Tournament Rules

Expectations:

• Good sportsmanship.

• Greet your opponent and introduce yourself.

• You play the color assigned on the brackets.

• Play your best.

Rules:

• Touch Move: Touch Take will be in effect. If a player touches a piece with their fingers, they must move that piece unless it results in an illegal move. If they touch an opponent's piece with their own piece, they must take that piece unless it results in an illegal move. If you move a piece and you release that piece on a legal square, the move is final.  If you want to adjust a piece, say, "j'adoube," which means "I adjust" in French.

• Player Decisions: We want the players to make all of their own decisions. Therefore, Judges may not interfere in any game without the children raising their hand to request the judge come to the game. The only exception to this is if there is obvious cheating, if the players begin arguing out loud, or if a physical or emotional situation occurs.

• Rulings: If a Judge is called for a ruling, the Judge may only advise on what the rules are. Again, we want the children to make their own decisions based on the rules. For instance, if a Judge is asked, "Is this a stalemate?" the judge should not say yes or no, but instead, explain the stalemate rule to the children.

• End Game:  Checkmate ends the game: For the beginner, when your opponent calls checkmate, make sure it is checkmate before you agree to end the game. At this point, you need to make the decision because the tournament director cannot help a player by saying it is or is not checkmate.

• Other ways to end the game:

  1. 1. A player forfeits by not showing up

     2. A player may resign, although it is not recommended.

     3. The game may end in a draw if:

--  Players agree to a draw

--  Board position repeats exactly three times (not necessarily in a row)

--  Lack of mating material

--  50 moves have been made without a Pawn move or capture

--  Stalemate

• At the end of the game, the children raise their hands for the Judge to come over and record the game. Both players must agree on the outcome of the game. The Judge may not correct the children if their agreement is incorrect. At this point, the Judge writes down the result on the Judge's sheet. The Judge should show the written result to the players and have them verify that the results are correct.