Rules for the ACP Tour 2008-2009

I. Purpose

The ACP Tour is a tournament circuit organized by the ACP (Association of Chess Professionals), which regroups the most important tournaments in the world during a one-year chess season. Players taking part in these events gain points according to a ranking system devised by the ACP. Once the season is over, the best players are qualified for a final event, called the ACP World Rapid Cup (see VI and VII). The winner of the ACP World Rapid Cup will be declared ACP Champion 2009.

II. Dates

The fifth ACP Tour takes place from 1^st of July 2008 until 30^th of June 2009. A tournament is eligible for the 5^th ACP Tour if the date of its first round is included in this time span.

III. Concept

1. Events played at both classical and rapid time-controls will be counted, albeit with an inferior coefficient for rapid events compared to classical ones. Classical events are those where a player has at least 90 minutes (regardless of possible time increments) to complete the game. Rapid events are those where a player has at least 15 minutes (regardless of possible time increments) to complete the game. Blitz tournaments will not be part of the ACP Tour.
2. A complete list of tournaments included in the ACP Tour will be published on the ACP website (www.chess-players.org) and updated as the season unfolds.
3. Updated players’ rankings will be published on the ACP website (www.chess-players.org ) and shall appear within a week after one of the ACP Tournaments is over.

IV. Individual tournaments

1. Individual events counted in the ACP Tour can be held according to the following formats: round-robin tournaments (RR), Swiss systems (Opens), knock-out tournaments (KO) and the Warsaw system (WS). Additionally, matches between two players which are part of the World Championship Cycle will also be considered in the ACP Tour.  
2. Individual tournaments of the ACP Tour fall into 6 different levels according to their strength (R).
   
   

   Level                              R
   
   1) F                                     2576-2600
   2) E                                     2601-2625
   3) D                                     2626-2650 
   4) C                                     2651-2675
   5) B                                     2676-2700
   6) A                                     2700 and over
   

   R is determined as follows:

   For RR tournaments

   R = Ra,

   where Ra = average elo rating of all participants;

   For Open and WS tournaments

   R = (3xR1+2xR2+R3) / 6 + 45,

   if the total number of players in the tournament is 90 or more

   where R1 - average elo rating of top 10 players in the starting list,

   R2 - average elo rating of the next 10 players, from 11 to 20, in the starting list,

   R3 - average elo rating of the next 10 players, from 21 to 30, in the starting list;

   and

   R = (3xR1+2xR2+R3) / 6 + N/2,

   if the total number of players in the tournament is under 90

   where R1 - average elo rating of top 1/9 part of all players in the starting list,

   R2 - average elo rating of the next 1/9 part of all players in the starting list,       

   R3 - average elo rating of the next 1/9 part of all players in the starting list,

   N - total number of players.

   For KO tournaments

   R = R ¾

   where R ¾ -  average elo rating of top ¾ of total number of players.

   In case some or all participants of a KO tournament have qualified from an open, the following criteria have to be taken into consideration: the level of the qualifying open (determined as described above) will prevail if it turns out to be higher than the level of the final KO tournament.

3. Within one level, ACP points are distributed using different coefficients, according to the type of tournament and the number of rounds. For the detailed tables of the ACP Points System for individual tournaments, see Annex 1.
4. Any stage of any closed individual national cup or championship cycle (classic or rapid), whose strength ( R ) is less then 2576 but more then 2500 according to the ACP Points System, will be granted level Fⁿ and counted with a coefficient 0,5 assuming that level F has coefficient 1. If R is less then 2500 the event will not be counted.
5. Open tournaments played with less than seven rounds will not be taken into account.
6. The ACP Board will consider including in the ACP Tour all tournaments of Level F and higher (see above).
   The decision to include a tournament in the ACP Tour is made by the ACP Board, based on the information it has about the forthcoming event. If an event turns out to be weaker than level F (this may happen with any format in case a player forfeits at the last moment), the ACP Board will still grant the event the minimal status of level F^’ and counted with a coefficient 0,5 assuming that level F has coefficient 1.
7. As soon as such a tournament is officially announced, the ACP Board will contact the organizers and propose them to include their event in the ACP Tour.
   1. If the organizers agree to be part of the ACP Tour, they should send a confirmation to the ACP Board no later than 30 days before the tournament’s start. They should also put the official ACP (Tour) Logo on their tournament’s site, and, if possible, on all information documents issued before and during the tournament, such as regulations, players list, current and final standings, pairings, etc. In this case their tournament will be included in the Tour and counted according to the ACP Points System.
   2. In case the organizers decline the proposal, tournaments of levels A B and C will be counted anyway in the ACP Tour. However, the number of ACP points distributed in these events will be divided by two, while tournaments of levels D E and F will not be counted in the ACP Tour.
   3. National championships will be automatically included in the ACP Tour, provided point IV.4. is fulfilled. National federations who do not wish their championship to be counted should communicate it to the ACP Board no later than 30 days before the tournament's start.
8. The ACP Board reserves itself the right to refuse counting a tournament, in case the results appear particularly suspicious. This will avoid pre-arranged tournaments influencing the final players’ rankings.
9. In the event of circumstances unforeseen in paragraph IV, the ACP Board shall decide on the matter at hand. Decisions from the ACP Board are final.

V. Team competitions

1. Several very strong team events will be taken into account. These can include international and national competitions.
2. For a national league to be included in the ACP Tour, the active participation of at least 20 players with a rating over 2600 is required.
3. Only individual performances are taken into account; the results of teams are irrelevant.
4. For his performance to be rated in the ACP Tour, a player must have played at least 5 games in a certain event.
5. ACP Tour points will be awarded according to the rating (Elo) performance. Tables of the ACP Point System for team competitions can be found in Annex 2.

VI. End of season and qualification to the ACP World Rapid Cup

1. Only ACP members are eligible for participation in the ACP World Rapid Cup. A player has to be an ACP member for both 2008 and 2009 in order to have his results counted in the fifth ACP Tour.
2. All ACP members will have to renew their membership in 2009, in order to have their results taken into account for the fifth ACP Tour. The deadline for membership renewal will be announced by the ACP Board in due time.
3. At the end of the season the 13 players who have scored the highest number of ACP points are qualified for the ACP World Rapid Cup.
4. In case of tie for the qualifying place, the following tie-break system will be applied:
1. The player who obtained his ACP points in the least number of tournaments qualifies for the ACP World Rapid Cup 
2. If the number of tournaments taken into account is equal for several players, the player who qualifies for the Masters is the one who scored the largest number of points, once the worst tournament of each player is withdrawn from the calculation; if it is not enough to make a difference, the next worst result is withdrawn, etc.
3. If point “a” and “b” don’t break the tie, a drawing of lots takes place to determine the qualifier.

VII. The ACP World Rapid Cup

1. The ACP World Rapid Cup will be held between September 2009 and January 2010.
2. The ACP Board will consider adding a very limited number of players to the 13 qualifiers from the ACP Tour, by granting them wild-cards.
3. The exact format and prize-fund are being discussed with interested sponsors. All relevant information will be published on the ACP website in due time.

ACP Board