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Logos and Banner by
KaitlinB and Tom45.
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Team 45 45 League
Serious Chess and Team Spirit on the ICC
Players’ Handbook
Welcome to the largest team chess league in the world!
We are pleased to welcome you as one of us and wish you many competitive
games, with the added bonus of new friends and team camaraderie.
Before joining, read each part of this handbook
Lee esta guía en español
1. Before Joining
Full enjoyment of the league requires your
enthusiasm, commitment, and civil conduct. Before you join, please see if
you can answer “YES” to all these questions.
Enthusiasm - Personal satisfaction:
- A highlight of my week is playing my long (2-4 hours) league chess
game.
- I understand that my game has meaning and significance to my team,
and to other teams.
- The knowledge that my opponent feels the same way challenges me to
play well.
Commitment to my opponents and my team - What others are expecting each
round:
- I will get to the forum quickly to start scheduling my games.
- Scheduling my game can be difficult. Do I have enough flexibility in
my time to play someone half way around the world, 12 hours off from my
time?
- Could I with confidence make time offers like this?: “The player
. . . shall specify three or more distinct times to play on at least two
different days within the one-week playing period of the round. . .
(Section 10.C.i of the statutes)”
- Can I be relied upon to show up at the agreed upon time to play my
game?
- If any of the above will be difficult next week, I will tell my
captain now that I cannot play in that round.
Member Conduct - We strive to maintain a friendly atmosphere for our
members. If you join, you will abide by these standards (in addition to
ICC's atmosphere policy) in all League activities:
- Statute 3.B: "Each participant shall behave in a friendly and
courteous fashion in all communications associated with Team 45 45
League.."
- We welcome players of all ages, male and female, from all corners of
the globe. Keep your communications in line with a family-friendly
atmosphere.
- Statute 3.D: "All participants shall treat our volunteers with
respect..."
Eligibility Requirements:
- Play a minimum of 20 rated standard games to establish your ratings.
- Not permitted are designated computer accounts, those who have ever
had a (C) or a computer use apology in their finger notes.
- Just as you may choose to join or not, the League
reserves the right to choose whether to
admit you or not.
That’s it. If playing 45 45 games that count for
something sounds exciting, and you can be depended upon to follow the rules,
Welcome aboard!
2. How to Join the Team 45 45 League
Before a team captain signs up his/her team to play in a tournament, each
member of the team must have previously completed the following process to
participate in the League. Any player who already has a Game
Forum password has already completed step 1, and can begin at step 2 (Update
your Profile). Your Profile will need updating for each new
tournament in order to enable your captain to enter you on the team.
Step 1 - Get a League PASSWORD,
if you don't yet have one.
- Players’ Pages - Click
on “Player
Menu” in the
left side menu of this page.
- Password - Fill
in your ICC Handle. If you never have played in
the League, click the last button, "Create". Within
seconds, you will be sent an
ICC message containing your League password. If
you have messmail set to 1, it will also be sent to your
e-mail address. Make sure you don't have the
League bot (team4545) censored, so that you can receive
the message.
Step 2 -
PROFILE
to Update your info and intentions for the current
tournament.
- Players Login
- Now that you have a password, you can fill in the top
form “Players Login." "Click on "Login."
- Profile
- After you log in, click on the Profile button, and you
will see a longer form, on which you provide information
necessary to serve you.
- IPP -
Want help finding a team? - If you don’t yet have a
team, and want team captains to consider inviting you to
join their teams, be sure to select “YES” to “List me on
the Interested Players Page,” and indicate for which
sections you wish help in finding a team.
- Read and Accept
the Rules
- Each player must know what s/he is committing
to, so you must select “YES” to “I have read and accept
the Team 4545 League procedures,” indicating that you
have read the Players’ Handbook.
- Update
– To submit the information on the Profile form, click
on “Update”. You may return to this form at
any time to update your information and wishes. Be
sure to update if you get a new e-mail address.
Step 3 - Find a Team, and Choose a captain.
- Now, your captain can
enter you on a team to play in the current tournament,
following the instructions in the
Captains' Handbook.
- How do you find a team?
If you don't already have a team, see
FAQ #3.
New-Player probationary period: If this is your
first tournament, you may be on only one team.
- When a captain enters a
team with you as a member, you will receive an e-mail
stating the team members and their e-mail addresses.
Save this so that you can communicate with your team.
3. Deadlines - A Week in the Life of the League
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The enjoyment of the league
depends on everyone cooperating with each step below.
Failure to meet these deadlines will likely result in a
forfeit game, or other
Penalties.
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ICC Time * |
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Prepare for Next
Round -
Communicate with
your captain regarding your availability (or
unavailability) to play in the next round.
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Mon.
22:00 |
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Captains Submit Team
Board Lineup
for next round via the captain menu.
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Tue.
22:00 |
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Pairings are Posted
on the website. Game Forum notices are sent to paired players.
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Begin Making Contact
now! -
Use the Game Forum. For more detail on
arranging a game time, see
Scheduling your game.
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Tue.
22:00 |
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First Contact
Deadline -
If you have yet not
posted game time offers, you must accept one of your
opponent’s offered times, rather than make new
offers.
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Thurs.
22:00 |
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Forfeit for
No-Contact Deadline-
If you missed the
first contact deadline, and still have not yet
accepted one of your opponent's offers, you forfeit
the game.
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Fri.
22:00 |
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Game Completion
Deadline -
By now, you should
have either played your game, or agreed to an
adjournment.
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Tue.
22:00 |
* Type the command ' /date ' on ICC to compare
your time to ICC server time.
4. Scheduling your game
The Basics: At the start of each round (Tuesdays
22:00), the pairings are posted on the website, and paired
players are sent emails announcing their games and opponents.
But don't wait for email (funny things can happen to email while
travelling the internet.). Check the pairing page and/or
the Game Forum to see if you have been paired in the current
round.
Sign into the Game Forum, read any posts that are already there.
Then click "Reply," and tell your opponent some times you would like to play
your game. Offer at least three specific and distinct times, preferably
including a span of a few hours on weekend (Saturday and/or Sunday). If
your opponent has already made offers of game times, click "Reply," and
either accept one of his offers, or make at least three offers of your own.
Continue replying promptly, until an agreement is reached. Once
agreement is reached, it is a binding agreement, and cannot be rescheduled
unless both players agree. Use the "Post Agreed Game Time" button to enter
the time to the automation.
4.A - Effort. Do your best to schedule
your game; in particular, make your first offers as soon as you
can after the pairings go up. Since we have players in
every time zone on the globe, this takes prompt communication,
and compromise. If your game does not get played, the TD
will evaluate the effort shown by each player in the Game Forum.
The only official way to schedule your game is by communicating
on the Game Forum. Server tells and messages are not
approved ways (unless also promptly documented by copying into
the Game Forum).
4.B - Know The Time. The orderly flow of
the event depends on everyone knowing ICC time.
- Type the command ' date ' on the server to
compare your time to ICC server time.
- Speak in Server Times. Scheduling is much
less confusing if all parties refer only to "server time" in
Game Forum conversations. It is the player’s
responsibility to know the server time.
- 12-hour clock vs. 24-hour clock.
Understand that there are different norms around the world.
See
T45L FAQs
to help avoid misunderstandings.
4.C - Seven Days to Play Each Round.
You will schedule and play your games within the 7-day period
between Tuesday 22:00 ICC and the same time on Tuesday of the
following week. (See also Part 9 Game Adjournments).
If you cannot play within that time frame for a given round
(e.g. if you will not be available for a wide range of weekend
hours), you must give your Team Captain advance notice so
someone else can be scheduled in your place. Make
sure you can meet the following expectations if you tell your
captain that you can play:
- There are Two Contact Deadlines
- Thursday, 22:00 ICC
- First Contact Deadline. You must make your
first offers, or respond to your opponent's offers,
prior to this first contact deadline. If your opponent
offered game times, and you have not yet responded by
this deadline, he is no longer expected to show any
flexibility with you. You must accept one of his offered
game times.
If you make a post prior to the deadline, but the post
does not meet the requirements of First Contact as
defined by Statute 10.C (make three offers on at least
two days, a range of three hours counting as one offer,
etc), you will likely be charged with partial blame (at
least) should the game not get scheduled.
- Friday, 22:00
ICC - Contact-or-Forfeit Deadline. At this
second contact deadline, if missed the first deadline,
and you haven't accepted one of your opponent's offered
times, you lose this game (forfeit or set game loss).
More about deadlines
- Continue responding to each other’s suggestions, until
an agreement is reached. If timely, those back and
forth posts may continue all the way to the Game Completion
Deadline.
- Promptness. The sooner you make your first offers,
and reply to each contact, the easier it is for both you and
your opponent to coordinate this commitment with other parts
of life. Each of these back and forth posts should generally
be within 24 hours of the previous post. Delaying
longer than 24 hours to reply to a post leaves your opponent
wondering what’s up, and may be considered partial blame if
the game does not get scheduled.
4.D - What to say when scheduling your game:
- Offer as many dates and times to play as possible.
Statute 10.C.i includes:
"The
player who initiates this dialog shall specify three or more
distinct times to play on at least two different days within
the one-week playing period of the round. A range of times,
or several distinct times within a three-hour period, counts
as one offer. "
Be sure that you
can honor each time that you offer, because once a time
has been offered and accepted, is binding on both players.
Your opponent can accept any offered time with the
expectation that you will honor it.
- Be Specific. You and your opponent are to
agree on a specific day and time to play your game.
A vague “I'm available any time” is not acceptable.
Better: “Can you play any time on Saturday, Sunday, or
Monday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 pm?"
- When replying to your opponent's suggested game
times, either accept one of his times, or make your own
offers.
- If you offer a range of times (e.g. Saturday, 1
pm – 7 pm), your opponent can accept any distinct time
within that range (e.g. 5 pm), with the expectation that you
will honor it.
- There is no need to “confirm” after an offered time
is accepted.
- Once you have agreed on a time to play, click the
"Post Agreed Game Time" button and enter the exact time
agreed upon. This tells the bot when to announce your
game in channel 345, and when to collect the result.
4.E - Preventing Problems
- Accepting an Offered Game Time with Less than 24
Hours Notice. If your acceptance of an offered time is
within 24 hours of that time, your opponent must
acknowledge it for it to be binding on him. In other words,
a player cannot be "surprised" by a late acceptance.
- However, if you OFFER a time that is already less
than 24 hours away, it is assumed that you are expecting
to be available at that time if your opponent accepts the
offer, whether you acknowledge the acceptance or not (see
statute 10.C.vii).
- Rescheduling. Once a game time
has been offered and accepted, it is considered to be
binding on both players. However, up to the end of the
30-minute grace period, a game may be rescheduled if there
is both a request and an agreement to reschedule in the game
forum. The opponent may either agree to the request or not,
and does not need to give a reason.
- Can My Captain Schedule For Me?
Yes, although we much prefer direct communication
between players, your captain can speak for you on the Game
Forum, for example if you are absent during the scheduling
period. Times offered or accepted by your captain are
binding on you, as if you had spoken for yourself.
So, it is wise to have good communication with your captain!
- What if my opponent and I cannot agree on a game
time? If no game time has been agreed upon
prior to the game completion deadline, the TD must
adjudicate the game score. Factors he may consider:
- Did both players make their first offers promptly upon
the posting of pairings, and continue to make prompt
replies?
- Did they make the required number of offers, according
to Statute 10.C?
- Did each player go beyond the minimum requirements and
make valiant efforts to play the game by compromising, and
by offering a wide range of hours, especially weekend hours?
- Did one player insist on a very narrow window in which
to play? How many days did each player rule out?
- Can we agree to a draw in the game forum? Yes,
you and your opponent can agree to a draw, rather than play
the game. However, some cautions:
- Make sure that both sides post this agreement in the
forum before the end of the grace period. Server tells
and messages are not approved ways (unless also promptly
documented by copying into the Game Forum).
- Players join the tournament to play. If your
opponent prefers to play, do NOT question his sportsmanship.
That only makes your own sportsmanship look bad.
- The players might not fully understand this game's
impact on the team standings. So, it is recommended
that each player consult his/her captain, and your TD will
likely ask for captain approval before posting the draw.
- Courtesy During Negotiations.
Sportsmanship and civility should prevail at all times.
Do not put your own sportsmanship in question by commenting
on anyone else's sportsmanship. Expressing an opinion
about why someone does or does not accept something are not
conducive to civility and may be in violation of Section 3.B
of the Statutes.
Remember, we want to forge new friendships among the other
league members.
5 - Using
the Game Forum message board
Use the Game
Forum to Arrange Your Game All contacts with your opponent to arrange
your match are made using the "Reply" button in the Game Forum on the league
website.
- Each round, when the pairings are posted, you will
automatically be sent an e-mail announcing your game and
opponent. Make sure your email program does not put
League mails into your spam folder.
- Do Not Reply by e-mail to Game Forum notices.
They go to "noreplybounce" and will not arrive where you
intend.
- Sign into the Game Forum at the League website, you will
contact your opponent and
negotiate for a time
to play your game. Once signed into the game,
click the REPLY button to type a note or response to
your opponent.
- Check your Game Forum Daily, just in case you
might have missed an e-mail announcement containing a Game
Forum post.
- Post Agreed Game Time, AFTER there actually is an
agreement. When you and your opponent have agreed
upon a date and time to play your game, click the Post
Agreed Game Time button, and fill in the drop down menu.
Then click Submit. This will post your game time to
the pairing page, and will enable automated game
announcements in the league channel, and automated PGN
results posting. This feature is NOT PART OF OFFERING
A GAME TIME. If there is an inconsistency between the
time agreed to in the typed reply and the time posted using
the button, the typed reply takes precedence.
- Use the Forum to Alert the dTD of Problems.
Should a dispute arise, and you want to request a forfeit or
a set game, ask your captain to put that request in your
Game Forum. The dTD will see it and act upon it.
For more contact options see the
Contacts Page.
6 - Playing the Game – What to do at Game Time
- Show Up at Agreed-Upon Time; 30-Minute Grace
Period. Out of consideration for your opponent,
do your best to show up at the agreed upon time.
However, there is a 30-minute grace period to account for
unexpected and unpreventable delays. If after 30
minutes, you have not arrived, you forfeit the game;
rescheduling the game is not an option, even if both players
want to do so.
- What Color do I Have? There are at least 3
places to see this. The pairings page shows what color
each player is assigned. Also, each Game Forum
post indicates the player’s color. For example: Wlas
[White]. You can also find out your colors and
whom you play from the Subject line of the forum e-mail
announcement; the first player named has white.
Example:
4545 League - T23 - Quasar - R1 - Rgadoury vs Gomer
(rgadoury has white).
- What if We Get the Colors Wrong? If an
error in the color allocation or time control is discovered
by the players before the completion of Black's 3rd move,
the game is to be aborted and restarted with the error
corrected. If an error is discovered after the
completion of Black's 3rd move, the game in progress is to
be completed and shall stand as official. In other
words, after move 3, say, “Oh, well,” and keep going.
- Issue Match Command and Enjoy your Game!.
Games are played "rated.” Games are "Standard 45
45", 45 minutes plus 45 second increment per move.
Games are started and accepted with the match command on the
server. Highlight your opponent's name, right-click,
choose Match, then fill in the boxes. Or type:
“match Gomer 45 45 r w”, or
“match rgadoury 45 45 r b”.
- Player and Spectator Conduct. No
kibitzing, no more time, no takebacks, and no cheating!
Spectators are to avoid making any comments to the players
or in channels where the players may be.
“Whisper” to other observers only. Keep all
communications courteous and clean. Once the game has
started, no one should call to a player’s attention any
error in color allocation or time control, nor offer advice
on offering or accepting draws. Control of the
game is solely in the players’ hands!
- If the ICC Main Server is down, connect to ICC's
backup server (Queen) to play your game. See
FAQ 29 for instructions in how
to do this.
7 - Server Commands
Needed:
- "/g-join Team4545League" to join the "group."
Only group members can add channel 345. You can see whether you are
already a member at the bottom of your finger notes (Under "Groups" it will
say "Team4545League".
- “/+ch 345” to add the League channel, where you will
see instructions and announcements. Once you are admitted to the
group, you can add and remove this channel as you wish, but it is strongly
recommended that you remain in the channel before and during the tournament.
- "/date" to see current server time.
- “/set noescape 0” Turns off noescape, so that you
may resume when you return. Should anyone play with noescape on, and
disconnect, the game is a loss for the player who disconnected.
- "/set formula " Clears out your formula if
you have a formula that prevents your league opponent from matching you
according to league parameters.
- "/set open 1" Opens you to receive challenges from
your opponent.
- "/set allowkib 2" Converts all kibs in your rated
games to whispers.
Playing in peace. We strongly recommend using at least one of these
commands:
- "/set quietplay 2" Prevents seeing channel tells,
kibs, and personal tells while playing.
- "/set quietplay 1" Same as quietplay 2, except you
will receive personal tells from your opponent only.
- "/set busy 2" Allows you to see channel tells, but
you will not see personal tells, except from people on your notify list.
You may add your opponent to your notify list if you wish to see his/her
tells. This setting works while playing or not, so remember to "set
busy 0" to turn it off after the game if you want to again receive tells.
What variables do I have set?
- "/vars" This will show your variables, including
those mentioned above.
- The following variables affect the use of the seek graph only, and do
NOT impact your ability to send or receive match challenges:
minseek,
maxseek, manualaccept, useformula, sfilter.
8 - After the Game -
Reporting the Results.
If you posted your agreed game time when your game was
arranged, League automation will report your game result for
you! Within a few minutes of the end of your game, a PGN
should post to your game forum, and the score should appear on
the pairings page.
If your agreed game time was not posted to the automation, then you will
need to click the "Get Played Game" button after the game. This will
work only so long as the game is still in at least one of the player's
recent history on ICC.
Please alert your TD or a conference director if there are any problems.
9 - Adjourned Games - An
extra week to complete your game
Please try to avoid adjourning games beyond the week allotted
for the round, but adjournments are permitted. (Statutes
10.C.vii and 14) Here is how they are handled:
- Definition of "Adjourned." If circumstances
prevent your game from being completed before the Game
Completion Deadline, and if both players agree, we can call
the game as "Adjourned". This gives an additional week
to play your game.
- Agreed-Upon Plan Needed. Your opponent is
not required to adjourn the game at your request.
In order to adjourn your game, both players must have agreed
to the adjournment arrangement BEFORE the Game Completion
Deadline (Tuesday 22:00 ICC). This agreement
must include the plan of when the game will be played.
Your Game Forum posts must show this agreement.
- Adjourned Game Completion Deadline.
Adjourned games must be completed by the end of the
FOLLOWING round.
- Adjourned games are meant to be a last resort, only
after you have made the required effort to schedule the game
for the first week.
Adjourned games (See section
14): No player is required to accept a request to play an
adjourned game, nor will any blame be assigned (nor motives
be questioned) for refusing to do so. Initial requests to
play an adjourned game must also include appropriate offers
for times within the one-week of the round, or partial blame
will be assigned. The intent and purpose of this rule is to
reinforce the league expectation that players are to be
available to play within the one-week period of the round,
or be withheld from that round’s board assignments by the
captain. Adjourned games are only scheduled when times
cannot be agreed upon and both players want to play in the
adjournment week. (Statute 10.C.viii)
- Final Round. Adjourned games from ROUND 6
must be played by the following SUNDAY (22:00 ICC) so that
divisional winners can be established in time to set up
sectional playoffs.
10 - Penalties
Most league players avoid the need to worry about penalties.
The following penalties are intended to protect each player’s
orderly enjoyment of the league.
11 - Ways to Lose - And
Other Miscellaneous Reminders
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Ways to Lose your Game. As a summary of the
expectations in this handbook, and the statutes, here are
many of the ways to lose your game. As you read this, keep
in mind that "forfeit" also means a reduction in Reliability
Rating.
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Failure to meet second contact deadline. =
Forfeit.
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Failure to choose an offered time after missing the
first contact deadline = Forfeit.
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More than thirty minutes and 00 seconds late to the game
= Forfeit.
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No-escape is on, and you disconnect = You lose the
game.
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You are on the disconnector's list, and you disconnect
= You lose the game.
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Takeback is offered and accepted = Set game loss against
both players, no game point for either.
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Moretime is given. = Set Game loss against the
player who gave the Moretime.
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You seek outside advice, during the game, on any aspect
of the game, including draw offers. = Forfeit,
regardless of the position, plus possible additional
punitive actions. This infraction includes seeking a
captain's advice on offering or accepting a draw.
(Players and captains should discuss, before the
game, what outcomes might be acceptable.)
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Deliberate disconnections may be subject to forfeiture
of the game, regardless of the position.
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Avoid These. These actions do not cause immediate
loss, but are examples of problems that will be considered
by the TD if an adjudication becomes necessary (Two
occurrences of “partial blame” constitute “full
blame”):
- Missing the first contact deadline
- A response taking more than 24 hours
- Offering less than the three game time offers
- Not waiting 30 minutes for your opponent to show
up
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Unavailable to Play this Week? Most teams
have alternates, so if you are unavailable to play, someone
else can be scheduled in your place for that week, if you
communicate that need with your captain prior to the board
lineup deadline (Tuesday, 22:00 ICC).
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Questions? Problems? First and foremost, you
are part of a team. Your team is your first resource for
solving problems. Ask your captain
or other members of your team, post a question in your
game forum, or ask in the league channel (345). See the
Contact Page for e-mail options. Do not wait until you
get a forfeit and a yellow card to say you didn't know what
to do. There is plenty of help available.
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Pay Close Attention to the Deadlines.
See Deadlines chart. Any time you are
unsure, ask your captain for help.
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Your e-mail address. When your team is entered
to play in a specific tournament, your e-mail address is
shared with your team. Teams should communicate to
decide who is available to play each round, and to establish
some team spirit.
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No e-mail attachments! The use of attachments to
e-mails is forbidden for all League business. If you
send an e-mail that has an attachment (including e-mail
stationary), it won’t be opened.
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Prizes! ICC offers membership extensions to
the winning team in each Section. Thank you, ICC!
12 - Know the Rules
The full rules are the Bylaws ,
which includes statutes, handbooks, faqs, etc. This
Handbook and the FAQ’s are attempts to explain some of the
highlights. Reading this handbook is a critical first step in
becoming an informed league member, but there are some details
that are not covered in this Handbook. So, we strongly
encourage you to read through the
Statutes. It takes time, but it is time well spent. Statute
changes are made by the Steering Committee. Appeals to TD
rulings are heard by the Oversight Committee.
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We hope this information is clear to you. Comments, suggestions and
criticisms are gratefully accepted. Good luck and Great Chess!
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