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General Rules

 

Each school must rank their team of six players by ability and the children are paired with their counterparts. Matches are played using chess clocks with both players having 20 minutes to make all of their moves.

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From their second season onwards, schools have the option of fielding a B team in the league, in which case their six strongest players must comprise the A team with the 7th to 12th ranked players making up the B team. Further teams can be fielded in a team's 3rd season.

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We use the standard EPSCA (English Primary Schools Chess Association) rules with the key ones being:

  • If a piece is touched it must be moved (provided it has a legal move)

  • If a piece is released it must be left (unless an illegal move has been made)

  • If an opponent's piece is touched it must be captured (provided it can be taken legally)

  • Players must use the same hand to move their piece and press their clock

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The full EPSCA rules can be found here.

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