World Correspondence Chess Championship 2019 Cycle: Preliminaries 43rd WCCC

Sunday, December 16, 2018: Following the decisions of the ICCF Congress 2011, all Preliminary Sections of the World Correspondence Chess Championship shall start on the same day and only once per year.

The start date of the Preliminaries of the 43rd WCCC is March 20, 2019.

All entries will be accepted according with ICCF Rules valid as from January 1st, 2019, to be received not later than February 6, 2019.

Member Federations Nominations (MFN) for the Preliminaries should also be submitted before February 6, 2019.  MFN for 2018 cannot be used for 2019 WCCC Cycle.

Preliminary Sections normally have 13 players with the possibility for the TTC to extend them to 15 or 17 players if appropriate in special situations.

If the number of the entries won’t be a multiple of 13, the players who have been entered according to points 1 (i), (j) and (k) and who have the lowest ICCF ELO rating in list 2019/1 won’t be admitted to the Preliminaries.

Players entering more than one section will be accepted only to fill vacancies.

Entries have to be sent through the „New events“ page of www.iccf.com. The entry fee can be paid via Direct Entry or via the player’s National Federation.

It is mandatory that the qualification right under ICCF Rule 1.2.1.1 should be specified for each entry.

The ICCF Executive Board asks that all ICCF Delegates ensure that this important information is made available in all national CC magazines and websites. It is the responsibility of Delegates to ensure that all players are made aware of these arrangements.

Any questions and/or requests for clarification should be directed to the ICCF Title Tournaments Commissioner, Gian-Maria Tani ttc@iccf.com.

Torino, December 16, 2018

Appendix. Section 1.2.1.1 of the ICCF Rules

1.2.1.1 Preliminaries of the World Correspondence Chess Championship

1. The following will reach a full qualification to enter a Preliminary section:
   1. the participants in one of the previous or running Candidates' Tournaments who have scored at least 40% of the possible points if they have not earned a higher qualification
   2. the participants in one of the previous or running Semi-Finals who scored at least 50% of the possible points, if they have not earned a higher qualification
   3. participants in one of the previous or running Preliminary sections who finished in place 3 or 4 or scored at least 60% of possible points but did not qualify for a WCCC Semi-Final
   4. winners of ICCF World Tournaments – Master class
   5. the participants in one of the previous or running ICCF World Cup Finals who scored at least 50% of the possible points (this does not include the ICCF Veterans World Cup or Chess 960 World Cup Tournaments)
   6. the participants in one of the previous or running acknowledged Zonal Championships of tournament average rating at 2451 or higher who scored at least 50% of the possible points
   7. participants in acknowledged Zonal Championships of tournament average rating at 2450 or below who finished in place 3 or 4 or scored at least 60% of possible points
   8. those players, who are entered through their own national organisation and at the time of nomination have ratings less than 2400 (fixed or unfixed)
   9. the holders of the International Master Title with a rating above 2300 (*)
   10. the holders of the Senior International Master Title with a rating above 2250 (*)
   11. the holders of the Grandmaster Title
   12. any player with a rating of 2500 and above.

(*) ELO ratings used in these Rules refer to any of those rating lists published in the preceding 12 months when submitting the entry to the TTC.

2. The following will reach a half qualification to enter a Preliminary section: (a) those players who achieve 2nd place in a Master Class group.