1. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPETITION
The Eastman Cup was presented by Ralph Eastman as a perpetual trophy to be competed for annually by teams on the knockout principle. Any Member Club of the London Chess League and anybody approved by the Committee of the League shall be eligible to enter one team. The competition shall be played in rounds by teams of 10 a side, and the strongest 4 teams shall be seeded.
The club winning the final round shall be the holder of the Eastman Cup for the ensuing year and shall return the Cup to the League at or before the Annual General Meeting.
There will also be a Plate competition for 1st round losers.
2. LAWS OF CHESS
Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess as amended by the ECF Rules.
3. ENTRANCE FEE
The entrance fee shall be determined by the Committee. All games played in the Eastman Cup are subject to payment of the ECF's Game Fee Scheme charges.
4. ENTRY
Applications to enter must be made in writing to the Eastman Cup Secretary before October 1st, and shall be accompanied by the entrance fee (if any).
5. ARRANGEMENT OF MATCHES
The Eastman Cup Secretary shall nominate a date by which each match shall be played, and shall notify teams of that date at the same time as notifying the pairing. The match captains of the paired teams shall agree with each other as to the place and date of meeting and the starting time of play. In the event of failure to arrive at an agreement within a fortnight of the notification of pairing, the Eastman Cup Secretary shall have the power to specify a date and venue or to disqualify either or both
6. EASTMAN CUP/DIVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
An Eastman Cup match shall not take place simultaneously with a Divisional Championship match, except by permission from the Honorary Secretary of the League and in accordance with conditions laid down by the Secretary. Breach of this rule shall involve the disqualification of both clubs concerned, unless the Committee shall rule otherwise.
7. PLAYERS
No player shall play for more than one team in the Eastman Cup competition in any one season. Breach of this rule shall involve the offending team in the loss of the match concerned, unless the Committee shall rule otherwise. It is permissable for a player to play for one club in the Eastman Cup and for another in the Divisional Championship.
8. CONDUCT OF MATCHES
Ten minutes before the time fixed for the commencement of a match the match captains or their deputies shall make up their teams and exchange lists. It is expected that players shall be arranged consecutively in order of strength, beginning with the strongest on top board, and any defaults known before teams are exchanged shall be taken on the bottom boards.
Match captains shall toss for colour after the exchange of lists. The side winning the toss shall take white on the odd-numbered boards and black on the even-numbered boards. If a match captain or his deputy is not present ten minutes before the match is due to begin, the opposing match captain shall have the choice of winning or losing the toss.
For matches due to start between 6.15pm and 6.45pm inclusive a player shall arrive not later than 7.15pm. In all other matches a player shall arrive not later than 30 minutes after the due starting time for the match.
The use of clocks is obligatory, and all clocks of players of the white pieces shall be set in motion at the starting time agreed. In the event of any delay in starting play by a club playing on its own premises, the time so lost shall be borne on the clocks of the home team.
The duration of play shall be at least three hours in the first session. The rate of play shall be 36 moves in the first 90 minutes, 24 in the next hour, then a Quickplay finish will apply using ECF Quickplay Finish rules, with 30 minutes being added to each player's clock and the game then being completed within the cumulative time remaining on the clock.
At the Eastman Cup Secretary's discretion a Quickplay Finish may be imposed (ECF Quickplay Finish rules to apply). Where a quickplay finish is applied one of the undermentioned time limits must be used:-
a) 30 moves in 75 minutes followed by the addition of 15 minutes to each player's clock with all the remaining moves then being completed within the cumulative time left on the clock.
b) 36 moves in 90 minutes followed by the addition of 15 minutes to each player's clock with all the remaining moves then being completed within the cumulative time left on the clock.
All unfinished games are to be completed within 14 days. The second session shall be of at least three hours duration and shall be at the Golden Lane starting at 7.00pm, or at a time and place agreed by the two players. Any player failing to present themself to play off an adjourned game within 30 minutes of the time agreed for the play-off to commence shall lose the game by default.
9. ADJUDICATION
A blind player may claim adjudication at the close of the first session provided that they notify their opponent of this intention before the start of play.
A position for adjudication must be submitted to the Eastman Cup Secretary by both teams, and each team must indicate its claim and enclose the adjudication fee when submitting the position. If only one team complies with this rule its claim shall be upheld. The team whose claim is upheld will have its fee returned.
The result of any adjudication may be appealed against. Two copies of the position together with two copies of an analysis purporting to refute the adjudicator's decision must be sent to the Eastman Cup Secretary within 7 days of the receipt of the result of the adjudication. The Eastman Cup Secretary shall then inform the other team that an appeal has been received, and the other team may submit analysis (in duplicate) within a further 7 days. The appeal and all submitted analysis shall then be sent to an independent adjudicator whose decision shall be final. If the appeal is upheld the appeal fee and the original adjudication fee shall be returned.
10. DRAWN MATCHES
In the event of a tie the winner shall be the team whose total board numbers of games won shall be the lower. If board count fails to resolve a tie then the elimination rule shall apply. If all games are drawn then the winner shall be the team with black on the odd-numbered boards.
11. RESULTS
Within 7 days of the completion of the first session of a match, both teams involved shall send to the Eastman Cup Secretary the full score of the match, including who had the first move and the number of each board. In the event of a breach of this rule the Eastman Cup Secretary shall have the power to award the match to the opposing team.
The results of all games unfinished at the end of the first session shall be submitted by both clubs to the Eastman Cup Secretary within 17 days of the first session.
12. DISPUTES
Any dispute or question arising under these rules shall be referred to the Eastman Cup Secretary. The Secretary's decision shall be subject to appeal to the Committee of the League, whose decision shall then be final.
13. SMOKING IN THE PLAYING ROOM
Smoking is banned in the playing room at all Eastman Cup matches.
Effective from September 2001