The 2009 Third Annual World Computer Rapid Chess Championships

Home Registration Participants Pretournament Ranking Rounds Results

Last day to register: August 12, 2009 at midnight California time.

Guest Commentator: John Timmel (USCF Expert)

Current date will be the weekend of August 15/16 2009. It will utilize Rapid Chess time controls. The tournament will take place over the Internet (ICC) but we encourage those that live close enough to gather at one place to improve the experience and share ideas !!

Site ICC (chessclub.com)
Suggested interfaceTim Mann's Winboard or Alessandro Scotti's Winboard_X
Rounds12 Rounds (8 Rounds Saturday and 4 Rounds Sunday)
Note: Below Round Times may be slightly adjusted
Round Times (Eastern USA - New York) (ICC Server Time)
Saturday August 15 2009Rd 1 at 9am30 min break between rounds 4 & 5
Sunday August 16 2009Rd 9 at 9amNo breaks except before tie break playoff
Time ControlRapid: G/25+4
Tie Breaks First to 2pts Playoff at G/14+1 (higher finisher gets white first)
Hardware Open
Accounts ICC usually provides temporary free accounts for participants allowing access before the tournament
TD Typically provided by ICC

RULES:

  1. Standard rules of chess apply: Three fold repetition, 50 move rule .....
  2. Only the author of the program or an approved operator may enter.
  3. Entrants are open to author's and (qualified) operator's from the entire world.
  4. Programs must be logged in 5 minutes before each rounds start time.
  5. Programs must run in an automated fashion. You can start them but they must run by themselves and make all decisions themselves (including resign/draw).
  6. Programs must kibitz their PV and (if possible) a message that the move is a book move. If possible, kibitz only on your turn not during pondering. You may kibitz a few plies before the final ply, but keep it to a minimum as too many will block all that chatter amongst the participants which most of us want to participate in.
  7. Participants are allowed 2 disconnects due to accidents. On the third disconnect the match is forfeit. A 5 minute allowance is granted for each disconnect. The third disconnect must be reported to the TD and the TD will make the ruling.
  8. Programs must be able to resume a match after a disconnect. This is part of the Winboard protocol so it should be already handled.
  9. Initial seedings will be based on ICC (standard), RWBC and WBEC ratings.
  10. In the event of a odd number of entrants, an alternate program may be entered to avoid byes.
  11. In the event of a dispute, the TD & Organizer decision is final and the spirit of this tournament will be considered in all disputes.
  12. Each program must be the work of the author. Entrants may not copy the work of others.
    • (A) The exception to this is any work that uses the LesserProphet1.0.1 as its base, but it may not use other code from other sources.
    • (B) Clone accusations will be handled privately so as not to unduly harm reputations.
    • (C) The entrant accused of cloning is considered innocent until proven guilty.
    • (D) The reuse of concepts/ideas is allowed. The reuse of code/parameters/frameworks is not allowed.
    • (E) If an entrant is accused of cloning, the accusation and data will be reviewed first.
    • (F) The entrant accused of cloning may be required to submit compilable source code and the executable being run in the tournament for review. If the accused fails to provide the information, the entrant is dropped from the tournament.
    • (G) The accused entrant will be able to defend his/her work.
    • (H) If the accused entrant is found to be a clone, it will be dropped from this tournament.
    • (I) The TDs and a knowledgeable review committee will be created to review the case.
  13. If an entrant makes several unsubstantiated claims of others being clones, that entrant will be dropped from this tournament.
  14. An author may enter more than one program as long as they are substantially different programs as opposed to a different version of the same program.
  15. Programs by differing authors are NOT allowed to use the same opening book. Violation of this gets a warning then disqualification upon second violation. To prove your books authenticity, it must be sent to the tournament organizer upon claim of violation.
  16. In case of a tie, there will be a G/14+1 playoff after a small break (long enough for the organizer to verify results). The higher finisher gets white first. The higher finisher is decided by the running sum of points gained (a win in Rd 1 counts as 14 Pt's, a win in Rd 2 counts as 13 pts.....)

Technical Rules/Specifications

allow kibitz variable must be 1: set allowkib 1
noescape variable must be 0 (disconnect/reconnects are allowed but limited): set noescape 0
Use a special formula for the tournament: set formula computer & unrated & time=25 & inc=4
Join computer discussion channel on ICC:+ch 64
Recommendation: Have a backup computer ready in case of crash.

Thanks and Credits

Thanks go to the ICGA and the sponsors of the CCT's. I reviewed their rules as guidelines for our rules.
Special thanks to ICC for supporting this tournament!
Special thanks to Joshua Shriver for his donation of the web domain and web space.