League rules

Teams shall consist of four players, who must be bona fide members of their club.

All matches must normally be played on the date specified on the fixture list.

Clubs may re-arrange match dates when the dates clash with those of tournaments organised by the W.C.U. or D.C.A.

A team requesting a postponed match must accept one of two dates offered by the other team, or the match will be forfeited. The dates offered must be within four weeks of the original date of the match. At least 24 hours’ notice must be given to the other club when requesting a postponement, unless the reason is severe weather. Any disputes concerning the validity of the grounds for postponement must be referred to the League Controller, who will settle the matter.

Postponed matches must be played within one calendar month of the original date. Matches not played by this date shall be adjudged a loss for both teams unless one or the other has made a claim for a win by default.

Teams completing less than 50% of their matches shall have their results discounted at the end of the season. Played games will still count for grading purposes.

Clubs entering more than one team must apply Rules 7–12 (teams arranged in order of playing strength). Clubs wishing to split their strength shall inform the League Controller of their intention 7 days before the club’s first match of the season. If no such notification is given by a club, it must arrange its teams in order of playing strength.

All clubs entering more than one team shall submit to the League Controller lists of nominated players for all their teams bar the last, the list to be submitted within a fortnight of the playing of the first match. All teams must play in grading order (plus or minus 100 points).

The nomination lists shall contain the names of four players in grading order (plus or minus 100 points) for each team.

Of the 4 players nominated for a team, the top 2 nominations cannot play for a team lower than that for which they are nominated, but the 3rd and 4th nominated players may both play in the next team down. There will be 2 penalty points for the infringement of this rule for each match.

An unnominated (occasional) player must play in his/her proper graded position in the club. He/she can only play in the team, and on the board, indicated by the player’s grading.

Players who are ungraded at the start of the season shall remain so until they are awarded a grade, at which point they must play to that grade. An allowance shall be made for new teams and new players until they have played five games and their grade has stabilised rather than been estimated.

All nominated players must play at least a minimum number of games per season (to be decided at the AGM based on the number of teams in the League) for the team for which they are nominated. A penalty of 2 points will be imposed for each game less than the minimum.

The 2026–27 minimum has not been set yet.

A club may omit from its lists a player who is graded higher than another player who appears on a list only if the former cannot reasonably be expected to satisfy Rule 12.

A team defaulting one board must do so on Board 4 (2 boards on Boards 3 and 4, etc.).

The team with the highest number of game points shall be declared Dyfed Champions and holders of the Dyfed Challenge Cup for one year. If there is a tie for first place, the number of match points won by each team shall be taken into consideration. If there is still a tie, the number of game points scored in the respective matches between the teams in the tie shall decide.

Registration fees, along with registration forms, must be submitted to the Treasurer by 30th November. Anyone playing for the first time after this date must be registered within 14 days of his/her first match. One penalty point will be deducted if a player is not registered.

All matches in the League must be played using digital clocks. The rate of play shall be all moves in 45 minutes, plus 30 seconds per move from move 1. It is compulsory to keep a score of the game at all times.

Matches involving teams within the same club must be played by the end of February. Failure to do so shall result in both teams being defaulted for that match.

If a player becomes ill or indisposed during the course of a game and is incapable of carrying on, the full point shall be awarded to the opposing team for the result on that board. No grading points shall be awarded or deducted for either player for this game.

After each match, results must be sent by the home team to the League Controller within 48 hours of the match being played. Results should be sent to the League Controller by email or WhatsApp.

There shall be no smoking in the room in which a league match is being played.

Matches and clocks must start at 7.00 p.m. at the latest. If the home team is late at the venue, then they will lose the time elapsed after 7.00 p.m.

The away team shall play with the White pieces on the odd-numbered boards.

In addition to the main League competition, there is a separate trophy, known as the ‘Iolo Jones Trophy’, awarded to the team with the most game points scored by players graded under 1700 during the season.