Background

Between the period of 2017 – 2019, the Singapore Chess Federation, with the generosity of QCD Technology organised the QCD SG Chess League. This tournament is targeted towards working adults and to provide them with an avenue to enjoy a competitive but pleasant chess environment. Many teams (some with exceptionally creative names) took part, and the league was deemed a tremendous success.

The league was temporarily suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was reintroduced in 2024–2025 with the support of our host, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), as the ISCA–SG Chess League.

This year, the SG Chess League will continue at the Singapore Chess Federation, and we look forward to welcoming players back to chess evenings at Bishan.

Schedule

1. Registration Closing Date: 20 June 2026, by 06.00pm.

2. The League shall be played under the FIDE Laws of Chess (Rapid rules) over 2 halves.

3. The League may be FIDE Rated, the decision of which shall be decided by voting by team captains during the technical meeting.

4. There shall be a maximum of 9 rounds, depending on the final number of teams participating.

5. The following are the tentative schedule for the rounds in the season. The tournament organiser may change the dates if necessary.

1st Half: 26 June, 3 Jul, 10 Jul, 31 Jul
2nd Half: 2 Oct, 9 Oct, 16 Oct, 23 Oct, 30 Oct

Time Control
30 minutes + 30 seconds increment from Move 1.   Default time is when the clock runs to zero.

Team Composition

1. Each team shall have a minimum of 4 players and a maximum of 8 players at any time. Any team which does not conform to this may be withdrawn from the tournament at the discretion of the Organisers.

2. All players must have a FIDE ID, including players that are subsequently added on. Players can apply for FIDE ID via the following link: https://singaporechess.org.sg/product/application-for-fide-id/

3. Each team shall play 4 boards per round.

4. Each team shall have a captain, who may also be one of the players. His/her main duties are to submit the team line up and liaise with the Organiser/Chief Arbiter.

5. The average rating of the 4 players for each round shall not exceed 2200. The highest FIDE ratings across all 3 categories, (classical, rapid or blitz) as of 1st June 2026 shall be used in the computation of the average rating. Players who are unrated in all 3 categories shall be assigned a rating of 1500. 

6. All players should be minimally 20 years of age, i.e. born no later than 31 Dec 2006. 

7. A team can have up to a maximum of 8 players at any time which can be added during the season. Subsequent players added on can only start playing at least 7 days after being officially included in the team.

8. There is a 2 month window between the 2 halves of the season. During this period, a team may elect to de-register players from their own team only after the end of the first half (31 July) and 2 days before the commencement of the second half of the season (2 October). A maximum of only 2 players may be de-registered by any team within this window.

9. Once players are registered with a team, they cannot play for any other team for the entire season.

Playing Board Order

1. This team board order for the team will be set initially as specified in the registration form. Any players subsequently dropped off shall be removed from the team board order. Any players added on will be added to the end of the board order. The team board order need not be in the same order as FIDE ratings

2. For each round, the teams shall specify their playing board order to be in the same sequence as in the team board order. As an example, the playing board order can be #1, #3, #4 and #6 players in the team board order, but not #1, #5, #3 and #6.

3. All team line-ups are to be submitted one hour before the start of that round in a manner to be stipulated by the Chief Arbiter before the commencement of the first round.

4. If the team line-up is not submitted on time, the board order shall be the first 4 boards on the latest board order after considering all add-ons and de-registered players.

5. Any changes in team line-ups are subjected to Chief Arbiter’s approval.

6. For each invalid player placed in the team, a default of 1 Game Point shall be awarded to the opposing team. An invalid player shall be deemed to have a rating of 2200. If the average rating of the four players in a team for any round exceeds 2200, that team shall be considered to have lost all their games for that round.

Team Name

1. All submitted team names are subject to SCF’s approval.

2. SCF reserves the right to reject a team if the name chosen is controversial or deemed inappropriate.

Playing Venue

1. Singapore Chess Federation – 51 Bishan St. 13, #02-01A SIGC, Singapore 579799

2. All rounds shall start at 7.30pm, unless otherwise announced by the organiser in advance.

Pairing

1. Pairings will be based on the Swiss System for teams. Teams will be ranked according to the ratings of the top four players in a team regardless of order at the point of registration. This ranking shall not be changed even if players are added or removed.

2. Depending on the number of teams participating, the organiser may switch the tournament format to a round-robin format. This shall be decided and announced during the technical meeting.

3. Scoring for each game is marked by 1 point for a win, ½ for a draw and 0 for a loss.

4. The team receiving a Bye shall get 1 Match Point and 2 Game Points.

Tie Break

1. The team with the highest number of Match Points at the end of the season shall be declared the winner.

2. In case of a tie, it shall be resolved by the following order of tie breaks:

• Game Points
• Direct Encounter
• Buchholz cut 1
• Buchholz

 Resolution

1. SCF shall appoint all arbiters for the league, including the Match and Chief Arbiters.

2. All disputes are ruled by the Match Arbiter.

3. Appeals to the decision shall be made to the Chief Arbiter, whose decision shall be final.

4. No further correspondence shall be entertained.

Registration & Prizes 

1. The registration fee is S$500 per team before GST, with an added GST amount of S$45, bringing the total to S$545 after GST.

2. Total prize fund of S$5,900 shall be distributed as follows:

1st S$2000 + Team Trophy

2nd S$1000

3rd S$900

4th S$800

5th S$700

6th S$500

Board Prizes

The best performers on the respective boards (Boards 1 to 8) will be eligible for gold, silver and bronze medals based on a minimum of 6 games and the following tiebreaks:

• % score. In the event of a tie,
• Number of games played.
• Tournament Performance Rating

Top Female Players of the Tournament
Prizes will be given to the top 3 female players based on a minimum of 6 games and the following tiebreaks

• % score
• Number of games played.
• Tournament Performance Rating

 MVP of the Tournament
A prize will be given to the player with the highest tournament performance rating with a minimum of 7 games played at the end of the event.

The Organiser reserves the right to amend prizes at any time.

 

Register Here