ICCF Playing Rules For Postal Play
Individual
and Team tournament games
1)
Play and Control
a. Games shall be played
in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess where applicable.
b. A Tournament Director
shall be appointed who shall be responsible for the conduct of the tournament
and progress of the games.
c. /TEAM: Each team has
a Team Captain who shall maintain contact on behalf of the Players with the
Tournament Director./
d. /TEAM: In cases of
misunderstanding between players the Team Captains should try to solve the
problem before it is sent to the Tournament Director./
2)
Transmissions
a. Moves shall be
numbered and sent
b. in the numeric or a
mutually agreed notation
c. using postcards (or
letters)
d. bearing the name and
address and signature of the sender and
e. a correct repetition
of the opponent's latest move and confirmation of the postmark date
f. The sender
shall record on the reply
g. the date on which the
opponent's latest move was delivered and
h. the expected postmark
date of the reply.
i. Failing this,
reasonable dates shall be assumed by the recipient and notified with the reply
move.
j. When the
expected postmark date does not agree with the postmark, this shall be corrected
by the recipient and
the
sender informed with the reply move.
k. The time used for the
move (see Rule 6d) and accumulated time for the game shall also be recorded.
l. Intercontinental
games shall be played by first class / air mail but a tournament announcement
can make this mandatory also for other games.
m. If both players agree,
moves may be transmitted by email or fax but these rules shall apply.
3)
Failure to Reply
a. Should there be no
reply to any move within 16 days plus the average time in the post both ways,
the full details shall be repeated with an information copy to the Tournament
Director. When replying to such a repeat an information copy to the Tournament
Director must also be sent.
/a./
/TEAM: Should there be no reply to any move within 16 days plus the
average time in the post both ways, the full details shall be repeated with an
information copy to the Tournament Director through the Team Captain. When
replying to such a repeat an information copy to the Tournament Director through
the Team Captain must also be sent./
b. Games in which no
move has been sent for four months may be scored as lost to a player who has not
advised the Tournament Director about the delay.
/b./
/TEAM: Games in which no move has been sent for four months may be scored
as lost to a player whose Team Captain has not advised the Tournament Director
and the opposing team captain about the delay./
4)
Moves and Continuations
a. No legal move shall
be retracted after posting - clerical errors are binding if they are legal
moves.
b. A correct repetition
of the latest move is necessary for the sender's reply move to be valid.
c. Illegible or illegal
moves shall be referred back to the sender for immediate correction but without
any obligation to move the piece in question.
d. A blank card or a
card posted without a reply move shall be treated as an illegible move.
e. The omission or
addition of chess indications (such as "check", "captures",
"en passant") is without significance.
f. Proposals of
conditional continuations are binding until the recipient makes a different move
from that proposed.
g. Any accepted
continuation move shall be correctly repeated with the reply.
h. When no reply is made
to an accepted conditional continuation it shall be treated as an illegible
move.
5)
Records and Reports
a. All transmissions
from the opponent concerning the game and a record of the moves and dates shall
be kept until the end of the tournament and sent to the Tournament Director upon
request.
/a/.
/TEAM: All transmissions from the opponent concerning the game and
a
record of he moves and dates shall be kept until the end of the tournament and
sent to the Team Captain and/or through him to the Tournament Director upon
request.
/b/.
If a player does not answer enquiries from the Tournament Director within
14 days plus the average time in the post both ways and without counting leaves,
that player may be deemed to have withdrawn from the tournament.
/b/.TEAM: If a player does not answer enquiries from the Team Captain
(or through him from the Tournament Director) within 14 days plus the average
time in the post both ways and without counting leaves, that player may be
deemed to have withdrawn from the tournament. See also rule 9./
c. Changes of permanent
postal and/or email address shall be notified to the Tournament Director and
opponents.
/c/.
TEAM: Changes of permanent postal and/or email address shall be
notified to the opponents and the Team Captain, who shall inform the Tournament
Director.
/d/.
The Tournament Director must be notified immediately of any disagreement
between competitors about the game
/d./
TEAM: Through the Team Captain the Tournament Director must be
notified immediately of any disagreement between competitors about the game.
6)
Time Allowed and Penalties
a. Each competitor is
allowed 30 days for every 10 moves, unless the tournament announcement
explicitly specifies otherwise. If, under rule
2,
electronic transmission is used, then a mutually agreed different time control
may be used, subject to the consent of the Tournament Director.
/a./
/TEAM: Each competitor is allowed 30 days for every 10 moves, unless the
tournament announcement explicitly specifies otherwise. If, under rule 2 (m),
electronic transmission is used, then a mutually agreed different time control
may be used, subject to the consent of the
Tournament
Director being obtained through the Team Captains./
b. The time limit may be
exceeded once.
c. Time saved shall be
carried forward.
d. The time used for
each move is the difference in days between the date on which the opponent's
latest move was delivered and the postmark date of the reply. If, under rule 2,
electronic transmission is used, then a mutual agreement on the interpretation
of 'delivery date' is permitted, subject to the consent of the Tournament
Director.
/d./
TEAM:The time used for each move is the difference in days between
the date on the opponent's latest move was delivered and the postmark date of
the reply. If, under rule 2 (m), electronic transmission is used, then a mutual
agreement on the interpretation of 'delivery date' is permitted, subject to the
consent of the Tournament Director being obtained through the Team Captains./
e. Time in the post is
not counted.
f. Accepted
continuation moves are included in the time taken for the reply move.
g. A penalty of five
days shall be added to the time of a player who sends an illegible, illegal or
ambiguous move, incorrectly repeats the opponent's latest move or fails to send
a move by air mail when this is mandatory.
7)
Time Exceeding
a. Claims that the time
limit has been exceeded shall be sent to the Tournament Director with full
details at the latest when replying to the 10th, 20th, etc. move.
/a./
/TEAM: Claims that the time limit has been exceeded shall be sent
to
the Tournament Director through the Team Captain with full details at
the
latest when replying to the 10th, 20th, etc. move./b/. At the same time, the
opponent shall be informed of the claim.
c. Any protest shall be
sent to the Tournament Director within 14 days of receiving the information
otherwise the claim shall be deemed to be conceded unless the claim is clearly
unfounded.
/c./
TEAM: Any protest shall be sent to the Tournament Director through
the Team Captain within 14 days of receiving the information otherwise the claim
shall be deemed to be conceded unless the claim is clearly unfounded.
d. The Tournament
Director shall inform both players of the decision.
/d./
TEAM: The Tournament Director shall inform both Team Captains
players of the decision, and it is the responsibility of the captains to notify
their players without delay.
e. If the Tournament
Director upholds a first claim, a new count of the opponent's time shall begin
on the date the information about the claim was received.
f. A competitor
who has exceeded the time allowed for the second time shall forfeit the game.
g If the
Tournament Director dismisses a claim as being unfounded, he may rule that no
further claim by that player during the current time control period shall be
accepted.
8)
Leave
a. Each competitor may
claim up to a total of 30 days leave during each calendar year.
b. Players taking leave
must inform in advance their opponents and the Tournament Director.
/b./
/TEAM: Players taking leave must inform in advance their opponents and
the Tournament Director through their Team Captain./
c. In addition, the
Tournament Director may grant up to 30 days' additional leave per annum, which
in exceptional circumstances may be back-dated and/or extended.
9)
Withdrawal
a. In the event of
withdrawal or death, the Tournament Director shall decide whether all the games
shall be annulled or the remaining games adjudicated or scored as losses.
/a./
/TEAM: In the event of withdrawal or death, the Tournament Director shall
call upon the Team Captain to replace this player within two months./
/b./
/TEAM: The substitute player may be required to start with a first time
limit exceeding. The new count starts on a date set by theTournament Director.
/c./
/TEAM: If it is not possible for the Team Captain to get the necessary
documents from the substituted player, the opposing Team Captain shall provide
them.
/d./
/TEAM: If no substitute player is available, the Tournament Director
shall decide according to what is prescribed in the Tournament Rules 6.3.
/e./
/TEAM: A team may substitute at most 50% of its players in case of
withdrawal, and only make one substitution per board, but there is no limit for
cases of death./
10)
Adjudication
a/./
If no result has been agreed by the date set by the announcement (or TD)
for close of play, or in the event of an accepted withdrawal, both players shall
submit to the Tournament Director within 30 days the final position with a
record of the moves played, and a statement claiming either a win or a draw.
Failure to submit a claim shall result
in
a loss except as noted below in 10(c).
/a./
TEAM: If no result has been agreed by the date set for close of
play, or after 3 years of play where no date was set for close of play, or in
the event of an accepted withdrawal, both players shall submit to the Tournament
Director, through their Team Captain, within 30 days the final position with a
record of the moves played, and a statement claiming either a win or a draw.
Failure to submit a claim shall result in a loss except as noted below in
10(c)./
b. Players should submit
analysis to support their claim of a win or draw. Claims of a win shall not be
accepted for consideration without supporting analysis; such claims shall be
treated as claims of a draw instead. Analysis does not necessarily mean possible
variations; it also includes general plans where appropriate. Players who do not
submit analysis forfeit their right to appeal the adjudicator's decision.
c. In the event of
withdrawal due to death, or an accepted withdrawal on the basis of extreme
illness preventing the player from submitting a claim and analysis, the
Tournament Director shall handle the game as if that player claimed a draw and
submitted no analysis, with the following exceptions:
*
All Title Tournaments
*
All Tournaments with norms available, unless the result will have no effect on
norms awarded
*
All Tournaments with prize money, unless the result will have no effect on prize
award.
*
Any other tournament as determined by the WTD or as announced by the Tournament
Director prior to the start of play.
d. In the event that
both players claim a draw, the Tournament Director shall declare the game a
draw.
e. The adjudicator
should begin with the assumption that the position is a draw and only determine
if the analysis of the player(s) claiming a win has presented his case and has
relied on general chess principles to claim a win (e.g. extra material;
exchange, typical endgame patterns, etc). In those cases where both players have
submitted analysis that does not diverge for several moves, the adjudicator
shall accept these moves as if played and start the adjudication at the new
position reached. The adjudicator shall not use his own analysis to find a win
that was not presented in the analysis; The adjudicator may assume that both
players have access to available table bases for endgame positions.
f. For games
submitted under 10(c), the adjudicator shall first determine if the analysis of
the other player is complete, correct, and irrefutable, and then the adjudicator
may use his own analysis. The adjudicator shall be mindful of the deceased
player's skill level, based upon the player's rating and the strength of play in
the game to reach the adjudicated position.
g. No player may be
awarded a win when he has submitted a claim of a draw, or when he has submitted
a claim of a win without supporting analysis. The only exception shall be for
those players covered under
10(c),
who may be awarded a win based on the adjudicator's analysis under 10(f), even
in the event that the Tournament Director has submitted the position with a
claim of a draw for that player.
h. The Tournament
Director shall notify the adjudicator's decision to both players, indicating
whether or not it is subject to appeal. The adjudicator need not provide any
specific reason for the decision provided. The name of the adjudicator shall not
be released without the prior consent of the adjudicator.
/h./
TEAM: The Tournament Director shall notify the adjudicator's
decision to both Team Captains, indicating whether or not it is subject to
appeal. The adjudicator need not provide any specific reason for the decision
provided. The name of the adjudicator shall not be released without the prior
consent of the adjudicator.
i. Any appeal
against the adjudicator's decision must be sent to the Tournament Director
within 14 days of receiving the notification of the decision.
/i.
TEAM: Any appeal against the adjudicator's decision must be sent to
the Tournament Director, through the Team Captain, within 14 days of receiving
the notification of the decision./
j. The Tournament
Director shall then obtain a ruling from another adjudicator and notify the
result to both players. The ruling is final and no further appeal shall be
accepted from either player. The name of the appeal adjudicator shall not be
released with prior consent from the appeal adjudicator.
/j./
TEAM: The Tournament Director shall then obtain a ruling from
another adjudicator and notify the result to both Team Captains. The ruling is
final and no further appeal shall be accepted. The name of the appeal
adjudicator shall not be released with prior consent from the appeal
adjudicator./
k. No additional
analysis may be submitted by either player for an appeal.
11)
Reporting Results
a. As soon as possible
after ending a game, the result and a clear record of the moves played shall be
sent to the Tournament Director by both players.
/a/.
TEAM: As soon as possible after ending a game, the result and a
clear record of the moves played shall be sent to the Tournament Director
through the Team Captains by both players./
b. The result is
officially recorded only after receipt of this record.
c. Should no record be
received from either player, the result may be scored as lost by both.
/c./
TEAM: Should no record be received from either Team Captain, the
result
may be scored as lost by both/
12)
Decisions and Appeals
a. The Tournament
Director may penalise or disqualify competitors who break these rules and
b. any matter not
covered in them shall be decided by the Tournament Director according to the
principles stated in the Preface of the FIDE Laws of Chess.
c. Any competitor may
appeal within 14 days of receiving a decision of the Tournament Director to the
chairman of the ICCF Appeals Commission, whose ruling shall be final.
/c./
TEAM: Any Team Captain may appeal within 14 days of receiving a
decision of the Tournament Director to the chairman of the ICCF Appeals
Commission, whose ruling shall be final. These playing rules were adopted by the
ICCF Congress, Villa La Angostura 2005 and take effect from 1.1.2006. Last
Updated ( Monday, 02 January 2006 )
International
Numeric Notation
|
18
|
28
|
38
|
48
|
58
|
68
|
78
|
88
|
8
|
|
17
|
27
|
37
|
47
|
57
|
67
|
77
|
87
|
7
|
|
16
|
26
|
36
|
46
|
56
|
66
|
76
|
86
|
6
|
|
15
|
25
|
35
|
45
|
55
|
65
|
75
|
85
|
5
|
|
14
|
24
|
34
|
44
|
54
|
64
|
74
|
84
|
4
|
|
13
|
23
|
33
|
43
|
53
|
63
|
73
|
83
|
3
|
|
12
|
22
|
32
|
42
|
52
|
62
|
72
|
82
|
2
|
|
11
|
21
|
31
|
41
|
51
|
61
|
71
|
81
|
1
|
|
a
|
b
|
c
|
d
|
e
|
f
|
g
|
h
|
|
As
shown in the diagram, each square is identified by a two-figure code number (The
letters beneath and the figures on the right refer to the algebraic notations)
Moves are indicated by putting first the square of departure and then adding the
square of destination, thus giving a four figure number. For instance: - 1)
Ng1-f3 is 7163.
Castling
is indicated by the Kings move, for instance: - 5171 is King Side Castling by
White.
Pawn
promotion is indicated by adding a fifth figure, the code number corresponding
to the piece to which the Pawn is promoted is:-
1
= Queen - 2 = Rook - 3 = Bishop - 4 = Knight
ICCF Playing Rules for
EMAIL play
Individual
and Team tournament games
1) Play and Control
a. Games shall be played
by email, in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess where applicable.
b. A Tournament Director
shall be appointed who shall be responsible for the conduct of the tournament
and progress of the games.
c. Games shall be played
by email. If a player should lose email access and is unable, for whatever
reason, to re-establish email access within 30 days, he will be considered to
have withdrawn from the tournament. The period of 30 days is allowed once a
calendar year.
/d/.
/TEAM: Each team has a Team Captain who shall maintain contact on behalf
of the Players with the Tournament Director.
/e/.
/TEAM: In cases of misunderstanding between players the Team Captains
should try to solve the problem before it is sent to the Tournament Director.
/f./
/TEAM: If a player should lose email access and is unable, for whatever
reason, to re-establish email access within 30 days, he must be replaced by
another player who is able to continue the game by email. See Rule 9/
2) Transmissions
a. Moves shall be
numbered and sent
b. in the numeric or a
mutually agreed notation
c. by email messages
d. bearing the name and
email address of the sender and
e. a continuous record
of all moves and confirmation of the date on which the opponent's latest message
was sent.
f. The sender
shall record on the message
g. the date on which the
opponent's latest message was received and
h. the expected date of
the reply.
i. Failing this,
reasonable dates shall be assumed by the recipient and notified with the reply
move.
j. When the
expected reply date does not agree with the actual emailing date shown on the
message time-stamp, this shall be corrected by the recipient and the sender
informed with the reply move.
k. The time used for the
move (see Rule 6c) and accumulated time for the game shall also be recorded.
3) Failure to Reply
a. Should there be no
reply to any move within *16* days, the full details shall be repeated with copy
to the Tournament Director. When replying to such a repeat a copy to the
Tournament Director must also be sent.
/a./
TEAM: Should there be no reply to any move within 16 days the full
details shall be repeated with copy to the Tournament Director through the Team
Captain. When replying to such a repeat a copy to the Tournament Director
through the Team Captain must also be sent./
b. Games in which no
move has been sent for 40 days may be scored as lost to a player who has not
advised the Tournament Director and his opponent about the delay.
/b./
TEAM: Games in which no move has been sent for 40 days may be scored
as lost to a player whose Team Captain has not advised the Tournament Director
and the opposing team captain about the delay./
4) Moves and Continuations
a. No legal move shall
be retracted after mailing - clerical errors are binding if they are legal
moves.
b. A correct repetition
of the latest move is necessary for the sender's reply move to be valid.
c. Illegible, illegal or
ambiguous moves shall be referred back to the sender for immediate correction
but without any obligation to move the piece in question.
d. A message mailed
without a reply move shall be treated as an illegible move.
e. The omission or
addition of chess indications (such as "check", "captures",
"en passant") is without significance.
f. Proposals of
conditional continuations are binding until the recipient makes a different move
from that proposed.
g. Any accepted
continuation move shall be correctly repeated with the reply.
h. When no reply is made
to an accepted conditional continuation it shall be treated as an illegible
move.
5) Records and Reports
a. All transmissions
from the opponent concerning the game and a record of the moves and dates shall
be kept until the end of the tournament and sent to the Tournament Director upon
request.
/a/.
TEAM: All transmissions from the opponent concerning the game and a
record of he moves and dates shall be kept until the end of the tournament and
sent to the Team Captain and/or through him to the Tournament Director upon
request.
b. If a player does not
answer enquiries from the Tournament Director within 14 days - without counting
leaves - that player may be deemed to have withdrawn from the tournament.
/b/.
TEAM: If a player does not answer enquiries from the Team Captain
(or through him from the Tournament Director) within 14 days – without
counting leaves - that player may be deemed to have withdrawn from the
tournament. See also Rule 9.
c. Changes of permanent
address shall be notified to the Tournament Director and opponents.
/c/.
TEAM: Changes of permanent address shall be notified to the
opponents and the Team Captain, who shall inform the Tournament Director.
d. The Tournament
Director must be notified immediately of any disagreement between competitors
about the game
/d./
TEAM: Through the Team Captain the Tournament Director must be
notified immediately of any disagreement between competitors about the game.
e. The Tournament
Director and opponents must be notified immediately if any substantial failure
of hardware or software occurs.
/e./
TEAM: Through the Team Captain, the Tournament Director and
opponents must be notified immediately if any substantial failure of hardware or
software occurs./
6) Time Allowed and Penalties
a. Each competitor is
allowed 50 days for every 10 moves, unless the tournament announcement
explicitly specifies otherwise.
b. Time saved shall be
carried forward.
c. The time used for
each move is the difference in days between the date on which the opponent's
latest move was received and the mailing date of the reply. If a move arrives
before 8 pm in the recipient's local time then it is considered to have arrived
on that day. If a move arrives after 8 pm in the recipient's local time it can
be considered as arrived on the next calendar day.
d/./
Accepted continuation moves are included in the time taken for the reply
move.
e. A penalty of two days
shall be added to the time of a player who sends an illegible, illegal or
ambiguous move, or incorrectly repeats the opponent's latest move..
f. A competitor
who has exceeded the time allowed shall forfeit the game. | 
