ECU's dress code and anti-draw rules in detail

The dress code and anti-draw rules that were accepted by the ECU General Assembly last week, have been posted online. On Monday, November 14th on the website of the Danish Chess Federation an article was published about this subject with links to two PDF documents. So far these documents don't seem to be available on the European Chess Union's own website, but we can safely assume that the version of the Danish Federation is the one that was voted upon by the ECU General Assembly.

Dress code

Let's start with the dress code rules, which resulted in some discussion below our article of last week. The PDF document (download here) was signed already on May 31st by the ECU Dress Code Commission, consisting of Chairman Herman Hamers (NED), Peter Rajcsanyi (HUN) and Olena Boytsun (UKR) - ACP. After an introduction, the following proposal is given:

Dress Code for the participants and the officials in the ECU competitions (excluding Youth Championships)

All participants as well as the officials (arbiters, captains and others being in the playing area) must comply with the Dress Code of the ECU. Participants and officials will present themselves in a neat and clean appearance.

Dress rules for the players during the games

In general, players are required to follow the code of casual dressing which means:

• for men dress trousers or jeans, a long-sleeve or shirt-sleeve dress shirt, alternatively T-shirt or polo, loafers or dressy slip-ons, socks, shoes or sneakers (no beach-wear slips, etc.) and, if appropriate, a sport coat or blazer. The trousers, the jeans as well as the shirts and polo’s worn should be crisp and show no excessive wear, no holes and shall be free of body odor.
• for women blouses, turtleneck, T-shirts or polo’s, trousers, jeans or slacks, skirts, dresses, and appropriate footwear (boots, flats, mid-heel or high-heel shoes, sneakers with sock) or any other appropriate clothing modification.
• a jacket, vest or sweater, a scarf, as well as jewelry (earrings, necklace, etc.) coordinated to the outfit may be worn.
• the pieces of the clothing should be crisp, show no excessive wear, no holes and shall be free of body odor.
• in respect to shirts, the second from the top button may also be opened in addition to the very top button.
• sunglasses, glasses, neck ties can be worn during the games, no caps or hats, except for religious reasons
• in general, this category of appearance demands a pulled-together, harmonious, complete look with colors, fabrics, shoes, and accessories, for both men and women.
• national costumes which fit into the generally accepted dress code and are not offensive or indecent to others can be worn

Dress rules for the winning players or the winning teams during prize-giving ceremonies

• the rules set for these events are valid for a player or any member of a team, including the captain and the delegation chief who is rewarded by a prize in the chess event and thus he/she appears and receives the award in front of the other players and the audience
• such a person shall follow the dress code of business casual (or by another name elegant casual) which means long trousers, shirt, jacket, with or without tie (no t-shirts, no polo, no jeans, no sports shoes or sneakers or slippers, no hats or caps -except for religious reasons-) and the equivalent style of dress for the women players.
• national costumes which are not offensive or indecent to others may be worn.
• it is recommended that teams should be uniformly dressed even if a team uniform is not available.
• a special set of rules is established for the European Individual Championship award ceremonies where the dress code is informal which means a suit with tie, appropriate shoes and the equivalent style of dress for the women player. National costume may be worn in the event.

Dress code for the arbiters and officials of ECU events

• whenever the arbiters and officials of an ECU chess event appear on the scene in their official capacity, they are tied to follow the dress code of business casual
• if they visit the official venue, especially the game halls of the event, they are allowed to follow the casual dress code.
• if any person of the above-mentioned pool is committed to participate in the award-giving ceremony in his/her official capacity, he/she shall follow the informal dress code.

Tournament Officials will have the right to give official warning to any player not properly attired. The first warning will be a verbal one. When a player is a member of a team, his/her captain will also be informed. The second time a player will be in breech with the Dress Code he/she will receive a second warning. This warning will be confirmed to the player in writing the same day. When a player is a member of a team, his/her captain will receive a copy of this warning the same day. The player received the written warning will present him/herself to the tournament officials, if it is a team player accompanied by the captain, one hour before the start of the next round. If a player is then still in breech of the Dress Code he/she can be send back to dress appropriately. If he/she does not cooperate, he/she will be denied access to the playing area.
A player not dressed according to the Code can be refused to attend the opening or closing ceremony. Tournament Officials can likewise act towards arbiters, captains or others being present in the playing area. Spectators not properly attired will have to leave the playing area.

The document also mentions that the proposal is not aimed at the Mitropa Cup and youth championships of U8-U14 while for U16 and U18 championships specific rules will be established.

Anti-draw

The rule to prevent short draws will probably be accepted with less grumbling. The PDF document (download here) was signed on June 1st by Chairman Anil Surender (SWE), Lars-Henrik Bech Hansen (DEN) and Laurent Fressinet (FRA). Their recommendations to the General Assembly were:

• that draw offers before move 40 should be forbidden in all ECU competitions;
• that senior events should be excluded from this regulation;
• that ECU should review the qualifying system for the FIDE World Cup.