CHESS

1. ELIGIBILITY
1.1 PRISAA Rules shall govern the eligibility of the players.
1.2 Each team in all divisions and categories shall be composed of four (4) for each region. The name of
all players shall be submitted during the Technical Meeting.

2. TOURNAMENT SYSTEM/FORMAT
2.1 The tournament shall be divided as follows.
Senior Level – Men’s and Women’s Divisions
Youth Level – Boy’s and Girl’s Divisions
2.2 Each team shall be composed of four (4) players per level.
2.3 The tournament shall be played in straight 8 Rounds Swiss System (Individual with Team Result)
2.4 Final ranking shall be determined by game points.
2.5 The final result of the top three (3) players/members of each Region/Team shall constitute the final
result of the team.
2.6 The tournament shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess as approved during the 79th FIDE
Congress at Dresden (Germany), November 2008 coming into force on July1, 2009
2.7 Draw by agreement in less than thirty (30) moves shall not be allowed.

3. COMPETITION RULES
3.1 Computerized pairings shall be generated by Swiss Manager pairing program. Protest on pairings
shall not be entertained.
3.2 Players from the same team shall not be paired against each other in the eighth or final round.
3.3 Scoring system shall be one (1) game point for a win and zero (0) for a loss. For a draw, each player
shall be given one-half (1/2) point.
3.4 The rate of play shall be two (2) hours for each player to make all moves necessary to finish the game
for those using the mechanical/analog clocks and ninety (90) minutes with 30 seconds increment per
move for those using digital clocks.
3.5 The use of chess clock is mandatory; EACH PLAYER SHALL BRING HIS/HER OWN CHESS CLOCK AND
BOARD.
3.6 Each player is required to record his moves and those of his opponent in Algebraic notation.
3.7 A player who fails to appear at the chessboard and make his first move thirty (30) Minutes after the
start of the round shall be declared in default.
3.8 All mobile phones/cellphones must be turned off before the start of each round. If the cellphone
rings, or if a player appears to be using his cellphone, or if a player brought into the playing area an
open cellphone or other means of electronic communication without permission from the Arbiter,
penalty for these offenses shall be forfeiture of the match.
3.9 Coaches, including delegation heads, must abstain from any intervention during play. Any
communication between them and their players must be done under the control of the Tournament
Arbiter.
PRISAA Governing Guidelines for Sports Competitions
3.10 The following situations shall be treated as illegal moves, hence, for the first and second offenses
two (2) minutes extra time shall be added to the opponent each time and loss of the game by the
erring player for the third offense.
a. Capturing the Opponent’s king
b. In pawn promotion, stopping the clock without exchanging the pawn for a piece.
c. Using two hands in executing a move
4. TIE-BREAKS.
In case of ties, the following tie-breaks in descending order of priority shall be used to determine the final
ranking.
4.1 Individual
a. Direct encounter
b. Buchholz
c. Median Buchholz (minus 1 highest and 1 lowest)
d. Sonnenborne-Berger System
e. Greater number of victories (unplayed games included)
4.2 Team
a. Sum total of Buchholz tie-break of the top 3 players
b. Sum total of Median Buchholz tie-break of the top 3 players
c. Sum total of Sonnenborne-Berger tie-break of the top 3 player