RATING
Players shall be ranked by invitational rating, calculated as follows:
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1. U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship: Rating criteria for each U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship will be determined by the USCF in consultation with America’s Foundation for Chess.
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2. U.S. Junior Championship:
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Average of the
1) USCF April rating;
2) peak published USCF rating (going back 12 months from the April supplement)
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3. FIDE Olympiad and FIDE Women’s Olympiad:
For all except one team member, the following method shall be used: Average of the 1) current published USCF rating at time of invitation; 2) current published FIDE rating at time of invitation; 3) average of peak published USCF rating and peak published FIDE rating, both going back 24 months from time of invitation.
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After invitational ratings have been calculated for the highest rated players for all but one spot on the team, the following method shall be used to determine the final spot: Average of the 1) current published USCF rating at time of invitation; 2) current published FIDE rating at time of invitation. To this number shall be added the following adjustment points based on the player's age as of January 1 of the Olympiad year:Age Points 25 / 5 24 / 10 23 / 15 22 / 20 21 / 25 20 / 30 19 / 35 18 / 40 17 / 50 16/below 60
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NOTE: For the 2006 Olympiad only, instead of using published USCF ratings as part of each formula, the latest ratings at uschess.org/msa as of March 17, 2006 shall be used. If any contending players have games played but not yet rated as of that date, they should notify the USCF office of these results by March 22, and the office will adjust the March 17 MSA ratings for invitational purposes based on these games.
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BOARD ORDER
Board order for the teams shall be determined by the team captain.
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4. World Under-26 Team:
Average of the 1) current published USCF rating at time of invitation; 2) peak published USCF rating (going back 24 months from time of invitation)
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5. World Team Championship:
The members of the preceding U.S. Olympiad team shall be invited to represent the U.S. in the event for which they originally qualified. Should any of these players decline to play, additional players shall be selected by applying the FIDE Olympiad criteria.
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6. U.S. Cadet Championship, FIDE World Junior Championship, Pan-American Youth Festival: Invitational ratings are determined by the February Rating List of the year of competition. Exception: USCF traditionally sends two players to the FIDE World Junior Championship (one boy, one girl). The winner of the U.S. Junior Championship is usually offered one invitation; the remaining spot is allocated according to rating. If the scheduling of the FIDE World Junior Championship is such that this method is not feasible, both candidates shall be determined by the February Rating List.
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7.QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS TO THE WORLD YOUTH CHESS FESTIVAL (U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18)--REVISED MAY 21, 2004 To Take Effect for the 2004 World Youth in Greece
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A. Within each age and gender category, players may qualify to represent the USA under any of the following criteria:1. be established as one of the three highest rated candidates by peak post-tournament rating in the previous 12 months, ending with events included in the April Rating Supplement;OR 2. be listed within 50 rating points or less from third qualifying spot;OR 3. have earned a personal right to compete by virtue of one's performance at this event in a previous year;OR 4. be selected under extraordinary circumstances by the Scholastic Council in conjunction with the Executive Board.
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B. the top qualified player in each category will be considered the official candidate and will be entitled to receive whatever financial assistance is offered towards the cost of participation.
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C. If the top qualified player declines the invitation, the next player in line will be entitled to the financial assistance described above.
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D. If a qualified player is unable to attend, that place will not be offered to a non-qualified player ranked lower on the rating list.
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E. All qualified players will have the right to participate and will be considered to be part of the national team.
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F. The Scholastic Council Chair shall review the rating history of all qualified players before approving the final selection.
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8. FIDE World Senior Championship:
USCF traditionally selects two official players for this event (one man, one woman). Players shall be ranked according to their rating at time of invitation, and must meet the age requirements for this event. Official players receive support from USCF and the local organizers. Additional players may, however, attend this event as unofficial players. Interested persons are encouraged to contact the USCF office.
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9. Denker Tournament of High School Champions:
Players must be confirmed by their respective state affiliates and must meet the general eligibility rules for the event. For more information, contact the USCF office.
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10. All-America Chess Team:
Players must meet minimum rating and activity requirements. For more information, contact the USCF office.
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11. All-Star University Team:
The U.S. College Chess Committee shall determine the final selection method for a team to compete in the World University Team Championship.
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12. All other events:
USCF reserves the right to use whatever criteria it deems appropriate for all other events.
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13. If the rating scale is raised or lowered at some future date, prior ratings affecting invitations will be adjusted accordingly.
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14. Ties will be broken by the number of games played since invitations to the previous event (generally 12 months). It is the responsibility of the tied players to provide evidence of games played.
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15. Additional spots in some events will be offered as follows:
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a. U.S. Championship: top scorers in qualifying tournaments identified by the Executive Board, and other persons identified by USCF in consultation with America’s Foundation for Chess. Contact the USCF office for more information about U.S. Championship qualifying tournaments.

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b. U.S. Junior Championship: The previous year’s U.S. Junior Open Champion shall be directly seeded (if still eligible by age).

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c. FIDE Olympiad and Women's Olympiad: Automatic qualification of the U.S. Champions is currently not in effect, but the issue will be reviewed after we have a decision on the date and format of the 2006 U.S. Championship.
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AGE
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To be eligible for national and international competitions with age requirements, candidates must meet those age requirements as of January 1 of the year of competition.
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ACTIVITY REQUIREMENT
Players must play a minimum number of USCF-rated games (defined as including games played in the FIDE World Championship cycle, or other recognized world championship competition). Games played to satisfy the activity requirement must be played under the rating system used to select players for a particular event (see above). Thus, games played under the USCF’s Quick Chess rating system do not count toward the activity requirement. There is no minimum number of events.
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1. For events other than the Olympiad and Women's Olympiad, play at least 10 USCF-rated games (including games played in the FIDE World Championship cycle, or other recognized world championship competition) during the twelve month period prior to computation of invitational ratings.
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2. For the U.S. Championship, players may satisfy the activity requirement by their participation in the immediately preceding event.
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3. For the Olympiad or Women's Olympiad, in the 12 months prior to computation of invitational rating, players must have completed at least one FIDE-rated or USCF Grand Prix tournament of 6 or more rounds in the United States. Half point byes are permissible so long as 6 games are actually played, or are unplayed wins. Tournaments rated only by the USCF's Quick Chess rating system do not count toward the activity requirement. For the 2006 Olympiad only, a FIDE-rated or Grand Prix tournament of 5 or more rounds is acceptable.
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ACTIVITY POINTS (OLYMPIAD, WOMEN'S OLYMPIAD ONLY)
During the 12 month period prior to the computation of invitational rating, players should have played at least 30 games against opponents rated 2200 or above (2100 or above for the Women's Olympiad) in FIDE-rated or USCF Grand Prix events. Foreign tournaments are acceptable. For opponents with no established USCF rating, those with a FIDE rating of 2100 or above (2000 or above for the Women's Olympiad) are counted. Tournaments rated only by the USCF's Quick Chess rating system do not count. Unplayed games do not count.
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Players who complete all games in the US Open without taking byes are guaranteed a minimum of 6 credits. While unplayed wins are not credited, they are adequate toward having completed the tournament.
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Players who do not play sufficient games will have one invitational rating point deducted for each game by which they are short of 30 games.
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For the 2006 Olympiad only, the standard shall be 20 games rather than 30. One invitational rating point shall be deducted for each game by which the player is short of 20 games.
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RESIDENCY
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Players without previous international experience and/or FIDE ratings shall usually be given U.S. status immediately by both the USCF and FIDE. If a question arises as to USCF versus FIDE requirements, USCF’s criteria shall be used for national events and FIDE’s criteria will be used for international events. Before becoming eligible for USCF invitations, non-United States citizens who have FIDE ratings or have represented another country in a chess competition must fulfill the following residency requirements:
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1. Players under age 20 are considered eligible upon proof of full-time enrollment in a U.S. school. However, FIDE may still, at its discretion, require that such individuals fulfill a waiting period of up to three years.
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2. A player who has a green card or other acceptable proof of permanent U.S. residency must complete one continuous year (12 months) of United States residency, with a U.S. address, immediately prior to the event in question. In addition, for FIDE team competition (Olympiad, World Team, etc.), candidates may be required to provide a written promise that they will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as legally possible.
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3. A player who does not have a green card or other acceptable proof of permanent U.S. residency must complete two continuous years (24 months) of United States residency, with a U.S. address, immediately prior to the event in question. In addition, for FIDE team competition (Olympiad, World Team, etc.), candidates may be required to provide a written promise that they will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as legally possible.
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4. Players must complete and sign a USCF residency form and a FIDE residency form, and these residency forms must be received by the USCF prior to the time when invitations are determined. The USCF shall then contact FIDE to arrange for the player’s national affiliation code to be changed to reflect the player’s status as a U.S. player. Blank residency forms can be obtained from the USCF office.
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5. Players must refuse to represent other countries within the waiting period as specified above. Playing for another country at any time requires a candidate for invitations to begin the waiting period anew (i.e., one or two years from the time of the infraction for adults; at least one year for players under age 20). Representing another country is defined as playing in the national championship of another country, and/or playing as a member of another country’s national team in international competition.
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6. Zonal events: In years in which the U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship are also Zonal tournaments, any qualification spots allotted by FIDE from these events for the FIDE world championship competition will be offered only to the highest-scoring players who also fulfill all FIDE requirements. If a question arises as to USCF versus FIDE requirements, FIDE’s criteria shall be used.
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7. Players shall, in general, suffer no penalty for simply participating in a FIDE-rated event under their current national affiliation code (such as in futurities or other norm-granting events not listed above), until such time as their code is changed to reflect their status as a U.S. player.
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8. Players who submitted a USCF residency from prior to August, 2003 have the option to use either these rules or the rules for residency that applied at the time that the application was submitted.
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INVITATIONS ARE A PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT
Note: USCF invitations are a privilege, not a right afforded to any player by virtue of his or her status as a USCF member. The USCF reserves the right to not issue invitations to any particular event, or to change these criteria without advance notice.