Four Nations Chess League

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The Four Nations Chess League - 4NCL for short - is a team competition in chess , in which teams from the four parts of the United Kingdom of England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland take part.

organization

Divisions

The 4NCL is divided into the five divisions Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 South, Division 3 North and Division 4 South. In Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 South there are 16 teams each, in Division 3 North and Division 4 South all other registered teams.

Regulations

The two highest divisions are played with teams of eight, in Division 3 and Division 4 with teams of six. In Division 1 there must be at least one male and at least one female player in every competition, in Division 2 there must be members from at least two of the three following groups in every competition:

  • male players
  • female players
  • Young people under 18 years of age

The line-up can be chosen freely, but a player may not play on a higher board than a team member who has more than 80 Elo points . In addition, a player may be used during the season who was not registered at the beginning of the season. In the decisive games, teams can therefore strengthen themselves, surprisingly for their opponents.

In Divisions 1 and 2 and Division 3 South, the competition is divided into a preliminary round and a final round. In the preliminary round, the 16 teams play a simple round-robin tournament in two preliminary groups (Pool A and Pool B) with eight teams each . The first four of each group qualify for the Championship Pool (Division 1) or Promotion Pool (Division 2), the last four for the Demotion Pool. The direct comparisons from the preliminary round are carried over into the final round, so that in the final round only the four teams from pool A play against the four teams from pool B. The last four of the demotion pool are relegated, the first four (Division 2) and two first (Division 3 South) of the promotion pool are promoted. The number of team points in the final round (2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a defeat), then the number of board points in the final round (1 point for a win, 0.5 Points for a draw, 0 points for a defeat, −0.5 points for a defeat without a fight announced in advance, −1 point for a defeat without a fight not announced in advance).

In Division 3 North and Division 4 South, 11 rounds are played in the Swiss system . Placement is first determined by the number of team points, then the number of board points. The first two of Division 3 North advance to Division 2. The number of promoted from Division 4 South to Division 3 South depends on which relay the relegated from Division 2 belong to; it is at least two (if all relegated Division 2 relegated to Division 3 South) and a maximum of six (if all relegated Division 2 relegated to Division 3 North). In the two highest classes, a club may be represented with a maximum of two teams per class, in Division 3 the number of teams in a club is not limited.

history

The competition was initiated in 1993 by Chris Dunworth, the first season 1993/94 took place with six teams. Up to the 1996/97 season was played in a single division (1993/94 with 6, 1994/95 with 12, 1995/96 with 14 and 1996/97 with 18 teams), for the 1997/98 season the 4 NCL was in the Division 1 and Division 2 are divided and the number of teams in Division 1 is set at 12. For the 2000/01 season, Division 3 was introduced and the strength of Division 2 was set at 12 teams. For the 2002/03 season, Division 4 was introduced and the strength of Division 3 was set at 12 teams. For the 2008/09 season, Division 1 and Division 2 were increased to 16 teams each and Division 3 and Division 4 were combined into one class.

4NCL winner

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 4NCL: Guildford 1 and Wood Green HK 1 , Chessbase.com, February 27, 2014
  2. ↑ The Growth of the 4NCL at 4NCL (English)
  3. ↑ Announcement of the 4NCL 2007/08 (English)

Web links