The ladder is a position based, ongoing tournament that is open to anyone in the Groovy Gang that is rated 1199 or under.

To become a participant in the Ladder Match tournament, all you have to do is either post a request to be added in the Ladder Discussion Forum or send me a message through the Chess.com system. Then you will be added at the bottom of the ladder.

Once you have been accepted on the ladder, you may challenge anyone within four places of your current ranking. Normally, this would be people ranked higher than you but there are a couple of situations where it might be advantageous to play against someone lower ranked.

For example, if you are ranked at #9, you may challenge anyone ranked #5-8. You may not challenge anyone rated higher than #5 because they are more than four ranked spots higher than you.

This means that anyone in the top 5 can challenge for the title.
Matches can be either Rated or Unrated Standard matches. Rated matches may be declined without penalty, however, the player who declines a rated match must reply with an unrated match or forfeit. A Standard Unrated 3 Day Match may not be declined without forfeit.
To issue a challenge, see the next post for instructions.
After you have sent a challenge to your selected opponent, you MUST post your challenge in the Ladder Challenges forum.
After the challenge is accepted/denied, it MUST be posted in the Ladder Challenge forum.
If the lower ranked player wins the match, the players’ positions on the Ladder will be swapped. If the result is a draw or a loss, the positions will remain the same.
If a challenge is not accepted within 3 days time OR if a match is declined, the standings of the players will be swapped. The player issuing the challenge should post notification of the time having passed in the Ladder Discussion forum.
Positive attitudes only on the ladder. Whining, complaining, sniping, moaning, antagonizing others and other rude treatment of members will result in a warning and then banishment from the Ladder.
New players join at the bottom of the ladder.
Each player may only participate in one Ladder Match at a time. No exceptions. Everybody wants to play Voodoooo but only one at a time can.
There are no consecutive rematches permitted on the Ladder. In order to challenge the same player again, the lower ranked player MUST challenge another member first. No exceptions.

You can certainly play the same player again immediately, but it will not be a Ladder Match game.
Enjoy the competition and HAVE FUN!!!

Groovy Admins

Super Admins