Fair Play Rules And Regulations: US Championship Online Qualifier

With the US Championship Online Qualifier starting on November 21, many players will be playing in their first-ever US Chess online rated event. This guide will breakdown the rules specific to this event, as well as general US Chess online rated play rules a player should be familiar with. For first-time US Chess players, players are strongly encouraged to read the US Chess Rulebook prior to participating.

• Pre-Event Expectations
• Fair Play Expectations
• Technical Violations And Means For Disqualification
• Player Responsibilities
• Additional Information
• Requesting A Tournament Director

By participating in the US Championship Online Qualifier, players agree to adhere to the rules set forth by US Chess, as well as the community guidelines set forth by Chess.com.

Pre-Event Expectations

To participate in the US Championship Online Qualifier, players are required to fill out their verification form as specified in the event guide. To complete this process, players must log-in to US Chess and update their dashboard with their current Chess.com username, and then join the US Chess Members Only Club. Players currently in the US Chess Members Only Club are already approved to participate in the US Championship Online Qualifier.

Register Your Account Join the US Chess Members Only Club to gain access to the U.S. Championship Online Qualifier.

Join

Upon approval into the US Chess Members Only Club, members will have access to the various qualification events in Live Chess. It is the player's responsibility to register for their designated qualification stage in time. Registration in Live Chess will start one hour prior to the start time of each event. For first-time Chess.com users, read this guide to learn how to participate in various club events.

Players that change their Chess.com username prior to the start of the US Championship Online Qualifier must change their username in their US Chess online dashboard. Players that fail to either update their dashboard or resubmit the above form run the risk of being disqualified from the event altogether.

Fair Play Expectations

US Chess will make Fair Play determinations based on insights provided by Chess.com's Fair Play team. As the tournament director of the event, US Chess will file an ethics complaint against all players found to be using outside assistance throughout the US Championship Online Qualifier. Penalties can include suspension of US Chess membership. By participating in the event, all players agree that US Chess maintains the right to use information regarding Fair Play violations during this event at their discretion beyond the conclusion of the US Championship Online Qualifier.

Per US Chess online rated play rules, US Chess has exactly three weeks to file the US Championship Online Qualifier for rating, meaning that results are only considered final upon submission of the rating report. This means that in the case a fair play violation is discovered following the immediate conclusion of a qualification phase, US Chess reserves the right to overturn, correct, or amend results per the US Chess Rulebook.

During the U1600, 1601-2000, 2001-2400, and 2400+ sections, players may be asked to join a ZOOM call for a random Fair Play check. While an invitation to these calls should not be interpreted as a Fair Play accusation, players are expected to follow the guidelines (see below) and join the call link at the tournament director's request. To ensure these requests do not interrupt gameplay, there will be a five-minute break following rounds five and ten to ensure players have enough time to join the call. It is strongly advised for users to toggle "Focus Mode" off during these breaks to receive any potential communications from the tournament directors.

During the Final Swiss, players will be provided a ZOOM link at least 24 hours in advance. Players are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes in advance and stay in this call for the duration of the event with a camera turned on at all times.

During the Final Bracket, players will be provided a ZOOM link following the conclusion of the Final Swiss. Players are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes in advance, and stay in this call for the duration of the event with two cameras (different angles) turned on at all times.

During the Final Round Robin, players will be provided a ZOOM link to use throughout the duration of the event. Players are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes in advance of each round and stay in this call for the duration of each round with two cameras (different angles) and screen share turned on at all times.

Technical Violations

To ensure a level playing field, US Chess has added the following technical violations to the event rules. Note that failure to adhere to the rules below can result in immediate disqualification with no warning. Players are expected to be familiar with the event rules prior to participating in the US Championship Online Qualifier.

• Players that fail to join the specified ZOOM link upon the tournament director's request may be immediately disqualified from the event at US Chess' discretion.
• Players are expected to have access to a webcam for all stages of the event to adhere to the Fair Play policy set forth by US Chess. Players that do not have access to a camera during any ZOOM call run the risk of being immediately disqualified from the event.
• Players are expected to adhere to requests made by the tournament director if prompted. Failure to follow a tournament director's request will be considered grounds for disqualification.
• Players found to be accessing applications and windows outside of Chess.com/live throughout the event may be disqualified at the tournament director's discretion.
• Players found manipulating their Chess.com rating to gain access to a qualification stage will be considered ineligible to compete.
• Players found watching the Chess.com broadcast while participating will be disqualified immediately.

US Chess will document all technical violations throughout the event and will use that information at their discretion.

Player Responsibilities

As true with all events hosted on Chess.com, users acknowledge that there is no appeals process or recourse for the following:

• Users are responsible for the connection quality of their internet provider. Forfeiture due to a user's internet connection is considered a final result and is not subject to an appeal.
• Users are responsible for the moves they make over the board. Misclicks and mouseslips will not be overturned at any point during the US Chess Online Qualifier.
• Accidental draw offers, resignations, or losses by flag via disconnection will count and the result will not be reversed. Any game results incurred due to user error by the player with the Chess.com board, pieces, buttons, or any other part of the interface are final, including but not limited to draw offers, draw acceptance, resignations, premoves, autoqueen, accidental underpromotion, any and all mouseslips, accidental clicks, or accidentally losing on time.
• Players are responsible for registering for their qualification stage section in Chess.com/live prior to the event start time. Each event will start exactly at the specified time (2 pm PT across all phases of the event) with no exceptions. Players registering late run the risk of missing multiple rounds of the event. US Chess will not be able to issue full or half-point byes for any stage of the event.
• Players should not withdraw from any qualification event unless their intent is to withdraw from the event altogether. Players that withdraw from the tournament will not be able to rejoin upon clicking "withdraw" in the tournament portal. Players should not leave Live Chess or log out of Chess.com at any point during the qualification event. 
• Players are expected to adhere to Chess.com's community guidelines both in and out of the US Championship Online Qualifier. Should a player have their account closed for a violation occurring outside of the US Championship Online Qualifier, there is no guarantee that they will be able to re-enter or participate in the next qualification event.

Additional Information

To ensure a smooth event, US Chess has added a few provisions to protect players unfairly affected by participants receiving illegal assistance.

• US Chess, at its own discretion, may invite players into the next qualification stage up until the Final Bracket, provided that the player in question would have plausibly qualified, if not for being paired with the player using illegal resources.
• US Chess reserves the right to nullify all games in the final rating report where a user later found to have had access to illegal resources were played.

Communications regarding delayed qualification into the next stage will occur through Chess.com messages from @USChessFederation with exact details regarding the subsequent round. Make sure to check your messages in case you are invited to the next round of the event.

Following the conclusion of the Final Swiss, a final Fair Play scan will be completed before any armageddon takes place. If a Fair Play violation is found to have occurred upon the tournament's completion, US Chess will invoke rule 2812, which states:

28I2. Expulsion after last round of tournament is paired:
Earlier opponents of the expelled player shall have their results adjusted for tournament scoring purposes as follows:
a. A player who lost to the expelled player shall instead receive a half-point bye.
b. A player who drew the expelled player shall instead receive a win by forfeit.

Players are expected to remain in the ZOOM call during the process as an armageddon playoff may become necessary following the conclusion of the use of rule 28I2.

During the Final Bracket, US Chess and Chess.com's Fair Play Team will review all games played in each round to ensure Fair Play standards are met before moving on to the next round. If a player were to be found using illegal assistance during the Final Bracket, the player most recently eliminated by that individual will advance to the next round of the bracket. If the player is found using illegal assistance in the semifinals, the player they defeated in the semifinals would advance to the Final Round Robin, and the games played by that individual in the quarterfinals may be nullified for rating at US Chess' discretion.

Requesting A Tournament Director

In the case that a user intends to submit a Fair Play abuse report during the event, players should utilize the abuse report application on Chess.com. Note that Chess.com's Fair Play team will be actively analyzing all games while the event is running, as well as upon each the conclusion of each phase.

If a player wishes to appeal a determination made by US Chess, players must follow the specified US Chess appeals process. Players contacting Chess.com's support team regarding a US Chess appeal run the risk of not having their appeal passed on to US Chess before the events are submitted for rating.