NSA Club #3 2005–2006 Championship Rules

The following are the rules by which the club champions will be determined this year, in each division (A, B, C). Changes from last year are shown in bold.

1. In order to be eligible for the championship, barring unusual circumstances, a player must have played at least one-third of the possible games in the preceding (2005–2006) season. This is to make sure that contenders are placed in appropriate divisions. Players who were temporarily absent during the preceding season, or who joined the club late in the preceding season, may petition the director during September to be placed on the eligibility list.

2. A player's end-of-season rating in 2005–2006 determines the division in which they will be competing in 2005–2006. Players rated above 1599 are in Division A, players rated 1100–1599 are in Division B, and players rated under 1100 are in Division C. Players who are within 50 points of a division boundary have until the end of September to choose which side of the boundary they wish to play on. If they do not choose, then past players will remain in their past divisions, and new players will play in the appropriate division for their rating. The division breaks are chosen each year to balance the number of games played in each division.

   An exception to the preceding is that the 2004–2005 Division B Champion must compete in Division A in 2005–2006, and the 2004–2005 Division C Champion must compete in Division B in 2005–2006.

3. In order to win a championship, barring extraordinary circumstances, a player must play (or be asked to sit out) an average of at least two games per evening over the 2005–2006 season, and 1.5 games per evening over the first half of the season. This is to prevent a player from joining the performance rating system late and unduly perturbing other contenders' ratings.

4. The champion will be determined on the basis of Iterated Overall Performance Ratings. That is, the championship rating will be the performance rating that a player would have had if the entire season were treated as one big tournament, and all the contenders had been unrated.

5. If the top players have ratings that differ by no more than half the ratings multiplier of the top player, then they will share the championship.

6. Contenders are strongly encouraged to play in the June tournament. If they are unable to do so, they must announce three weeks in advance when they plan to stop playing rated games at the club.

7. Players may play either using NSA or WSC rules. If players disagree, NSA rules shall be in effect. Games played under WSC rules will also be tracked under a SOWPODS rating system.

The following players are eligible contenders this season: