Negotiating

For each of the games, a related Negotiation Forum (NF) is created and supervised by an arbiter. The Negotiation Forum is the only mean of communication that the players will use to agree about a day & time to play the game. The players will comply with all the rules, with all the instructions given in the Negotiation Forum and with all the instructions given by the arbiter. We use the English language to communicate. We use USA ET (New-York Time) for any negotiation, even when the players come from the same time zone. A link to a Time Zone Converter will be available in all the Negotiation Forums. Let's now give our definition of a «Starting Time» and Initial Starting Time:

A Starting Time is the starting point of a chess game notwithstanding the duration.

An Initial Starting Time is one of the three (3) mandatory first Starting Time offers made at the very beginning of the negotiation process by one or both players.

The pairings and Negotiation Forums are published within twenty-four (24) hours before Monday @ 00:00 USA ET. After the Pairings & Negotiation Forums are posted, the players' main objective is to find a common suitable Starting Time towards the game. The first player to get inside the Negotiation Forum must offer at least three (3) Initial Starting Times as when to play in accordance with our four (4) Guidelines shown below. The second player to show up in the Negotiation Forum must either accept one of the first player's Initial Starting Time offers OR, if accepting is impossible, counter-offer with at least three (3) Initial Starting Times of his own following the same four (4) Guidelines shown below. This must be accomplished before the first Wednesday after the pairings / Negotiation Forums are posted @ 00:00 USA ET. Thus, the players have forty-eight (48) hours to fulfill the above mentionned task. When the player fails to meet this requirement on time, the arbiter locks the Negotiation Forum, the player automatically forfeits the game and loses a full «Reliability Rating Point» (RRP). For more about Reliability Rating Point, see «Reliability Rating» below.

In case of no agreement after both players have offered their three (3) minimal Initial Starting Times, the players keep negotiating, making offers and counter-offers (one Starting Time at a time or more) in the way Ping-Pong players would return the ball. If no agreement is possible after the players did everything in their power to succeed and followed all the rules, the game is duly declared draw by the arbiter in charge. The arbiter may have to look at the quality of the negotiation process to determine if the result is ½-½ or not. He may have to answer questions like the followings: Did both players try their best to agree? Did both players offer a wide range of possibilities for starting a game? Did both players try to compromise in order to agree? If one of the players fails to pass this test, this player may lose the game by forfeit and lose one (1) RRP. Again, please see «Reliability Rating» below for more on this topic.

Here are our four (4) Guidelines that the players will comply with when offering three (3) Initial Starting Times:

A Starting Time to play before Tuesday @ 6:00 USA ET does not count towards the three (3) Initial Starting Times requirement;
There must be at least 24 hours between posting time and playing time for a Starting Time to count towards the three (3) Initial Starting Times requirement;
There must be at least three (3) hours between each of the Initial Starting Times;
The maximum number of Starting Times offered for the same playing day is two (2);

We are going to classify the different types of Starting Time:

A Standard Starting Time is always made more than 24 hours before the occurrence of the game it proposes. A Suicidal Starting Time is always made less than 24 hours before the game it proposes.

A Standard Starting Time offer expires twenty (24) hours before the occurrence of the game it proposes. On the other hand, a Suicidal Starting Time offer expires one (1) hour before the occurrence of the game it proposes. It expires at the deadline or twenty-four (24) hours before the occurence of the game it proposes. Conveniently, a player can accept an expired Starting Time offer if the offering player is still willing to honour it. Given everything has been done in accordance with The Rules, as soon as an offer is made by a player and accepted by the other, there is no need to confirm anything. It then binds on both players to show up on time to play the game.

Playing the Game

A 45|45 tournament is an eight (8) day cycled event, while a 90|30 is a fourteen (14) day event. Each player receives a Game Reminder ± twenty-four (24) hours before the agreed starting time of the game. It is of premium importance that both players show up on time to play. However, each player is allowed a twenty (20) minute period of grace. After twenty (20) minutes, the situation is treated as if the faulty player didn’t show up. See «No Show» below for more on this topic.

As soon as the player gets to the LIVE server, it is mandatory that he checks in by sending the arbiter a private message. The private message must contain the blue link that comes with the official seal posted inside the Negotiation Forum. This blue link can be copied from the Negotiation Forum or from the Game Reminder. Here’s a sample of it:

Bd# Player A v Player B: dd/mm hh:mmGMT

In case of a no show up for the game by one of the player, it is also obligatory that the non-faulty player sends his related private message to the arbiter in order to notify him of the situation. This private message must be sent immediately after the twenty (20) minute period of grace.

All games to be played are rated games. Unless otherwise specified, the player whose username appears left has the white pieces. It is usually a good idea that one player «friends» the other before the occurrence of the game in order to make seeking each other easier on the «LIVE» server. When the time comes, one player sends a game offer to the other on the «LIVE» server in respect to the parameters of the game: color assignment, time control, increment, rated game. Click here to find out how to do. When the parameters of the game don’t match the ones prescribed, the game is declared 0F-0F but no one loses any RRP. See «Reliability Rating» for more about RRP.

After the game is played, it is the responsibility of both players to make sure that at least one link to the game is posted inside the Negotiation Forum. Click here to find out how to do.

Loss of connection

The player who disconnects loses the game even if he has a winning advantage. However, if both players agree and if the arbiter also agrees, another game can be rescheduled and this latter will count for the Standings. Sportsmanship plays a crucial role here. If the players remember the remaining times, the arbiter might oblige the players to follow an algorithm that will enable them to reach the approximate remaining times and to play the exact position that was on the board just before the loss of connexion. In case of server crash, the game will be declared unvalid even if one of the players had a clear advantage. The players will do their best to reschedule. When rescheduling is impossible, the game is declared drawn.

No Show

Not showing up for a game is a grievous «blunder» and must be discouraged proportionnally. In fact, experience has shown that no shows are the main threat to a system like the one the Slow LIVE Chess Association utilizes. Consequently, the player who, for any reason, does not show up for his game loses a full RRP. See «Reliability Rating» for more on RRP. Still, the player has a twenty (20) minute period of grace from the agreed starting time at his disposal to show up and play. This means that the non-faulty player must stay on the LIVE server at least for twenty (20) minutes after the agreed Starting Time. Immediately after the period of grace, the non-faulty player must send his related private message to the arbiter. When one of the player does not show up for the game, the game can be rescheduled if the non-faulty agrees and if the arbiter permits. However, all the penalties will remain.

Cancelling and Rescheduling

After an agreement is found by the players as when to play, it happens sometimes that one of the player has to change plans. Of course, although we want this to only rarely happen, the fact is that there is life besides chess. So it does happen. The (faulty) player has the obligation to inform his Negotiation Forum about the situation as fast as he can. If the information is posted inside the Negotiation Forum at least twelve (12) hours before the game, the faulty player loses ¼ RRP when the game is rescheduled and played. If the information comes less than twelve (12) hours before the Starting Time of the game and the game is rescheduled and played, the player loses ½ RRP. If the information comes at least twelve (12) hours before the occurence of the game and no game is played, the faulty player loses ½ RRP. Whereas if the information comes less than twelve (12) before the occurence of the game and no game is played, the faulty player loses ¾ RRP. Note that in the case of a cancellation, the game can be rescheduled if the non-faulty player agress and if the arbiter permits. Again, for the definition of RRP, see «Reliability Rating» below.

Reliability Rating

In the Slow LIVE Chess Association, each player has a «Reliability Rating» (RR). The RR is represented by a number between 0 and 5 inclusively. Thus, 0 ≤ RR ≤ 5. The New Participant is given a RR =3 at the very beginning of his «chess career in the SLCA. The RR will vary in function of the player's behavior and will determine, at some point, the playing possibilities for the player. Here are some key events that will impact one's RR:

No show for the game = -1; Being unable to offer three (3) starting times for the game before the deadline OR to accept one proposed by the opponent before the deadline = -1 (see «Negotiating» above for more details); Not trying one's best to agree with the other player and as a result, no game = -1 ; Not replying or taking too long to reply: -½; Successfully completing a Regular Tournament without losing any RRP (Reliability Rating Point): = +1; Successfully completing a Jumbo Tournament without losing any RRP = +1¼; Successfully completing a Short Tournament without losing any RRP = +½.

The player whose RR gets down to 1 won't have the possibility to play in more than one (1) tournament at a time. When this happens, the player automatically withdraws from all tournaments but one. The first time one's RR goes down to 0, one becomes suspended for thirty (30) days. After a second time, the player is suspended for 120 days. And when the player goes down to 0 for a third time, the player is permanently banned from any SLCA event.

New Participant and Recovering Player

The player who is participating in an SLCA tournament for the very first time, hereafter named «New Participant», and the one who is recovering from a temporary thirty (30) or 120 day suspension, hereafter named «Recovering Player», will be paired with another New Participant / Recovering Player for the first round of a tournament. He then will be allowed to participate in the subsequent rounds when:

He has complied with all the rules and all the instructions; and
He showed up on time for the game; or
The arbiter has good reasons to believe that the New Participant should keep playing;

If such is indeed the case, the player will be paired with the Veteran Players for the rest of the tournament.

When the New Participant / Recovering Player fails to make all three (3) points above, he is automatically withdrawn from the current tournament. Plus, the same thing will happen when the player succeeds to make it in the first round but fails in any of the subsequent ones. After the New Participant has failed, he may sign up for another tournament but then, the whole qualifying process will start from the very beginning. As soon as the New Participant successfully completes a tournament, that is, in accordance with the two (2) above points, he then becomes a Veteran Player. After the New Participant's RR has reached 0, he has run out of tries to become a Veteran Player and won't be allowed to participate in other any tournament in the SLCA.

The case of a Recovering Player is different. This is because after his suspension, the Recovering Player only has one (1) RRP in the bank. Thus, when his RR gets back to 0, he is technically suspended again.

Miscellaneous

The arbiter may issue a loss of RRP, withdraw or suspend temporarily and even permanently any player who, in the arbiter's opinion, might represent a threat to the SLCA or its members. This also applies to a player who takes too long to reply, or does not reply to the other player or to the arbiter in the Negotiation Forum, or does not reply to a private message or e-mail sent by the arbiter.

Regular 45|45 Tourney #6 (Apr 21 - May 25)

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