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ACBL CONVENTION CHART

At any ACBL Tournament it is the responsibility of the participants to know which convention chart is in force for the event they are playing in. The ACBL has four such charts: Limited, General, Mid & Superchart. Most events use the General Convention Chart but the Mid-chart is gaining in popularity. The tournament sponsor determines which chart to use.  Also see Charts: Limited  General  Mid  Super

Each chart is a list of permissible conventions which are allowed to be used in the event. Use of an unauthorized convention might result in a score adjustment.  Unless the convention is specifically included in the chart, it is not allowed for the particular event.

Also see Director Tech File

 

LIMITED CONVENTION CHART

May be used in games with an upper limit of 20 or fewer MPs. Club management shall determine the conventions permitted in club games with an upper limit of 20 or fewer masterpoints. The sponsoring organization of local and higher rated tournaments may determine the conventions permitted in games with an upper limit of 20 or fewer masterpoints  For details, refer to Limited  Chart

 

GENERAL CONVENTION CHART

The conventions listed below must be allowed in all ACBL sanctioned tournament play (other than in events with an upper restriction of 20 or fewer masterpoints and events for which the ACBL conditions of contest state otherwise) and at club-level events with multiple-site overall masterpoint awards. However, clubs have full authority to regulate conventions in games conducted solely at their clubs.  For details, refer to General  Chart

MID-CHART

This chart applies to:

All NABC+ events with no upper masterpoint restrictions played at an NABC.

All unrestricted Flight A regionally rated events at an NABC.

Any bracket of a bracketed KO at an NABC which contains no team with a bracket designator (average masterpoints of the entire team or top two players) of less than 1000 points.

This chart (or any part) may apply to any sectionally or regionally rated event or tournament at sponsor's option provided that this has been included in tournament advertising. (The requirement for advertising does not extend to use in Flt. A or high brackets of KOs.)

When using a method permitted by the Mid-Chart but not by the General Convention Chart a pair is required to:

1. Pre-Alert the method(s)

2. Have a written description of the method(s) available for the opponents.

3. Except for those methods authorized by sections below with an asterisk (numbers 2, 3 and 9 under ALLOWED), have a copy of the approved suggested defense available for opponents. Approved defenses are available in the ACBL defense database at www.acbl.org.

A defense to a method which requires the above pre-Alert may be referred to during the auction by both pairs.

To get a defense approved, a complete written explanation of the method and a complete written defense must be submitted to ACBL in Memphis, attention Chief Tournament Director by regular mail or e-mail to

chief.tournament.director@acbl.org.

In addition, a method may be approved experimentally for Mid-Chart events. In order to have a method approved experimentally, a complete description and suggested defense must be submitted to ACBL, attention Chief Tournament Director, as above.

For details, refer to Mid Chart.

SUPER CHART

This chart applies to all NABC+ events with no upper masterpoint limit played at an NABC in which contestants play segments (no change of opponents) of 12 or more boards. This chart (or any part) may be used at a sectionally or regionally rated event or tournament at sponsor's option in any event with 12-board or longer segments provided this has been included in tournament advertising.

Pre-Alerts are required for all conventional methods not permitted on the ACBL General Convention Chart. Description of, and suggested defenses to, such methods must be made in writing. A defense to a method which requires the above pre-Alert may be referred to during the auction by opponents of the convention user.

For NABC+ events in which this chart is permitted, pairs playing SuperChart methods must furnish the above descriptions of their methods to the Director-in-Charge of the event the day prior to the session in which they choose to play them.  For details, refer to Super Chart.

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