

Under the old rules:   Teams were paired in advance using a “guesstimate” of which teams would win their matches in order to plan advance pairings for future matches.   Each team played one game against the opposing team.

Under the new rules:  Pairings for the first round will be determined via a random drawing.  Once the first round scores are reported, the pairings will be determined by the computer using Swiss-Sys pairings, just as if it were an individual tournament.    This system will most fairly pair teams against each other according to their appropriate score groups (level of chess strength).  Each team will play one game against the opposing team. Nine rounds will be more than enough to clearly define rankings for the “elite eight.” 

SCORING FORMAT

(for the first nine rounds only)

Under the old rules:   The result of each of the six games for each team match was recorded and, if a draw or tie occurred (i.e., out of 6 matches one team won 3 and the opposing team won 3), the tiebreak was determined by the outcome of Board #1.  If that game was a draw, then the tiebreak would be determined by Board #2, and so on down the line until a “win” was determined.  Then that team was awarded the “team match point.”
 

Under the new rules:   The result of each of the six games will continue to be recorded and, if the entire team match ends in a draw (i.e., 3 players win their games on one team and 3 players win their games on the opposing team), then the “team match point” will be split between the two teams and each team will receive ½-point for that match. 

PLAYOFFS – “FINAL EIGHT”

            Under the old rules:   After the first nine rounds, the “Final Eight” teams were determined using the number of match points that each team won.  In the event of a tie, individual game points were used for team placement.  Two games were played against each opponent – one with a team playing white and a second with that same team playing black.

Under the new rules:  After the first nine rounds, the computer will determine the top eight teams.  In the event that two teams have the same score, placement will be determined by automatic computer tiebreaks that are set into the Swiss-Sys program.  Two games will be played against each opponent – one with a team playing white and a second with that same team playing black.

NOTE:  The pairing system used for these “elite eight” team playoffs will not change.  These teams will be paired traditionally according to ranking in brackets for match competition (i.e., Team #1 will play Team #8, Team #2 will play Team #7, and so on).  The tiebreak system will also be traditional – if each team wins 3 games, then the tiebreak will be determined by the result of the game on Board #1, then Board #2, and so on down the line until a definite outcome can be decided.

PLAYOFFS – “FINAL FOUR”

The pairing system used for the final four competing teams will also be traditional.  These teams will be paired according to ranking in brackets for match competition (i.e., Team #1 will play Team #4 and Team #2 will play Team #3).   Two games will be played against each opponent – one with a team playing white and a second with that same team playing black.  Once the final two teams have been determined, they will also play two games against each other . . . one playing as white and one playing as black . . . for the championship round.  In the event that all games end in draws, the final tiebreak will be a 5-minute head-to-head game for those players of Board #1 on each team.

2010 LEAGUE SCHEDULE

NOTE:  Starting times for the Team Tournaments and Playoffs listed below have yet to be confirmed; however, as soon as they are, a email will be sent to everyone and it will also be listed on the Cajun Chess website under “Upcoming Tournaments.”

January 16-17  –   LSCL Team Tournament #1 @ Haynes School, 1416 Metairie Rd., Metairie

January 30-31  –   LSCL Team Tournament #2 @ Haynes School, 1416 Metairie Rd., Metairie

February 20-21 –  LSCL Team Tournament #3 @ Haynes School, 1416 Metairie Rd., Metairie

March 6-7         – “FINAL 8” PLAYOFFS @ Woodlake Estates Club, 82 Sequoia St., Kenner

March 20-21     – “FINAL 4” PLAYOFFS @ Woodlake Estates Club, 82 Sequoia St., Kenner

April 10-11        –    DAVID PIERSON SPRING CHESS TOURNAMENT

If you have any questions, please call me at 504-319-2347.

Best Regards and "Good Skill",

Louis Dudoussat

President, LSCL

[file update: 01/07/10, 02:34 AM -CST]