General Format: All games will be played on the Internet Chess Club (ICC). The ICC is already the chess server of choice for most of Australia’s top adult and junior players and is a particularly good environment for playing chess. It is also very aware and alert to the possibility of cheating. Players should be members of the ICC although some might play as guests and we will investigate creating some generic junior accounts to assist if necessary. Games will be played on Sunday nights at 7:00pm EST from the players’ homes or a place convenient to them. 6 rounds over 6 weeks 1 hour each on the clock (except Allegro – 15 minutes). Who runs it? The State and Team tournaments will be run and financed to the tune of $2000 by the SAJCL in the first year – the individual events will have a $10 entry fee. To add prestige and credibility to the tournaments, we will seek to have these events approved by the ACF at the National Conference. There will be a sub-committee of the SAJCL who will be responsible for this tournament in 2006 and beyond. We will have an Appeal Committee of FM Aaron Guthrie, IM Mark Chapman and James Obst, all who use ICC a lot, who can be responsible for any protests that occur in the tournament. Tournaments: In 2006, we propose to run four internet tournaments: The 2006 Australian National Junior Interstate Chess Championship Teams tournament between states involving the top juniors in Australia. 6 rounds: Feb 12, Feb 19, Feb 26, Mar 5, Mar 12, Mar 19 Every state would nominate 12 players (9 top boys, 3 top girls) and they will be play for their state in a Swiss event but will not need to play others from their State. The winning state will have the highest aggregate score. 6 rounds, 1 hour each. Cost: free Prize: Perpetual Trophy for the winning state, each member of the winning state: 1 year ICC subscription and a trophy. The 2006 Australian National Junior Internet Chess Championships Individual tournament, open to all juniors around Australia 6 rounds: May 14, May 21, May 28, June 4, June 11, June 18 6 rounds, 1 hour each. Cost: $10 (all money goes to prizes for boys/girls and age groups) Prizes: dependent on entries. Will be publicized before the 1st round. The 2006 Australian National School Teams Internet Chess Championship Teams tournament split in 4: primary open and girls, secondary open and girls 6 rounds: Aug 13, Aug 20, Aug 27, Sep 3, Sep 10, Sep 17 The top teams from each state will have the right to play in this. This tournament will be done before the Schools Teams Championship. Cost: free Prizes: Perpetual Shield for winning school, trophy for each winning participant and a year’s subscription to ICC. The 2006 Australian National Junior Allegro Internet Chess Championship Individual tournament, open to all juniors around Australia. 6 rounds: Oct 29, Nov 5, Nov 12, Nov 19, Nov 26, Dec 3 Cost: $10 Prizes: dependent on entries. Will be publicized before the 1st round. Publicity: Draws and pairings will be placed on a website each week (perhaps we could create a webpage as a part of the ACF website). We will advertise on the Bulletin board (after National conference), in the ACF bulletin, in the Australian Chess Magazine and will write to all State Associations. It would be good if it could be promoted with chess column writers around Australia. Prizes: Certificates to all participants (for Teams tournaments) and annual subscriptions to the ICC. Could be presented at the Australian Chess Championship/Open closing ceremony along with other prizes. Entering: All entries will be done via the webpage. Every player will have to agree to a set of conditions (in reference to cheating) which should limit that – if any youngster is found to receive help from a computer program or another person, they will not be allowed to take part in any further event. Cheating/Protests: If a player thinks their opponent cheated, they can lodge a complaint via email within 24 hours. This will be judged by our panel of experts of James, Mark and Aaron to decide. A ruling will be made and subsequent matches will be watched if there is a problem. If a player is found guilty of cheating, they will be disqualified. Also, ICC automatically will help the whole cheating possibility. Sponsorship: We also have some people in SA who may be willing to contribute. We think many IT companies, Internet Providers and others will like the idea once it gets going.