Check the Pyramid Standings to see your standing and to challenge fellow pyramid members.
If you choose your opponent, please choose a 2nd and/or 3rd choice to challenge in case your first choice has already been challenged.
The following form is for reporting the results of your chess match. The report is submitted by the winner, or in tha case of a draw, by the white player.
Please enter all the details, including the complete PGN record, which can be copied and pasted into the large text box.
The form is unable to send a copy to your opponent, so to observe the usual courtesy of sending them a copy, it is recommended that the response page that will appear in your browser window when you submit the form, is copied in its entirety, and pasted into an email message, and sent to your opponent.
1.1. To participate in the Pyramid, players must be registered members of the IECC. Registration in the IECC, and participation in all of its events, is FREE! For registration information, please see the IECC Guidelines.
1.2. The Pyramid can be a two-game-at-a-time event. All participants should be prepared to play two games at the same time.
1.3. New players are always welcome to join the Pyramid Ladder. They join the Pyramid at the lowest level, or, at the discretion of a Pyramid tournament director, may fill a vacancy in the Pyramid Ladder if one is available. The tournament director may also "promote" players to fill vacancies.
1.4. Each player in the Pyramid Ladder is requested to at least issue a challenge or play a defense within two years since the last completed Pyramid game. The players failing to comply with this rule will be removed from the Pyramid Ladder. The Pyramid TD will send a warning message near the two years term and before the removal.
1.5. When corresponding with a tournament director for any reason, please include your Pyramid position number if you have one and your membership number, if you know it.
2.1. Challenges are issued through a Pyramid tournament director. Do not send your challenge directly to the player whom you are challenging as a tournament director must verify that the challenge conforms to the rules before it is issued. For this reason, players are requested to disregard any challenges that are not sent from a Pyramid tournament director.
2.2. Players may only challenge somebody who is above them on the same level, or who is on one of the nine levels immediately above them. For example, a player on Level 20 can challenge anybody above him or her on Level 20, or anybody on Levels 11 through 19 inclusive. Therefore, the #1 player may only be challenged by somebody on Level 10 or above.
2.3. Players may only challenge somebody who does NOT already have a lower-ranked opponent. Look in the "OPPONENTS" column in the player list to determine this. Anyone with a "Dxxx" may not be challenged.
2.4. To issue a challenge, you need only provide the tournament director with the name and Pyramid position number of the higher- ranked player you wish to challenge, using the game request form on this page.
2.5. The Pyramid changes frequently, so it is advisable to choose alternatives, as your first choice may no longer be available by the time the tournament director gets your challenge. If you wish, you may leave the choice of who you challenge and/or alternates to the tournament director.
2.6. Higher-ranked players are expected to accept any challenge they receive, otherwise they will switch positions with the challenger as though they had accepted the challenge and lost. However, for certain valid reasons a player may decline a challenge without penalty. The validity of a reason for declining a challenge will be considered on an individual basis. The higher ranked player when accepting the challenge will have the choice of which color he wishes to play the game, if this is not indicated in the challenge acceptation, the defender will automatically be assigned black.
The following are NOT valid reasons for declining:
2.7. If a higher-ranked player informs the tournament director that he or she does not wish to accept a challenge, without a valid reason, the pyramid position of both players is reversed.
2.8. If the higher-ranked player makes no reply to a challenge, he or she will be dropped from the Pyramid listings to enable the active pyramid members to advance up the pyramid.
Where no response is received by the 5th day after issuing the challenge, the tournament director will send a 'Reminder Notice' to the higher-ranked player. This allows for the situation where the challenge or the reply was not received because of technical problems. The higher-ranked player will have 5 calendar days to respond to that notice. If there is still no response, the game will be awarded to the challenger and the higher-ranked player will be marked as unavailable for a further 10 days. The player will be removed from the Pyramid if no response to that final notice is received.
2.9. Players may play two games at a time, provided that one is as a challenger against a higher-ranked opponent and the other is as a defender against a lower-ranked opponent. Under no circumstances may anybody play two games as a challenger or two games as a defender. Therefore, the #1 player and the bottom-most player are limited to one game at a time.
Please Note: It is possible that your opponent may be moved in the Pyramid during your game as a result of his or her other game. If this occurs, your game will continue as though your opponent was in his or her new position when your game started. Rule 2.2 ensures that your opponent can never move past you in the Pyramid, in either direction, while your game is in progress. So if you win as a challenger you will always move up, but you may end up higher than where you thought you would be when your game began. If you lose as a defender you will always move down, but you may end up lower than where you thought you would be when your game began.
It is VERY IMPORTANT to notify the Pyramid tournament director of any absences so that you will not be removed from the Pyramid Ladder due to lack of response to a challenge while you were away on holiday. If a player wishes to be temporarily marked unavailable for challenge, please notify the tournament director. The maximum period of absence is limited to 3 months per year. No further extensions will be granted. If the player is still unavailable after the nominated period then the player will be removed from the Pyramid Ladder. The player may request to be returned to the Pyramid Ladder at any time, but will have to start at the bottom again.
4.1. The defender is allowed to choose which colour he wishes to play the game. He has to indicate which colour he wants when he accept the challenge. If no indication is made in the acceptance the defender will play with black pieces and the challenger with white ones.
4.2. The slowest permissible rate of play is the same as for the other IECC events - 10 moves in 30 days. Faster is better. Anyone who does not keep up to this rate of play risks forfeiting the game.
4.3. System troubles may cause delays. Reasonable, but infrequent, technical-failure delays are tolerated WITH explanation to the tournament director. If the IECC loses contact with a member, that player will be removed from the Pyramid.
4.4. Any game (once accepted and declared to have commenced) where both players have made at least one move, and play then ceases, that match will be referred to the Arbitration Department. The aim of arbitration is to get a stalled game back into play, if possible. If not, the game is usually forfeited against the player who has consistently failed to comply with the IECC time controls, without a valid reason
4.5. When the game is completed, the winner, or the White in the event of a draw, must send a game report in PGN format, using the game report form on this page. All Pyramid games are rated by the IECC.
4.6. If the Challenger wins, the players switch positions in the Pyramid. If the game ends in a draw or the Defender wins the players do not switch positions.
4.7. In all cases, players may not play two consecutive Pyramid games against the same opponent. Before these "rematches" are allowed players must have completed at least one Pyramid game as a challenger against a different opponent.
4.8. Please report any problems or complaints with a Pyramid game to the tournament director.
6.1. While this service is geared towards the top 20 players, anyone on the Pyramid Ladder may use it. Instead of issuing a challenge, a player may opt to request a reservation. The player reserves the right to challenge whoever is in a certain position when the current game is resolved.
6.2.1. The reservation is for a Pyramid Ladder position, not a player.
6.2.2. A player who makes a reservation cannot play a challenge game while he or she has a reservation. The player may, of course, play a defending game.
6.2.3. A player may have only one challenge reservation at a time.
6.2.4. Each Pyramid Ladder position can have only one reservation attached to it.
6.2.5. Normal Pyramid challenge rules apply to reservations and the challenges that result from them.
6.2.6. If a player who has a challenge reservation loses a challenge game and drops more than 9 levels below the level of the ladder position of the challenge reservation, the reservation will be cancelled and the player notified.
6.2.7. Reservations may be canceled at any time before the reservation challenge is issued.