CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2017

Friday, January 16, 2015: ICCF is proud to...

Dear Friends,

ICCF is proud to announce the start of the new and revised CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

Sponsored by chessdom.com

There are some significant changes regarding structure and reflection time.

STRUCTURE:

ONLY the former A group will still be called CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

It will consist of the teams placed 1^st to 7^th in Champions League 5.

Plus the teams that have placed first or second in the former B groups.

The former B group will now be called CHALLENGER LEAGUE.

5 groups with 13 teams. It will consist of:

• The teams who finished 8^th to 13^th place in the old CL5 A group.
• The teams who finished 1^st or 2^nd in the CL5 C groups.
• The teams who finished 3^rd to 10^th in CL5 B. With 3 additional teams from the B groups based on result in the finished CL5.

UNUSED QUALIFICATIONS WILL BE LOST.

All other teams (including new ones) will play in the PROMOTIONAL LEAGUE. The PROMOTIONAL LEAGUE groups will consist of 5 teams where each player plays 2 games against all of his opponents on the board.

The PROMOTIONAL LEAGUE will be an ongoing tournament with start as soon as a new group is filled.

REFLECTION TIME:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE and CHALLENGER LEAGUE will play with a reflection time of 250 days and an increment of 10 days for every 10 moves played. There will be NO LEAVE available for the tournaments.

PROMOTIONAL LEAGUE will play with 110 days and an increment of 10 days for every 10 moves. NO LEAVE.

REGISTRATION, FEE and TIME LINE:

Registrations to this event are possible either via DIRECT ENTRY or via the respective National Federation.

The tournament will start on the 15th of APRIL 2015.

Registration will be open from Monday 19^th January until Sunday 15^th March midnight cet.

The DE fee will be 45€. This represents a 25% reduction of the entry fee to the previous  edition.

There will be a separate Announcement (including qualified teams from the old CL5) for each of the 3 stages (to be published latest after the next weekend), as well as revised FAQ (published latest end of January 2015).

WHY make these changes?

The changes in the structure should allow a fixed 2 year cycle and a reduced waiting time for new teams to participate in this series of events (especially: Ongoing start of PROMOTION LEAGUE.)

SPONSOR

ICCF is proud to announce that this new event is sponsored by www.chessdom.com.