Montana Chess Association

Adopted April 18, 2004 Revised April 24, 2005

Further revised April 2, 2006

CONSTITUTION OF THE MONTANA

CHESS ASSOCIATION (MCA)

PREAMBLE

The purposes of the Montana Chess Association are to support interest in chess, further chess education, and promote activities that enhance membersÕ enjoyment of the game.

ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION

I. The organization shall be known as the Montana Chess Association (MCA).

II. Membership

A. Membership is open to Montana residents (following the definition

of residency employed by the Montana Attorney General).

B. Privileges of resident membership

Resident members who have paid their annual dues (as defined in the bylaws) are eligible to:

1. vote, if present, at the annual MCA business meeting

2. earn grand prix points (as defined in the bylaws)

3. compete for the title ÒMontana State Chess ChampionÓ (as defined in the bylaws)

4. receive, as part of their membership, the occasional

newsletter, Montana Chess News (MCN)

C. Non-resident membership

Non-residents may join without cost. However, non-resident

members are not eligible for the above-mentioned privileges of

membership. Upon payment of resident dues, non-resident

members may receive the newsletter.

D. Suspension of membership

Membership may be suspended by majority vote of the Executive Board (defined in Article III) for paying for MCA membership fees, an MCA-sponsored, or an MCA-sanctioned tournament (as defined in the bylaws) entry fee with a check returned for insufficient funds. The suspension is effective immediately and will continue for some period after the check is made good, as determined by the board.

E. Revocation of membership and expulsion

Membership may be revoked and an individual expelled from the

MCA by majority vote of the Executive Board for any one of the following reasons:

1. failure to observe any of the standards of conduct

listed in the ÒCode of EthicsÓ section of the edition in force of the U.S. Chess FederationÕs Official Rules of Chess (Chapter 6, fifth edition).

2. refusal to comply with the rules of chess and tournament

play

3. repeated and/or egregious violation of the standards of

conduct of players and spectators in the U.S.C.F.

Rules of Play section of the edition in force of the

U.S. Chess FederationÕs Official Rules of Chess (Chapter 1, Section 20, fifth edition).

4. repeated payment of entry or MCA membership fees with checks returned for insufficient funds.

F. Notification of suspension or revocation/expelled membership

Any individual who is suspended or expelled will be notified in

writing by the Executive Board (defined in Article III) within ten (10)

days of the decision. This notification will include the reason

for the suspension or expulsion. Suspended or expelled members

do not have the membership privileges listed above (Article II,

Section B).

G. Appeal of suspension or revocation of membership.

Any individual who is suspended or expelled may appeal the

decision. This is to be done in writing within thirty (30) days of

receipt of notification of the action. In the appeal, the appellant is

to nominate five (5) MCA members in good standing to the

Executive Board (defined in Article III). The Executive Board will

select at least one of these and appoint four (4) other members in

good standing (not current members of the Executive Board) to

serve as an appeals committee. The committee will render its

decision based on the evidence contained in the written

notification which levied the suspension or expulsion and on the

individualÕs written appeal. By majority vote of the committee, the

appeal will be either allowed or denied. The decision of the

committee is final. If the appeal is allowed, full membership rights

are restored.

III. Governance

An Executive Board, consisting of the elected officers specified in Article

IV, will conduct the affairs of the MCA between its annual meetings

IV. Officers

A. There shall be:

1. President

2. Executive Vice-President

3. Eastern Regional Vice President (east of the continental divide)

4. Western Regional Vice President (west of the continental divide)

5. Secretary/Treasurer

6. The Board will appoint an individual to serve as MCN editor.

If not already an officer, this person will be a member of the Board without vote.

B. The duties and powers of these officers shall be those normally

associated with the titles, plus any defined by these articles and by

laws. The Regional Vice Presidents will assist the Executive Board and represent the membership in their respective geographic areas.

C. Officers shall be elected for one-year terms, beginning with the annual

meeting (as defined in the bylaws). There are no term limits.

D. Elections are held during the annual meeting and are conducted by

secret ballot if requested by any member. Members in good

standing may nominate (no second is required) someone for an

office. Only resident members may serve as officers and only

resident members may vote.

V. Annual Meeting

A. There shall be an annual meeting held in conjunction with the State Open Tournament (as described in the bylaws).

B. The agenda of the meeting will always include the election of officers

and any other business to be conducted.

C. The agenda for the meeting will be published in the newsletter or

posted on the MCA web page (montanachess.org) at least ten days prior to the meeting.

D. Members wishing to place items on the agenda must provide the

secretary/treasurer with written text no later than February 15. The

agenda will also include the names and desired positions of any persons seeking a position on the Executive Board for the following year.

E. The Order of Business shall be:

1. TreasurerÕs and other reports from the Executive Board

2. Election of officers–nominations from the floor are in order and

need not be seconded.

3. The published agenda

4. Members items (a two-thirds majority of resident members

present shall be required to consider any actionable items

offered from the floor)

5. Good and Welfare

F. Except for amendment to these articles of organization, a majority vote of resident members present shall prevail.

G. The out-going president, or designee, shall preside (and

generally follow RobertsÕ Rules of Order to conduct the meeting

efficiently).

VI. Affiliation

The Montana Chess Association shall cooperate with other clubs

and associations to promote chess. The Montana Chess

Association shall be the recognized state chapter affiliate of the United States Chess Federation, paying the required annual affiliation fee, sponsoring the tournament that determines the Montana State Champion, and holding annual election of officers.

VII. Bylaws

The bylaws of the Montana Chess Association (following these Articles of

Organization) are to standardize and guide the specific activities of

the Association.

VIII. Amendment

Changes in these articles may be made during the annual meeting.

The proposed changes must announced at least 10 days in

advance (typically through publication in the newsletter). A two-

thirds majority of those resident members in good standing who are

present during the annual meeting is required to make changes.

BYLAWS

I. Dues (includes the newsletter, Montana Chess News)

A. Current Rates

1. Adult membership: $12 per year

2. Youth membership: $6 per year

3. Surcharges (for checks returned for insufficient funds): $10.00

B. Changes in rates

Annual dues, including any necessary increases, are established

by the Executive Board. Any increase exceeding 20% must be

approved by the membership during the annual meeting.

C. Dues are not refundable

II. Tournaments:

A. MCA sponsored tournaments:

1. The Montana Open and the Montana Closed Championship are

sponsored by the MCA (see bylaws IV and V)

2. At the discretion of the Executive Board, MCA may sponsor

other tournaments (historically, these have included an

invitational, triple header, and junior championship)

B. MCA sanctioned tournaments:

Individuals and groups wishing to conduct tournaments are encouraged to offer them as MCA sanctioned events. Sanctioned tournaments:

1. may qualify as MCA grand prix tournaments (see bylaw III, below)

2. may be advertised in the newsletter (contact the

secretary/treasurer for listing)

3. must provide the secretary/treasurer with a crosstable of

the results

4. must conform to the conditions of tournament play

specified in the edition in force of the U.S. Chess

FederationÕs Official Rules of Chess.

C. MCA membership is required for participation in MCA sponsored and

sanctioned tournaments. Current memberships in other state

associations are accepted for nonresidents.

D. The MCA will make arrangements, provide a tournament director,

and absorb any loss, while retaining any profit, from MCA-

sponsored events. The MCA has no responsibility, other than

advertising tournament and publishing results, for MCA-sanctioned

tournaments. The organizers of MCA-sanctioned events bear the

responsibility for conducting the tournament, including absorbing

losses and retaining profits.

E. Tie-breaks. Ties in round-robin events will be broken with Sonneborn-Berger and then Kashdan systems. With Swiss-style competitions, the tie breaks are (in the following order): Modified Median, Solkoff, Cumulative, Cumulative of opponents. These follow section 34 of the 5^th edition (2003) of the U.S.C.F. Official Rules of Chess. Organizers of MCA-sanctioned tournaments are encouraged to use the same tie-breaks.

F. New Players. No entry fee is charged in MCA-sponsored tournaments for individuals in their first-ever U.S.C.F.-rated

event. Organizers of MCA-sanctioned events are encouraged to

extend the same courtesy to newcomers in their tournaments.

III. Grand Prix System

A. The annual grand prix cycle shall begin after the Montana Open each year, and conclude with the following yearÕs Montana Open. In any grand prix tournament, all grand prix points shall be issued to the first ten resident MCA finishers with a plus score, regardless of place of finish. Grand prix points shall not be issued to non‑resident members. The Secretary/Treasurer shall compute the grand prix points awarded and track the standings, arranging for those standings to be published in the MCA Newsletter throughout the year.

B. Grand Prix points shall be awarded according to the following formula:

(N/5) x (11-P) x C x M, where

N = Number of rounds in the event.

P = Place in order of finish among Montana resident players (the

average place in the event of ties)

C = Average rating of all players in the event Ö 1500

M = Travel Bonus Multiplier. This value rewards players for miles traveled (one way from home) according to the following scale:

0-49 miles : M = 1.0

50-150 miles: M = 1.33

151-250 miles: M = 1.66

Over 250 miles: M = 2.0

For the purpose of determining the average rating of all players in an event, the ratings used by the director for pairings shall be used, except that players without ratings shall be assigned a provisional rating equal to their performance rating for that tournament. The performance rating is calculated by:

A + 400 x (W-L) / N

where:

A=Average rating of the unrated player?s rated opponents.

W=Wins and L=Losses of the unrated player against rated opponents.

N=Number of games played against rated opponents (if greater than zero)

C. Grand Prix status shall be limited to sanctioned tournaments that are open, Swiss system events. Furthermore, Grand Prix tournaments must draw 10 or more resident MCA members as participants and have time control not faster than game in 30 minutes. Grand Prix events must be announced as such in advance in the official newsletter and/or website. In the interest of avoiding scheduling conflicts, the Board may see fit to limit Grand Prix events throughout the state to one per month. In resolving such scheduling conflicts, the Board shall give due consideration to tradition and to a fair geographic distribution of Grand Prix tournaments.

IV. State Open

A. The date of the State Open shall be determined by the Board, but no

earlier than April 1 and no later than June 30.

B. The site of the State Open shall rotate alphabetically through the following cities: Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena, and Missoula.

C. Entry fees are $25 ($30 at the door) for adults and half price for juniors.

If necessary to meet expenses, the entry fees may be raised by as

much as $10.

V. State Champion

A. The MCA shall sponsor and sanction an annual tournament called The State Closed Championship following the Montana State Open to determine the State Champion. The Closed shall be a six-player, round-robin tournament, and shall be held each year on a weekend determined by the Board, but not later than Oct. 31st. In choosing a site for the Closed the Board shall consider both the convenience of the qualified players and a reasonable sharing of the tournament in recent years among possible host cities. There shall be no entry fee. Non-residents are not eligible for the Closed.

B. The six players to compete in the State Closed shall be, in order of priority:

1. the previous yearÕs State Champion.

2. the top two (2) finishers in the Grand Prix.

3. the top three (3) finishers with plus scores in the Montana State

Open.

4. in the event of state co-champions, the championship will be a ten-person Swiss-format tournament with seeds going first to

co-champions and then proportionately to those qualifying

in 2 and 3 (above).

C. The MCA shall sponsor and sanction an open satellite tournament, called the Barto Memorial, to run concurrently with the Closed.

D. Site and date for the State Closed

When the Executive Board members arrange for the date and site for the State Open, they shall also arrange for a date and site for the State Closed. This information is to be published in the newsletter in advance of the Open in order that the membership and potential participants in the Closed (and satellite Barto Memorial) may plan accordingly. The Closed will be held sometime between June 1 and September 30. Because of their relative centrality, Bozeman, Butte, and Helena will be given first consideration for sites for the Closed. The President (or designee) who served during the preceding year shall be the tournament director of the Closed and Barto Memorial.

E. Players for the Closed are seeded after the Montana Open. The procedure for seeding players into the Closed is as follows: seed each of the categories listed in V.B.3, above, in the order of priority in which they are listed, 1-4. If any player who would be seeded from a lower category has already been seeded from a category above, then the next eligible player for the lower category is seeded instead. If seeds are needed after exhausting all alternates with plus scores from the State Open, the priority will revert to those with grand prix points. If all these alternates are also exhausted, the seeds will be awarded in order of finish among those with even scores of less from the State Open.

F.. The procedure for determining alternate players for the Closed is as follows: Any player who is unable to attend shall be replaced by the next player in line from the category in which the withdrawing player qualified. In the event of the withdrawal of a sole State Champion that player shall be replaced by the next place finisher in the Montana Open.

F. The champion will be awarded a trophy.

G. All players tied for first place shall be listed as co-champions for that year, regardless of tie breaks.

VI. Amendment:

These bylaws may be changed during the annual meeting, a simple

majority of resident members present prevailing.