2010 Sven Brask Chess Club Bylaws

1. Governance: All members of the Sven Brask Chess Club have a vote in all matters pertaining to club business. The week-to-week operations of the club are run by the Tournament Directors (TDs), who are appointed by the members at the annual Club Meeting. The TD’s for 2010 are Ken Wheeler, Jim Aspinall, Jim Gerry Plante, and Eric Berkey. The TD’s responsibilities are outlined below.

1.1 TDs: The responsibilities of the TDs include the following:

· Compiling the yearly tournament schedule and running the events.

· Collection of monthly fees, membership dues, and paying expenses.

· Enforcement of the Club bylaws.

· Annual Club Meeting. This will be held in December prior to the 15^th. The purpose of this meeting will be to ratify the bylaws, dues and fees, and TDs for the next year.

1.2 Voting Rights of Members: The TDs will refer all matters involving the following to a vote of the members:

· Fee increases or decreases

· Changes in meeting place or time

· Any other matter judged to have a significant impact on the Club’s operations

Members are encouraged to bring any suggestion or matter of concern regarding the operations of the Club to the attention of one or all of the TDs. The Club exists to serve the membership.

1.3 Appeal: The TD for each tournament is the final arbiter for any disputes that may arise in his tournament, although he is urged to seek the advice of the other TDs and consult the USCF rules, if necessary, should a dispute arise. Any member may appeal a rules decision of an individual TD to a committee comprised of all other TDs in attendance that night. The decision of this committee shall be final unless overruled by a majority of the members. The Ethics Committee as outlined in Section 1.4 will handle any violations of the Club’s Standards of Conduct.

1.4 Ethics Code and Committee: The actions and behavior of members participating in any club-sponsored event shall be in accordance with the spirit of fair play and good sportsmanship. Members agree to be bound by the Club’s Standards of Conduct while participating in any SBCC-sanctioned event, regardless of whether it is a weekly meeting or other special event. The following is a list of actions considered unethical:

· Repeated or gross violations of tournament regulations.

· Audible talking in the tournament room while others are playing.

· Distracting or annoying the opponent or any other member involved in a tournament game, in any manner whatsoever.

· Foul language, especially when directed at another member.

· Fighting or threats. These matters will be immediately referred to the police.

· Any other action deemed as unethical in the USCF Official Rules of Chess.

· Repeated no-shows of games without notifying the TD or opponent beforehand.

The TD for each event is responsible for enforcement of both the USCF Rules and these Standards during SBCC events.

Any member of the SBCC may ask for a hearing by the Ethics Committee if they deem it necessary and if the TD has been unable to resolve a dispute to their satisfaction. The Committee will be appointed by the members and should consist of 5 members, plus 2 alternates. These members should not be directly involved in the dispute; this includes the TD of the event in question and the player(s) involved, and should not be a close friend or relative of the accused. The Committee is empowered to make a factual inquiry and to impose sanctions if deemed necessary. The accused has the right to respond to the accusation and examine the evidence in the case. Sanctions may include one or more of the following:

· Verbal Reprimand: The fact that the member has committed an offense becomes a matter of record. The member is placed on probation for a length of time to be determined by the Committee, with a minimum of 3 months. A member judged guilty of another offense during a probationary period is liable to further sanctions.

· Suspension: The member’s Club privileges are suspended for a definite period of time to be determined by the Committee.

· Expulsion: The member’s Club privileges are permanently revoked. The member may only be readmitted by a decision of the Ethics Committee. The Committee will consider no reinstatement within 2 years of the date of expulsion.

Any member subject to suspension or expulsion forfeits any yearly dues and monthly tournament fees paid to the Club. He also forfeits any titles, trophies, or awards he may hold until such time as that member is reinstated.

2. Dues and Fees: Dues and fees are necessary in order to pay Club expenses, including rent, and USCF fees. The Club will have a yearly membership fee, payable during January or during the month of the first event a member participates in that year. New members joining after Labor Day will pay half the yearly fee for the first year. Each tournament will also have a fee for playing. This fee must be paid before the final round of the tournament, and will be the same regardless of how many games the member actually plays. In other words, no discounts for bye weeks. If the tournament fee is not paid before the final round, at the TD’s discretion that player may be forfeited from the tournament and barred from future tournaments until the dues are paid. Repeated violations may result in Ethics Committee action. The TD’s will determine the fee structure for each year based on the financial needs of the Club and submit it to the membership for approval. Dues and tourney fees are non-refundable.

3. Club Events: Prior to the annual Club Meeting, the TDs will draw up a schedule of events for the following year. This schedule must be approved by the members at the Meeting and should include at least the following

• Club Championship: This shall be held in April and May and should be a minimum of 6 rounds. All members are eligible to play in the Club Championship, however, in order to win the title of Club Champion, a member must have played in at least 2 events over the previous 12 months. The Club Championship counts as 1 event. In the event the tournament winner is not eligible to be Club Champion, the Club Champion title will be awarded to the highest scoring eligible member(s).
• Blitz Championship: 5-minute Club Championship
• Brask Invitational: This shall be the first event of the year and shall consist of at least 6 members: the Club Champion, the winners of the previous year’s Invitational and Memorial winners, and any other winner of a regularly scheduled monthly tournament over the past year. If this does not produce at least 6 members, the member(s) with the highest Grand Prix scores who are not already eligible will be seeded into the tournament until 6 players are reached. If there are an odd number of players, this system will also be used to seed in one player to make it an even number.
• Howard Cook Memorial: This event will be held concurrently with the Invitational, and will be open to all members who do not qualify for the Invitational. If at all possible, the Invitational and Memorial will be played as separate sections. If there are not sufficient entries in a section, at the discretion of the TD the Invitational and Memorial may be combined into one section. In this case, the highest-scoring eligible member in each section will win each title, regardless of who wins the tournament.

3.1 Conduct for Rated Events: Rated games will start promptly at 730 PM each week. All rated games will be conducted according to the USCF Rules of Chess and the Standards of Conduct of the Club. Members who are unable to play a round or who will be late for a round should notify the TD and/or opponent as soon as possible. Unless posted otherwise prior to the start of a tournament, the following rules apply to all Club events:

• Time Control: The "standard" time control for most monthly events is now G/120. The Club Championship and Invitational/Memorial will continue to be played at the "traditional" time control of 40/90 SD 30. In addition, digital clocks with time delay will subtract 5 minutes from their clock at the start of the game. In other words, they will be set to 1 hr 55 mins for G/120 and 1 hr 25 mins for 40/90 SD/30 (the second control remains unchanged).
• Byes: Unless specified in advance, 1 ½-point bye is available for each tournament of 4 rounds or less, and 2 byes are available for each tournament greater than 4 rounds. Last-round byes must be requested prior to the start of the previous round, unless otherwise specified prior to the tournament. Should it be necessary to give a full-point bye due to an odd number of players, every effort will be made to notify the affected player prior to the round.
• No-shows: If a player fails to show up for a game without notifying a TD beforehand, or within 48 hours after the game if the player was unable to attend at the last minute, in addition to being forfeited that player will not be paired for subsequent rounds unless he contacts the TD prior to the next round and requests to be paired. Please do not show up the week after a no-show and expect to have a game if you have not contacted the TD.
• Late Arrival: If a player notifies the TD in advance that he will be late for a round, the option exists to delay starting that player’s clock at 730 PM. This must agreed upon both by the TD and the player’s opponent. That player’s clock will be started no later that 745 PM, and a player will be forfeited if he doesn’t arrive by 830 PM, as outlined under Rule 13D of the Rules of Chess.

4. Handicapped Players: In all cases the Club will be accommodating to handicapped players, and Members playing a handicapped opponent are obliged to agree to any reasonable accommodation requested by the opponent or TD, as well as those outlined in the Rules of Chess. This may include, but is not limited to, playing with a specific board or pieces, playing in a particular location, modification of touch-move rules etc. Any accommodations for a handicapped player shall also apply to his opponent. Section 35 of the Rules of Chess grants the TD wide discretionary powers for the accommodation of handicapped players. Refusal to comply with these requests is a serious offense and is grounds for forfeiture of the game, tournament, and possible Ethics Committee action.