All matches shall follow the US Chess Federation Official Rules of Chess. (Touch rule is encouraged but can be waived upon agreement of both players before the match begins.)
New players may join the ladder at any time, entering at the bottom of the ladder.
Initial seeding for the ladder will be decided by a four round Swiss tournament with 8+5 time control played on October 17, 2021.
After the initial seeding is decided, matches will be played at the Millard Chess Club meetings, currently scheduled every Sunday between 2-5pm at the Omaha Public Library Millard Branch.
After the initial seeding is decided, matches shall be between players within two ranks of each other. For example, the player Ranked 8th may play anyone ranked 6th, 7th, 9th or 10th.
A match will consist of one game at 20+10 time control unless a shorter time control is agreed upon by both players. The color of each player shall be random unless agreed upon by both players.
Games should be arranged with the lower ranked player challenging a higher ranked player. For example, the player ranked 8th should challenge a player ranked 6th or 7th.
Once a player is challenged, they must play their challeged opponet within one week. For example, a player challenged at a Sunday club meeting must play the player who challenged them by the end of the club session the following Sunday. Failure to play will result in a forfeit.
A player can have no more than two pending challenges at once.
Challenges can be made at any time, via any method of communication between players within two ranks of each other, and must be played after any pending challenges are played.
If a player issues a challenge and then is challenged from below before the first match takes place, the second challenge is held in abeyance until the first match is resolved. For example, suppose player #4 has challenged #3, but then receives a challenge from player #6. If #4 beats #3, the challenge from #6 is no longer valid as the players are no longer within two ranks of each other. However, if #4 loses to #3, the challenge from #6 becomes valid, and should be played within one week.
The winner of the match should report the result to Kevin O’Keefe. If the challenger wins, the two players shall swap ranks, and the ladder will be updated.
If a player does not appear at the Millard Chess Club on a particular Sunday then at 2:30pm they will drop two ranks after forfeits are applied. This drop of ranks will likely invalidate any pending challenges as noted in Rule #11 above.
The tournament organizer, at their discretion, may divide the ongoing ladder into separate ladders to better divide players by skill level. If two ladders are created a new player may join the ladder at any time, entering at the bottom of the ladder of the skill level they have chosen.
The Millard Chess Club Ladder Tournament Rules