On this page: Club contacts | Committee | Travelling to Belfast | League Rules, links to UCU Monthly News Sheet | UCU ratings | Chess Ireland
The Ulster Chess Union is the organising body for chess in Ulster. The UCU organises the Belfast & District League, week-end and one-day active tournaments, the Ulster Junior, Intermediate and Senior Championships and maintains ratings for players in these events. Lists of tournaments in Ireland can be seen in our News Sheets.
For information contact Geoffrey Collins, 94 Newtownbreda Road, BELFAST, BT8 4BP, Tel +44 1232 640409, email gcollins@nortel.ca.
Oct 97 | Nov 97 | Dec 97 | Jan 98 | Feb 98 | Mar 98 | Apr 98 | May 98 | Jun 98 | Jul 98 |
Club Secretary Tel home Armagh Frank Coll (01861) 525909 Bangor Ian Thompson (01247) 452258 Carrick Clarke McCombe (01960) 362461 Civil Service Geoff Hindley CIYMS William Ferguson (01232) 673697 City of Derry Jack Gillen (01504) 359003 Fisherwick Alex Beckett (01232) 667306 Fords Sam Cree (01232) 710463 Magherafelt Seamus Scullion (01648) 32065 N'Ards David McAlister (01846) 638857 N. Belfast Stephen Scannell (01232) 370717 NorTel Trevor Brown (01232) 864673 PHG Stephen Croft (01846) 666928 Queen's The Secretary Randalstown Jim Waddell (01849) 472932 Shorts William McKittrick (01232) 703940 St Agnes Michael Kane (01232) 627348
President Tom Clarke - Secretary (minutes) Alex Beckett 01232-667306 Secretary (correspondence) Danny Mallaghan - Treasurer Neil Green 01232-292982 Vice-Treasurer Stephen Morgan - League Controller David Houston 01232-660620 Schools Officer To be appointed - ICU Representative Stephen Scannell 01232-370717 Publicity Officer Geoffrey Collins 01232-640409 Member David Barlow 01247-861681 Member Richard Proctor - Arthur Pinkerton has kindly agreed to continue calculating ratings for the UCU.
Ulsterbus 01232 333000 Northern Ireland Railways 01232 899411 N Ireland Tourist Board 01232 246609 N Ireland Tourist Board (Dublin) 1 679 1977 Seacat (Stranraer-Belfast) 01345 523523 Stena Line (Stranraer-Belfast) 0990 707070 P&O European Ferries (Cairnryan-Larne) 0990 980980
The League fees for each team should be forwarded to the Ulster Chess Union Treasurer by the 31st of October.
1a Each team shall play every other team in its Division home and away. 1b For each match a team will score the number of game points and the winning team wil gain a bonus of 2 points and in the event of a draw each team will gain 1 point (eg a team winning 5-0 will get 7pts - the losers 0pts. A team winning 3-2 will get 5pts - the losers 2pts. Teams drawing will get 3.5pts each). 1c The winner of the Division shall be the team with the most points. 1d There will be promotion and relegation between the Divisions at the end of the season. The top two teams being promoted to the next higher Division and the bottom two teams being relegated to the next lower Division. 1e In the event of a tie for trophy winners, promotion or relegation places then play-off games will be arranged by the League Controlloer.
2a All matches shall be played on the dates specified by the League Controller. 2b The League Controller shall inform all secretaries of their club's Team(s) fixtures for the year.
3 A team shall consist of five players, unless specified by the League Controller.
4a A player who is not a registered member of the ICU is inelegible to play in any game. 4b A player shall not represent more than one club in any one League Season. 4c A player shall not represent more than one team in the same Division in any one League Season. 4d A player shall be ineligible to play in a particular Division once he has played more than two games in higher Division(s). 4e No player is eligible to play for more than one team during the same week for the first three calendar weeks of the Season. Note: Any team playing an ineligible player will be defaulted on that board and rule 6f will apply as well.
5a FIDE Active Chess rules (extended up to 1 hour 30 minutes) shall apply throughout the game. Note: A score must be kept of the game by each player until he has less than five minutes on his clock. An illegal move does not lose the game in any circumstances, in the case of an illegal move being played the opposing player restarts his opponents clock and asks him to take back his move. 5b Each player shall have one hour and thirty minutes to make all his or her moves. 5c Players in the away team shall have white on the odd numbered boards and the home team shall have white on even numbered boards.
6a All matches shall start at 7.30pm (unless the Division Controller specifies otherwise). 6b The Captain of the home team shall start all the clocks (of the players who have the white pieces) at the specified start time. Should he fail to do so, the home team shall forfeit any time lost. 6c No player may commence play before his/her team Captain has made his/her team list available. 6d Board order shall be arranged in order of playing strength ie in grading order using the most recently published grading list (ie the highest grading player shall play board 1, the lowest graded player shall play on board 5. However player(s) may play out of grading order where there is less than 100 grading points difference between the player(s). 6e If a team does not have five players available the remaining players must fill the top boards. 6f All games played below a defaulted board are scored as a loss, unless exceptional circumstances exist. 6g All games in a match must be played at the same time. Any game not so played will be defaulted.
7 The default of two matches in any one season shall result in the forfeiture of all that team's matches for the year.
8a Irrespective of the reason a Team Captain must contact the Division Controller (and his approval sought) before altering a fixture, either to the date or to the start time of a match. Failure to do so will result in the deduction of two points from the offending team(s). 8b Postponement of matches will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. 8c Any postponed match must be played within one month of the original date of a fixture, or on a date specified by the Division Controller.
9 Any matter arising out of these rules or not covered by these rules shall be referred to the League Controller and his decision shall be final.
10 Failure to comply with any of these rules will result in penalties being imposed on the offending team.
11 The League Controller will notify clubs of any penalties to their teams, in writing, within seven days of any penalty arising.
12 Ignorance or misinterpretation of any of these Rules is no excuse.
The League Controller will be appointed by the UCU committee.
NB The official contact for each team will be their respective club secretaries not the individual Team captains.
Board prizes will also be presented to the players with the highest score on each board for each Division. To qualify for a board prize a player must have played 50% (ie 8 games in a nine team Division) of games possible on that board. In addition games played on a higher board will be counted towards a player's overall result and those games played on a lower board ignored.
The winners of each Division will be presented with their respective trophies and medals and the runners-up their medals at the annual Ulster Chess Union Dinner.
Addenda to League Rules
1 Membership of the ICU is optional.
2 Prizes may be awarded at the UCU AGM.
3 In all league and cup matches between teams the home team must ensure that the premises arranged for the match are available on the agreed date and time of the match. In the event of a match being played at a neutral venue the team which is first in the draw will be assumed to be the home team and will therefore take the responsibility of the home team and ensure the venue is available. If either team cancel for any reason, the team concerned will be deemed to have defaulted. The team which has not defaulted may claim the match if they wish or in the interests of fair play and good sportsmanship, allow the match to be played at a time and place convenient to both sides (UCU committee 11th May 1997).