NSPDCL Season 3 Rules (replaces old rules)

~Rules are subject to change~ 

Any changes more significant than rewording will be noted here.

General Format

The NSPDCL will have annual seasons. Each season will consist of ? sections with 4 teams each, along with a individual tournament that allows players to earn points for their team (see Solo Tournament)

Registration and Team Formation

Beginning in November 2021, official team registration and formation will begin. Teams will consist of four players. At registration, each player's current daily rating will be taken if the player meets the Player Eligibility Requirements (see below) and recorded as that player's qualification rating (Q-rating). The average of a team's four players' rating must be 1500 ELO or below [EXCEPTION: See #2].  The admins will then record their daily rating at that point as their new Q-rating. Team registration ends 3 days before the regular season opens, on December 28, 2021. 

1. Players may only play for one team during the duration of a season. 
2. If, in any prior season of NSPDCL, a team has been formed and participated according to the standard rules, that team may bring back that identical lineup in any succeeding season regardless of rating limitations. 
3. If necessary towards the maximum rating average, the lowest accurate rating ('accurate' is deemed by the League Admins at their discretion, based on the amount of recent games played, games timed out or resigned early, and other ratings {standard live ratings only}) at any point between the beginning of Team Formation and the beginning of the Season will be used as the Q-Rating

Player Eligibility 

1. All players' accounts must be at least 3 months old (October 1st of the year before the season in question) to be eligible to play in the NSPDCL. If a player's account is not 3 months old, they may participate as a Substitute Player (see #4) once their account reaches 3 months old.
2. Players must have completed at least 10 daily games against humans in the past 12 months to participate in NSPDCL. If a player registers (and receives a Q-rating) before they have done so, admins will update the Q-rating to what it was after 10 games completed. 
3. Players with any timeout ratio may participate in the NSPDCL, however, players who have a timeout ratio above 10% in the last 3 months at the time of calculation of their Q-rating may have their Q-rating adjusted at the Admins’ discretion based on games lost by timeout. It is advised for captains to take into account the timeout ratio of their players.
4. Substitute Players (players who take the place of a player who cannot play that month's match) may only play for one team throughout the course of the season. The substitute player's rating will count for the rating average, meaning if the average Q-rating of the team after substitutes replace the previous players, that team will not be valid and will be forfeited for the match. 

Divisions Format

The teams portion of the league is divided into divisions of 4 teams. The format is Round Robin within a division; meaning each team will play each other team in their division once. The match format has changed since last season, see Regular season play. The playoffs format depends on the amount of teams participating in the Regular Season, but the playoffs will likely also be a round-robin format. There will also possibly be a consolation playoff for teams who did well, but not well enough to make it into the playoffs.

Solo Tournament

For the first time, the NSPDCL will have a grand prix along with the main Divisions format. It is a simple event, a chess.com daily tournament for members of any NSPDCL team (substitute players and free agents are not eligible for points in the solo tournament). This tournament is optional, but it is recommended to participate in order to earn points for your team. The top 8 in the tournament will earn points towards the playoffs for their teams. First place earns 5 points, 2nd place earns 4 points, 3rd place earns 3 points, 4th-5th places earn 2 points, and 6th place earns one point. This tournament will begin on January 1. 

Note: Originally, only the highest ranked player from each team could earn points. As an adjustment for only 4 teams being created this season, that rule has been removed.

Regular Season Play

On January 1, 2022, Round 1 of the 2022 regular season will begin. The NSPDCL admins will post a news post with all team pairings for that round.

Unlike last season, players will not have to individually challenge their opponents. Each team will have a chess.com club, and all team members will join that club. When the round begins, clubs will challenge each other according to the pairings. Each match will have 4 boards, one for each player. Since chess.com team matches automatically sort players by rating, player boards can change throughout the season. Each player will join the match, and once all 4 players for a team have joined that side locks their roster for the  match. Once both teams have locked their roster, the match starts. More information on how to set up the team match will be posted later.

In a change from last season, not only the team’s result of the match will be considered towards the playoffs, i.e. if a team scores 6 points in a match, they will earn 6 points towards the playoffs. This means that, hypothetically, a team with a player who wins the Solo Tournament could qualify for the playoffs if they lost every match 3.5-4.5. This adjustment makes every game count, even if one team has already clinched the win in any specific match. In the event of a team forfeiting, the match will be considered a 6-0 win for the non-forfeiting team. 

Round 2 will begin February 1; the same procedures will apply. 

Round 3 begins March 1. 

The Termination Date is July 28. 

If playoff teams are not decided by July 31, the admins may decide to push back the opening playoff date by a week or two. This will not, however, affect the second playoff pairings date. 

Playoff Play

Teams that qualify for the playoffs are determined by the sum of their points scored in all 3 team matches, combined with the amount of points earned (if any) by their players in the Solo Tournament. 

Another adjustment to there only being 4 teams is that only 2 teams will make the playoffs. These teams will play 1 match like in the regular season, and if the match ends in a tie, the team with the higher regular season point total (excluding solo tournament)

On August 1, 2022, unless playoff teams are not yet decided, the playoffs will begin.

The Termination Date will be December 31, 2022, but the NSPDCL champion may not be determined until the next year. Another season will start in the next year, either way. 

If you have any questions, please contact @Typewriter44. Amendments may be made to the rules, in which case they will be noted at the beginning.