Article 1

Participation in the Bois-Colombes Chess Master 2026 implies full acceptance of these regulations and compliance with the health protocol in effect at the date of the tournament and posted at the venue.

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Article 2: tournaments

The Bois-Colombes Chess Master is composed of three 9-round tournaments:

A tournament A, reserved for players whose Elo rating is greater than or equal to 2101, approved under the number 72786. This tournament allows the achievement of GM, MI, GMF, MIF standards.
A tournament B, reserved for players whose Elo rating is equal to or greater than 1801 and equal to or less than 2150, and approved under the number 72787.
A tournament C, reserved for players whose Elo rating is equal to or greater than 1501 and equal to or less than 1850, and approved under the number 72788.
A tournament D, reserved for players whose Elo rating is equal to or less than 1600, and approved under no. 72789.

Ratings taken into account are those valid on the day of the tournament. The time control is 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move one. All tournaments are rated and count toward the February 2026 FIDE standard list.

All players must hold a valid A-license from the French Chess Federation (FFE) or be affiliated with another federation recognized by FIDE (with a FIDE ID).

Unrated players will be assigned a provisional Elo rating based on their age category. No adjustments will be made later.

Requests for exceptions to play in a higher section must be made in writing to the organizers by 5 December 2025. Responses will be provided by 14 December 2025.

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Article 3: dates, venue and schedule

Venue: Complexe Albert-Smirlian, 11 avenue Renée, 92270 Bois-Colombes.

Round Schedule for All Tournaments:

Round 1: Friday, December 26 at 12:00 p.m.
Round 2: Friday, December 26 at 5:30 pm
Round 3: Saturday, December 27 at 10:00 AM
Round 4: Saturday, December 27 at 3:30 PM
Round 5: Sunday, December 28 at 10:00 AM
Round 6: Sunday, December 28 at 3:30 PM
Round 7: Monday, December 29 at 10:00 AM
Round 8: Monday, December 29 at 3:30 PM
Round 9: Tuesday, December 30 at 10:00 AM

Awards ceremony: Tuesday, December 30 at 4:00 PM

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Article 4: rules of play

F.I.D.E rules in effect at the tournament start date apply.

Draw offers are allowed per FIDE regulations. Unfought draws may result in double forfeits.

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Article 5: results and corrections

Players are responsible for checking that their results are correctly recorded. Any errors must be reported to the arbiter before the pairings for the second subsequent round (N+2) are published. Corrections after this deadline will only be used for rating calculation purposes.

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Article 6: pairings

6.1 – Matches are made in the Swiss system; they are carried out by the main tournament referee using the Papi software provided by the French Chess Federation.

In the first round, players who have paid their registration and had their license checked before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 26, 2026, will be matched.

6.2 – Results will be published regularly throughout the rounds. For the odd-numbered rounds, pairings are published on a provisional basis, subject to modification until 10 p.m. and final after that time. For the paired rounds, pairings are published on a provisional basis, subject to change until 3 p.m. and final after that time (final after 5 p.m. for round 2).

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Article 7: scoring and tiebreaks

7.1 – There will be 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw and 0 for a loss.

7.2 – In the event of an identical number of points, the players will be tied using the truncated Buchholz of the two opponents’ results with the lowest scores, followed by the Kashdan tiebreaker which favors the player with the most victory.

For the calculation of the Buchholz Truncated within the framework of unplayed games, in accordance with article C07-16.6, the calculation of the adjusted score is carried out by the PAPI software version 3.3.7 according to the recommendations of the FIDE prior to 2023.

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Article 8: absences, forfeits and byes

8.1 – In the event of a scheduled absence from a round, the player must notify the referee as soon as possible. A declared absence cannot be cancelled unless the arbitrator decides otherwise. In case of withdrawal, you can contact the lead arbitrator by SMS/WhatsApp at +33 6 45 50 57 48, specifying the last name, first name, license number, and Open concerned.

8.2. For the first 6 rounds, a player can request BYE from the referee once for the open A.

For Open B and C, two BATs can be requested before round 6.

A BYE allows you not to be matched with a round, while scoring half a point (0.5 points). The BYE must be explicitly requested from the referee. For rounds 7 to 9, players are not allowed to take a BYE.

8.3 – A paired player, arriving in front of the board more than 60 minutes late, is forfeited unless otherwise decided by the Head Referee. Any player who forfeits without notifying the referee will be considered as having abandoned the tournament, unless his absence is justified by admissible arguments before the publication of matches for the next round. Any player making two forfeits, consecutive or not, will be excluded from the tournament. Unjustified tournament forfeitures and withdrawals will be automatically reported to the Legal Director of the F.F.E. National Directorate of Arbitration for French players and to the relevant federation for foreign players.

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Article 9: appeals committee

The main tournament referee is Jocelyn Azzegag, International Referee. The arbitration is handled by the following team:

(Pending)

An appeal board of 5 members is composed during the first round. Its composition is displayed in the game room. It is chaired by an organizing member and includes one of the referees (other than the one who made the decision). It includes three players.

To make a call, a player must first follow the referee’s instructions while signaling their intention to appeal. He shall then file his appeal in writing with the senior arbitrator no later than 30 minutes after the end of the party that gave rise to the dispute.

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Article 10: registration

10.1 – The total number of participants is limited to 600 players.

10.2 – The GMI, the MI, the members of the France Jeunes Elite team and the GMI ICCF (correspondence) members of the FFE are exempt from registration fees.

All invited players must pre-register no later than 48 hours before the end of the scoring period.

10.3 – Registration fees must be paid in advance. You can check the terms on the open website https://www.bccm-bois-colombes-echecs.com

10.4 – On-site registration remains possible within the limits of available places.

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Article 11: check-in

11.1 – Players must clock in on Saturday, December 26, 2026, before 11:30 AM to be matched for Round 1.

11.2 – All matched players must be present at 11:30 am for the start of Round 1 at 12:00 pm.

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Article 12 : prize

12.1 – The total amount of guaranteed prizes is 11,500 euros. The prize distribution can be viewed on the dedicated page of the tournament website.

12.2 – Prices

Prizes are not cumulative and each player will receive the highest prize they can claim.

The general ranking prizes will be shared in the Hort system up to a minimum of €80.

There is also provision for prizes per category, for which the following order of priority will be applied: prize per Elo category, prize per age category, first player’s prize and then the first Bois-Colombien (member of the Cercle d’Echecs de Bois-Colombes) prize.

12.3 – Only those players who attended the awards ceremony and participated in the last round will be allowed to receive their prizes. Any prize not distributed remains the property of the organizer.

12.4 – The top prize in Tournament A is guaranteed at €1,500.

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Article 13: player conduct

13.1 – The conduct of the players must not discredit the competition and must be in accordance with the charter of chess players available on the website of the National Directorate of Arbitration.

https://dna.ffechecs.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Charte-echecs.pdf

13.2 – The playing area consists of the space where games are played. The competition venue consists of a play area, restrooms, smoking area and snack bar.

13.3 – A player may not leave the venue of the competition during a game without the permission of the referee. Failure to comply with this rule is considered as abandonment of the game.

13.4 – A player using the line may not move away from his chessboard without the referee’s authorization.

13.5 – Analyses are forbidden in the venue of the competition (an analysis room is made available to the players).

13.6 – It is forbidden to smoke, vape, eat (apart from snacking) or bring alcoholic beverages into the playing area.

13.7 – Underage players remain the responsibility of their legal representatives, including for the duration of their game.

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Article 14: image and audio rights

By registering minor children in their care, parents and legal guardians authorize the Cercle d’Échecs de Bois-Colombes to publish articles, photos or videos on which registered minors could appear (images and voices) as part of its communication activities. This authorisation also applies to players of legal age and spectators.

Players with tournament conditions agree to the use of their name and likeness for tournament promotion in this and future editions. In case of refusal, please inform the organizers (contact@bois-colombes-echecs.com)

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Article 15: electronic devices

Any electronic device (phone, headset, smartwatch, etc.) is prohibited in the game room, unless expressly authorized by the referee.

During the game, a player is not allowed to carry an electronic device such as a phone, headset, or smartwatch.

Phones must be completely switched off and placed in a bag that does not leave the player’s seat during the entire game.

Any sound emitted, ringing, alarm or vibration, will result in the immediate loss of the game.

Any offender immediately loses their game. In the event of a repeat offence, they may be excluded from the tournament.

To cut short any suspicion of cheating and facilitate the smooth running of the tournament, the Cercle d’Echecs de Bois-Colombes offers a free deposit system for electronic devices (see at the snack bar).

If it is found that a player has used such a device in the game room (unless expressly authorized by a referee), he will lose the game and the opponent will win.

All participants undertake to comply with these rules.