INDIVIDUAL WINTER LONG PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS Players apply to enter by 1st August each year and are then placed into divisions of up to

FIDE PREMIERSHIP

The bottom 2 or 3 players will be relegated from the Premiership. The winner of Division 1 will be promoted.
The extra space(s) will be filled by appropriate new players or by some of those in the relegation zone retaining their place.

FIDE DIVISION 1

The bottom 3 will be relegated. The winners of 2a and 2b will be promoted. to Division 1. If there are any spaces, they may be filled by new players or by players in the relegation zone retaining their status.

FIDE DIVISION 2a

FIDE DIVISION 2b

The bottom 3 in both division 2 competitions will be relegated to Division 3 level. The winners of 3a, 3b and 3c will be promoted to Division 2 level. If any spare spaces are not filled by new players of appropriate grade, then players in the relegation zones will not be relegated, as deemed appropriate by CCF. The extra Division 2 is not technically part of the structure but new players in the season can join it and be part of a competition with a view to slotting in next season. This may or may not be run from year to year and could have a mix of abilities.

DIVISION 3a	DIVISION 3b	DIVISION 3c
The bottom 3 in all 3 Division 3 competitions will be listed for relegation to Division 4 level. The winner of Division 4 (maybe the top 3 if Division 4 is a Swiss system event) will be promoted to Division 3 level. If any spare spaces are not filled by new players of appropriate grade, then players in the relegation zones will not be relegated (which is more than likely to be the case), as deemed appropriate by CCF.

DIVISION 4

This is currently not running, but could split into as many as 4 sections of 10 each should there be enough players.

This event is CCF's Winter season (September - April) individual long play club championship. It is the "main event" for the majority of our club members and has a pyramid structure to it as you can see above. We are seeking to develop a FIDE rated line from top to bottom for those that want it. There will again be 4 FIDE rated divisions for which all English players must be members of the English Chess Federation (click this link for a form).

Anyone wishing to play in FIDE Rated Divisions must become a member of the ECF. We have ECF membership forms on the premises for those that need them. The top 3 finishers in the Premiership will all receive CCF International Tournament "Credits" worth £100-£50-£25 (provided the credits are used within 12 months and that players use some of their credits to enter the August 2011 international event for GM and/or IM norms).

The idea is that players can work their way through the club from basic level to International standard without, in theory (!) ever having to play a game away from Coulsdon (obviously we encourage people to play other events but are trying to run an inclusive system for those that want it). Players from any other clubs are welcome but we are going to have to request that priority is given to these fixtures, due to the complex nature of organising them and the difficulty of finding other dates when dates are postponed.

All results in these divisions count towards the umbrella Dicky White Tournament where an ELO type system operates to decide the best player in all internal long play events at CCF during the season. The winner is, basically, the most improved player on the previous season's grade. Anyone entering, whether part of CCF, should in principle be looking to commit to as many of the dates listed as possible and be prepared to play one or two games on other evenings to ensure that matches finish by the deadline, which will be Monday 17th May 2010. PLEASE CHECK THE RULES ON HOW TO POSTPONE GAMES BEFORE YOU ENTER as some people travel long distances to play and are not too pleased if they waste their journey! As such, we have a shut off for cancellation at 5pm on the day (but it is your job to contact the opposing player as CCF will not be able to help you).

Players apply to enter by 1st August each year and are then placed into divisions of up to 10 players (the bottom division runs on a Swiss system and can accommodate any number). Please note that you cannot lay conditions to an entry (ie. which division), but we will always do our best to give everyone what they want without compromising the structure of the competition. Further down this page is an explanation as to how we allocate divisions.

CCF will control fixtures and has the right to change advertised fixtures on the web site up to 5 days before the match without any other notification given. What this means is that from the moment "Coulsdon Chess News" is emailed on the preceding Wednesday, no changes will be done to fixtures without a specific contact with you. But your job is to ensure you know when you are playing.

HOW WE ALLOCATE DIVISIONS
We collate the entries on deadline day and then allocate the divisions from the top. In principle, we do not leave and gaps in the divisions, which means that players who join after the deadline will usually have to wait until the following year to get into the main structure of the club championships. This is a guide to help anyone interested to understand how it works.

PREMIERSHIP (FIDE)
Those finishing 1-7 in the Premiership retain their place. The winner of Division 1 is promoted to the Premiership

New and special applications are considered alongside the players finishing 8-10 in last season's Premiership to decide which 2 players have the most logical right to be in that division. If the new applicants fill the remaining 2 places, then 8-10 will all be relegated to Division 1. If we feel another player needs to be in the Premiership, we may ask the player finishing 7th if they will take voluntary relegation but we will generally not force it as we believe that a player should be safe in the knowledge of where the relegation line is.

DIVISION 1 (FIDE)
Those finishing 2-7 retain their place in division 1 and are joined by the top players from both Division 2a and Division 2b plus the relegated teams from the Premiership. If that does not make 10 players, then 8th place in division 1 last season survives.

DIVISION 2 (both now FIDE Rated)
20 players are listed for Division 2 for splitting into 2 sections. Players who finished 2-7 last season in Division 2 (total 12 players) retain their places and are joined by the relegated players (4 maximum) from division 1 (now making 16). The players finishing top in Divisions 3a, 3b and 3c all join them (making 19). New and special applications are then considered, a stay of execution for one of the relegation zoned players last season being the fallback option to ensure 20 players.

DIVISION 3 (not yet FIDE Rated, but 3a should be from 2011-12)
30 players are listed for Division 3 for splitting into 3 sections. Players who finished 2-7 last season in Division 3 (total 18 players) retain their places and are joined by the relegated players (for argument's sake, let's say 8) making 24. The top player (or top 3 if the competition was a Swiss system last season) from division 4 is (are) promoted making 25. New and special requests are considered alongside the possibility of a stay of execution for relegation zoned players last season being the fallback option to ensure 30 players.

FIDE Rated players plus those wanting to be in FIDE Rated divisions are then placed into Division 3a. The remainder into Division 3b or 3c. Luck of the draw may have to decide which un-rated players get into Division 3a if there is more demand than places available (should there be enough demand, we may also FIDE rate Division 3b). A random draw decides the positions in the fixture table and the remaining division allocation.

DIVISION 4
If numbers allow, we will run an all-play-all or up to 4 sections, otherwise we will run a Swiss system competition with 1 match per scheduled night. Every player will have to complete their allocated match before the next round can be drawn, or else they will default that round.

PLEASE NOTE
CCF cannot guarantee the numbers, if any, of FIDE rated divisions, which are subject to the entries received and whether players are FIDE rated. We need a minimum of 4 rated players in any division before it can be rated under FIDE rules. Players in these divisions must be members of the English Chess Federation.

Anyone leaving the club championship will generally only be allowed to re-join at the level they left the competition from. This is to stop players leaving after relegation in the hope they can then insert themselves back up a year later. We believe that the competition will become stronger over the next few years, mainly due to the increase of FIDE rated leagues.