Zamboanga del SurChess Cup 2026

• Individual competition in three categories, by age on 12 September 2026: Open 18 & above, Junior 13–17, Kiddies 5–12. Prize winners may be asked to show proof of age (PSA birth certificate, school ID or any valid ID).
• Swiss system, 7 rounds in every category (5 if the day runs short). Pairings are posted at the venue before each round and on this page. Each round is paired only after all games of the round before have ended.
• Rapid chess. Open & Junior: 25 minutes + 5 seconds a move. Kiddies: 20 minutes + 5 seconds a move. Digital clocks, set by the arbiters.
• Recording the moves (notation) is not required.
• Scoring: 1 point for a win, ½ for a draw, 0 for a loss. A player left without an opponent in a round (odd number of players) gets a bye worth 1 point, at most once in the tournament.
• Ties are broken in this order: Buchholz cut 1, Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, direct encounter, number of wins.

• Find your board on the pairing list and sit down before the round starts.
• Default time is 15 minutes. A player not at the board 15 minutes after the round has started loses the game. Your clock runs from the start of the round, whether you are there or not.
• At the arbiter's signal, Black starts White's clock.
• Check the board and the clock before you play. A wrong setup or clock setting has to be raised before each player has made 10 moves. After that the game goes on as it is. (If the king started on the wrong square, castling is not allowed.)
• Never change the clock setting yourself. If the clock fails, stop it and raise your hand for the arbiter.
• A player who loses by default and has not told the arbiter is withdrawn from the later rounds unless the arbiter decides otherwise. To skip a round or leave early, tell the arbiter first.

• Touch-move. If you deliberately touch one of your pieces, you must move it. If you touch an opponent's piece, you must capture it, if it can legally be moved or captured.
• To straighten a piece, say “I adjust” first, and only on your own turn.
• A move is finished once you let go of the piece on its new square. Then press the clock with the same hand that moved the piece. Move first, then press, never the other way round.
• Castling: use one hand and move the king first, then the rook.
• Promotion: put the new piece on the promotion square in place of the pawn before you press the clock. If the piece you need is not at the board, stop the clock and call the arbiter.
• If you knock pieces over, put them back on your own time before pressing the clock.

• Flag fall. If the opponent's time runs out, stop the clock and call the arbiter. The arbiter also calls a flag fall that he or she sees. You win on time only if you still have time left on your own clock.
• A player whose time has run out still gets a draw if the opponent cannot checkmate by any series of legal moves (for example, king against king and bishop).
• No agreed draws before Black's 20th move. Offer a draw only right after making your move and before pressing the clock.
• The game is drawn at any time by stalemate or when neither side can checkmate. It is also drawn on a correct claim when the same position appears three times, or after 50 moves by each player with no capture and no pawn move. To claim, stop the clock and call the arbiter.

* The game is drawn instead if the opponent cannot checkmate the player's king by any possible series of legal moves.

• Phones and all electronic devices must be completely switched off and kept in your bag, or left with a parent or coach outside the playing area. A player who has one on his or her person, or whose device is switched on, loses the game.
• No tapping the table, whistling, humming, singing or other noise. A warning is given first. A player who continues forfeits the game.
• No talking with the opponent during play, except to offer a draw, say “I adjust”, or call the arbiter.
• No eating at the board. Drinking water during the game is allowed.
• You may leave the playing area during your game only with the arbiter's permission, and your clock keeps running.
• Coaches, parents and spectators stay outside the playing area. No one may give advice or help to a player whose game is in progress, and the player who is helped may lose the game.
• No post-game analysis, no casual games and no discussing finished or unfinished games inside the playing venue.
• Dress properly. Sandos, shorts and slippers are not allowed while playing.

• When your game ends, both players report the result to the arbiter together. Then leave the playing area at once.
• In any dispute, stop the clock and raise your hand for the arbiter. Do not argue at the board. The arbiter's decision on the floor is carried out at once.
• A player who disagrees may appeal to the Chess Technical Committee through the Chief Arbiter, within 10 minutes after the game ends and before the next round is paired. Its decision is final.
• Collatilla: any matter not covered here is decided by the Organizer (Chess Technical Committee), which may amend any provision in the interest of the tournament.

• Hikap, lihok. Kon imong gihikap ang imong piyesa, kana gyud ang imong ilihok. Kon ang piyesa sa kontra, kana ang imong kaonon. Kon mag-ayo lang, isulti una ang “I adjust”.
• Usa ra ka kamot. Ilihok una ang piyesa, dayon pislita ang orasan gamit ang samang kamot.
• Sayop nga lihok: sa una, dugangan og 1 minuto ang oras sa kontra. Sa ikaduha, pildi na ka.
• 15 minutos ra ang palugit. Kon wala pa ka sa imong board human sa 15 minutos, pildi ka. Modagan ang imong orasan bisan wala ka pa.
• Cellphone: patya gyud ug ibutang sa bag, o ihatag sa ginikanan o coach sa gawas. Kon naa sa imong bulsa o naka-on, pildi ka.
• Kon nahurot na ang oras sa kontra, pahunonga ang orasan ug tawga ang arbiter.
• Walay draw nga pagkasabotan sa dili pa ang ika-20 nga lihok sa Black.
• Human sa dula, ireport dayon ninyong duha ang resulta sa arbiter ug biya dayon sa playing area.
• Ginikanan, coach ug tumatan-aw: sa gawas lang sa playing area, ug ayaw tudloi ang nagdula.
• Kon naay problema, ayaw panaglalis. Ipataas ang kamot ug hulata ang arbiter.