WCU Fair Play Guidelines (Feb 2021)

 

These are the current guideline and rules for fair play for all official WCU online events including a summary of anti-cheating arrangements. The rules are reviewed on an ongoing basis and will be updated as appropriate based on experience from WCU online league and other events.

 

1. Scope

The rules and guidelines apply to all players playing in official WCU Online events.

 

2. General Fair Play Guidelines Complying with Fair Play Rules

Players are required to comply with the WCU fair play rules. The WCU shall have no liability in relation to its implementation of the rules as set out in this document.

Players are asked to review the relevant platform’s fair play rules, and make sure they always comply with these for their games.

Please note that the following are specifically not allowed during play:

 

• Help from any other person, player, or coach.

• Impersonation/use of other people's accounts.

• Use of chess engines, bots, plugins, analysis tools, tablebases, blunder checks or other best move tools. This includes the use of chess sets (unless the set can be seen via video by an arbiter when the touch move rule will be in place)

• Artificially inflating or deflating ratings by intentionally losing or arranging with an opponent to win.

• Interference with other player’s games.

• Reference to physical opening books and static (i.e., non-engine based) tablebases.

 

The above list is not exhaustive, and players should refer to the platform’s terms and conditions and supporting material on their website for the full set of rules and guidelines.

 

Standards of Conduct

In addition to the above, players should take note of the provider requirement to comply with the platform’s rules in relation to general standards of conduct, sportsmanship and online behaviour.

 

3. Anti-cheating Measures

It is a condition of entry that players must agree to their real names being disclosed so that players know whom they are playing.

 

Where appropriate, the chosen platforms anti-cheating software will be in place to detect instances of cheating in all games.

 

Players should familiarise themselves to the platform’s anti-cheating measures and appeals processes.

 

In the event that a player is banned or flagged by the platform, the player should decide whether they wish to contest the ban or flagging, and if so, they should make an appeal to the platform and if necessary, to the WCU – see section 5 below for fuller details.

 

The WCU has no involvement in the platform’s appeals process, which is between the player and the relevant platform.

 

The WCU will send PGNs of all games that are played for scanning.

 

A captain may ask the WCU Arbiter, or league controller, if there are any concerns about any players in their squad, based on data in its possession. The WCU Arbiter or league controller may reply in the affirmative or negative only, without revealing the number of players or their identity.

 

The WCU may require the use of Zoom for all or part of any its competitions e.g., the WCU may require the use of Zoom for the semi-final and finals of a competition, but not necessarily for the knock-out phases.

 

4. WCU Fair Play Panel

The Fair Play Panel will review all games played in its competitions. This will include

• Review of the results from scanning software data.

• (Where cheating is suspected) more in-depth statistical analysis of the suspected player’s games.

• (Where cheating is suspected) analysis of the suspected player’s games by a player of sufficient strength e.g. an IM or GM or other player of sufficient strength.

 

If, in the Fair Play Panel’s opinion, the player concerned has failed to comply with the WCU’s fair play rules the player’s username and relevant game links will be forwarded to the platform for their review.

 

In reaching an opinion as to whether a player has failed to comply with the WCU’s fair play rules the Fair Play Panel will use the z score and IPR variance values in the table in section 7 as default guides but may at its discretion investigate the performance of players exhibiting lower scores if cheating is suspected.

 

If the platform decides, after considering the Fair Play Panel’s submissions, that the player’s account will be closed or flagged, the player concerned will be subject to the WCU sanctions as set out in the table below, which vary depending on the nature of the offence, the player’s circumstances, and the number of occurrences. The tariffs in the table are a guide and may be varied at the WCU’s discretion.

 

The Fair Play Panel only submits usernames and game links to the platform for review if in its view there is comfortable satisfaction that cheating has occurred.

 

The WCU Fair Play Panel consists of a pool of up to 5 people as selected by the chair to the Fair Play Panel in consultation with the WCU Management Board. The following table lists the WCU sanctions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The WCU sanctions will apply from the round following the closure/flagging if no appeal is made or immediately after an unsuccessful appeal. There will be no explicit WCU publicity of sanctioned players’ names.

 

Players will be informed of the sanction being applied and will have the right of appeal, with the appeal being heard before any sanction is applied over and above any the platform sanction.

 

Notwithstanding the above, if the platform will no longer let the player open an account, the player will not be permitted to play in WCU online competitions.

 

Results for match card and table purposes may be scored as a loss for the player and as a win for the player’s opponent at the WCU’s absolute discretion if a player fails on appeal to have sanctions reversed, or if no appeal against sanctions is made.

 

5. The WCU Appeals Committee

In certain circumstances a player may make an appeal against a WCU sanction to an Appeals Committee as described below. If the appeal is successful, then the player will not be sanctioned.

 

The appeals process is as follows:

 

   • The player should appeal a platform ban or flagging as soon as possible after the ban/flagging.

   • The player should make an appeal to the WCU no later than three days after a platform ban or flagging.

   • Making an appeal to the WCU costs £25, refundable if the appeal is successful.

   • The appellant will be provided with the results from the scanning software analysis of their games and any further information relating to the ban which the platform is prepared to provide and allow to be shared.

The WCU Arbiter will liaise with the Chairman of the WCU Fair Play Panel, who will set up an Appeals Committee comprising selected members of the WCU Fair Play Panel to hear the case should the player wish to appeal.

   • Members of the Fair Play Panel will exclude themselves from an appeal if:

      o They were involved in the original Fair Play Panel decision

      o They know the person well.

      o They could be seen to have a vested interest in the outcome of the appeal.

   • The Appeals Committee will audit the work of the Fair Play Panel to ensure that it has been performed in accordance with the provisions of section 4 above, but will not, for example, reperform the original statistical analysis, re-perform analysis of games or, in the absence of any further evidence provided by the player, overturn the original result of the Fair Play Panel

   • Grounds for considering an appeal might be:

      o Mistaken identity (e.g., another player using account without the player’s knowledge)

      o The player being able to demonstrate recent performances in OTB events significantly higher than their current grade or Elo rating to an extent that would materially reduce the likelihood of external assistance having been used.

      o Other mitigating circumstances

   • If the appeal is successful, then the player will not be sanctioned by the WCU.

   • There will be no right of further appeal.

 

6. Usernames

Players may not play in WCU online events with a flagged platform account. Players may play under only one username during the season unless:

   • They have had a sanction applied under the fair play guidelines and require a new username to resume playing once the sanction is complete, or

   • They have made a successful appeal to the WCU but require a new username to resume playing.

In both instances it is the player’s responsibility to obtain a new username from the platform. The WCU will not be involved in this process.

 

Usernames may be changed between seasons subject to any sanctions still in place at the end of the previous season being completed.

 

A player may not play while an appeal is in progress.

 

An appeal by a player to the WCU Appeals Committee will not be considered unless the player has also put in hand an appeal to the platform.

 

7. Decision Process

The following table outlines the decision process that the Appeals committee will follow:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Z=4.25 and above

 

8. Liability

The WCU, its officials, members of the Fair Play Panel and members of the Appeals Committee shall have no liability to any player in tort (whether for defamation or any other tort), in contract or otherwise howsoever in relation to or arising from its anti-cheating/fair play arrangements, including the operation of these guidelines. The foregoing shall not limit liability for personal injury or death.

 

9. Public Allegations

Players/captains must make any allegations of breaches of the fair play guidelines privately to the WCU event arbiter and the WCU Executive Director. Any player/captain who in the view of the WCU Fair Play Panel publicly (whether on social media or otherwise) makes an allegation of cheating against another player and in so doing names the player, or otherwise enables the player to be identified, will be subject to the same sanctions as those set out in section 7 of the guidelines: first offence, 3-month ban, second offence 1 year ban, third offence permanent ban. Penalties may be varied at the WCU’s discretion, this can include expulsion from the WCU. There is no right of appeal.

 

10. Game Streaming

The WCU games must not be streamed by anyone who is playing a league game at the time. Any player found to have streamed their game will lose the game in question.