REGULATIONS - Updated October 7, 2025
The Chief Arbiter may make additions, adjustments, and exceptions to the regulations at any time, as well as make final decisions on issues not clearly defined. Decisions by the Chief Arbiter are final and not appealable.
1A. The KCF University Cup is a free event - there is no entry fee. 1B. All registration is online through this website. Registration and eligibility submissions close 24 hours before round 1. 1C. Teams must register using their official academic institution email address. 1D. Each team must also submit an eligibility form (see below). 1E. Teams must nominate a team captain to be the main point of contact for the team. The captain may be a player on the team. 1F. Each academic institution may register up to five teams, with a maximum of one team per rating category (2200-2399, 2000-2199, 1800-1999, 1600-1799, Under 1600), based on the team average rating defined in #5, and noting the below exception, 1G. 1G. Each academic institution may enter multiple teams rated under 1600, but only the highest rated team under 1600 is eligible for prizes. The other teams may enter and play, but are not eligible for prizes. There is still a limit of five teams per academic institution. 1H. A team is made up of four players plus one optional alternate. 1I. Teams with less than four players are not permitted to play.
2A. The KCF University Cup is an international online event open to teams and players from any post-secondary school (university, college, community college, etc.) enrolled in at least one class in the January 2026 semester. 2B. At least 24 hours before the start of round 1, each team must submit an official letter which proves every player’s active status in their academic institution. This letter must be signed/stamped by the registrar or a similar official. Please provide one single eligibility letter verifying the active student status for all players. 2C. Eligibility documents should be uploaded online through this website page. 2D. Except for student workers and teaching assistants, academic faculty and staff are not eligible to compete. 2E. Teams from Russia and Belarus are not allowed to participate. 2F. Players who have previously violated the lichess terms of service or have been removed from previous KCF University Cups are not permitted to play.
3A. The January 2026 Universal Rating System (URS) rating list will be used. 3B. If a player does not have a URS rating, their January 2026 FIDE rating is used. 3C. If a player does not have a URS or FIDE rating, their January 2026 US Chess rating is used. 3D. If a player does not have a URS, FIDE, or US Chess rating, or they have a rating under 1400, they will usually be assigned a rating of 1400. 3E. If a player’s FIDE, US Chess, or other rating greatly exceeds their URS rating, the Chief Arbiter may assign a different rating for this event. 3F. The team average rating is the average of the four highest ratings on the team. This team average is used for pairings and prizes. 3G. The Chief Arbiter reserves the right to assign any rating to any player or team for any reason. 3H. The Chief Arbiter may deny entry to any teams whose rating composition goes against the spirit of the event.
4A. The KCF University Cup is a 9-round Swiss System team tournament played on lichess.org. 4B. Half-point byes are not permitted, only zero-point byes. Byes and withdrawals must be submitted to the Chief Arbiter before the next round's pairings are posted. 4C. The time control is 10 minutes plus 2 second increment per move (10+2) 4D. This is a team vs team event – each match is played 4 vs 4. Each round, the "White" team plays White on boards 1 & 3, and the "Black" team plays Black on boards 2 & 4. 4E. There is a single section with prizes based on rating category and continent. 4F. The team rating is the rating average of the top four players on each team. 4G. There is a team rating cap of 2400 – no team may have an average rating exceeding 2400.00 4H. In addition to the overall champion, there are rating category prizes: 2000-2199, 1800-1999, 1600-1799 and Under 1600. These are not separate rating sections. 4I. Each academic institution may submit up to one team per rating category for a maximum of five teams, except that multiple teams Under 1600 may register. 4J. Teams must have four players per match to compete. Teams with less than four players may be withdrawn at any time. 4K. Teams from the same academic institutions will not be paired against each other in the last four rounds. They may be paired against each other in rounds 1-5. 4L. This event is not rated by US Chess, FIDE, or URS.
5A. Team scoring, in order of priority:
5B. Except for first place, all ties are broken by the above mathematical tiebreaks. 5C. If there is a tie for first place, the top two teams on tiebreaks (stated above) will contest a playoff:
Registration Closes
7A. Teams shall consists of four players plus one optional alternate. 7B. When the alternate plays, they play on board 4. 7C. Teams will play in descending rating order, except that 50-point transpositions are allowed. 7D. Teams must use the fixed board order that they submit upon registration, unless an updated board order is submitted at least 24 hours before round 1. 7E. Teams must use the same 4 players for a given day, but may change their lineup between days by submitting an alternate lineup at least 2 hours before round 6. For example, boards 1-4 may play on Saturday, then the captain can submit an alternate lineup for Sunday using boards 1-3 and the alternate.
8A. Games are played on Lichess. All players must have a lichess account (free). 8B. Players are encouraged to play from a computer (laptop or desktop), not a tablet or phone. 8C. The built-in lichess server rules will apply. 8D. What happens on the lichess board is official, including flag falls, disconnection, mouseslips, (in)sufficient mating material, accidental resignation, etc. 8E. Clocks are started shortly after the start of the round. 8F. Players will have the entire base time (10 minutes) to join their game before being forfeited. 8G. Players are responsible for maintaining a stable internet connection. Disconnections may result in forfeits. 8H. In case of a server crash or similar emergency, the Chief Arbiter may adjudicate or cancel games and/or alter the number of rounds in the event.
9A. The first place team a the re6th KCF University Cup Champions, and receive the KCF University Cup and an online training session with Garry Kasparov. 9B. Plaques are awarded to the top three teams in the final standings. 9C. The top team in the 2000-2199 category will also receive an online training session with Garry Kasparov. 9D. Plaques are awarded to the top team in the 2000-2199, 1800-1999, 1600-1799, and U1600 rating categories. 9E. Plaques are awarded to the top Continental team (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe). Continental prizes can be earned in addition to the prizes above. 9F. A plaque is awarded to the top "Mixed Doubles" team – exactly 2 males and 2 females must represent the team on each day. The mixed doubles prize can be earned in addition to the prizes above.
10A. Players shall not use outside assistance of any kind. 10B. During play, shall not listen to music, wear headphones, or have other electronic devices near them while playing. 10C. During play, players may only have lichess, the pairings/standings page, and the Zoom open - no other tabs or programs may be open. 10D. Players or teams believed to have violated fair play may be deemed ineligible for a prize and/or expelled from the event. 10E. Fair play violations will lead to the entire team being removed from the event, and possible reports to federations and academic institutions. 10F. In case of a fair play violations, the standings are adjsted at the Chief Arbiter's discretion, even if lichess does not find the player guilty.
11A. During play, players must be in the event’s Zoom meeting with video enabled. 11B. Players should join the Zoom meeting 20 minutes before the first round on each day to ensure connectivity and receive announcements. 11C. During play, players must agree to requests in Zoom from arbiters, which may include giving a scan of the playing area, adjusting the camera angle, etc. 11D. Players are encouraged to provide a side angle of the entire playing area (see image below) instead of a front-facing webcam. However, players should only join Zoom from one device.
