Rules

The tournament will be a two-stage team competition. The first stage will vary in the amount of rounds depending on the amount of teams registered. The second stage will be a single elimination bracket of the top 4 teams from the first stage. The first stage will be designated as follows:

1. If 8 or less teams registered: 5 rounds swiss

2. If 9-10 teams register: 6 rounds swiss

3. If 11-12 teams register: 7 rounds swiss

4. If 13 or more teams register: 8 rounds swiss

Each match will consist of 3 sets. The first set will be a 6 game match in 3+2 time control (3 minutes with an increment of 2 seconds per move). The second set will be a 10 game match in 1,5+1 time control (1 minute and 30 seconds with an increment of 1 second per move). The third set will be a 16 game match in ¾+0 time control (45 seconds with an increment of 0 seconds per move).

1. Each round will begin on a Monday at 0 UTC and end on a Sunday at 23:59 UTC.

   1. Any matches not played by the end of the round will automatically be double forfeited. Results can be appealed and overturned within 24 hours. This means no extensions will be granted.

2. If a match is played in the wrong time control, a one-time grace will be given to a player if the mistake occurs within the first two rounds. The match will be counted as normal. After the second round or a one-time grace, matches will automatically be counted as a full points draw instead.

3. Before the beginning of each round, team leaders will send a message to james126 or in (designated forum) with which player will play in each round. This is to state which player will play each time control. This will be their team’s “lineup” for that round. If no message is sent before the start of each round, the previous round’s players will be used.

   1. A one-time grace will be given to each team leader if they forget to message as long as a correction is made within 24 hours of the beginning of the next round. This applies to all rounds except the first round.

   2. The registration period will end on a Saturday at 6 UTC and be finalized by 23:59 UTC the same day. This will give team leaders 24 hours to submit their first round lineup. 

   3. The message should look something like this: “Player A will play 3+2, Player B will play 1,5+1, Player C will play ¾+0, and Player D will not play this round)

4. The winning team of the swiss stage will be rewarded with a “wild card” that can be used in each round of the single elimination stage. This “wild card” allows them to make any ONE and ONLY ONE switch to TWO players within 24 hours of seeing the pairings (for example, a swap of assigned time controls or swapping the substitute player for an active player). This “wild card” does not have to be used.

Scoring for each set will be decided by the game score of each set. Each score will be multiplied by a “TC Factor” to get the score entered into Challonge. Players may report their own score in this forum (LINK). Otherwise team leaders may message james126 or in the forum listed above. The match score will be decided on which teams win the most sets.

1. TC Factors will be as follows:

   1. 40 for 3+2 sets

   2. 24 for 1,5+1 sets

   3. 15 for ¾+0 sets

Tiebreakers for the swiss stage will be in this order: Match Points, Set Points, Match Wins, Set Wins, Head to Head Score.

1. Teams will score 1 match points for a win and 0,5 points for a draw

2. Teams can score up to 720 set points in a match

3. Set points will be used as a tiebreaker for each match if the match score is equal.

The tournament will be directed by RKCC EA james126 and RKCC TDs MIMOGR & bijiy.

Any player found in violation of the Lichess TOS during the duration of the tournament will immediately be removed and prohibited from continuing in the competition. All of their previous results will be changed to a full points forfeit in their opponent’s favor. The team leader may replace their player at any point for the remainder of the competition with a player not registered to another team. If a team leader is found in violation of the Lichess TOS, another player on their team may step in as team leader. This may also result in up to a 1 year RKCC ban.

Any player found to have intentionally lost games or sets will be removed from the remainder of the competition and issued up to a 1 year RKCC ban. 

At the end of each round, each unplayed match will automatically be double forfeited to advance the competition to the next round. These results have a 24 hour appeal window. Any appeal made after this window will be voided as invalid. The appeal must require substantial evidence showing clear fault in one player for the match not being played. Tournament directors will use their own discretion to decide on overturning results.

Any accusations of cheating, deliberate losing, unfair assistance, or any other violation of the Lichess TOS or competition rules cannot be made publicly (whether on Lichess, Discord, or any other public messaging system). If an accusation is made public, TDs cannot properly handle a report or appeal of the incident. Any reports or appeals should be made privately to a TD or using the Lichess report function.

Any occurrence not explicitly outlined by the aforementioned rules will be up to the TDs discretion to decide what action will be taken. This can include, but is not limited to: set forfeit(s), match forfeit(s), removal from the competition, suspension from the competition, RKCC suspension, RKCC ban, Lichess Report, or any other viable disciplinary action.

Aforementioned action definitions:

1. Double forfeits: A 0-0 set result entered into Challonge

2. Full-Draw: An equal point set result entered into Challonge (120-120)

3. Full-Forfeit: Full points for a set result entered into Challonge (240-0)

4. Removal from the competition/tournament: The player’s registration will be removed and the team will lose this player. This player may not play on any team for the remainder of the competition.

5. RKCC Suspension: A set duration based on upcoming RKCC events in which the player would be ineligible to register for.

6. RKCC Ban: A set duration based on a fixed amount of time in which the player would be ineligible to register for RKCC events.