Eligibility Requirements

For college and university teams, FIDE International Masters and FIDE International Grandmasters are eligible to participate if they satisfy at least one of the following stipulations: No. 1 or all three conditions listed in No. 2.

1. Are less than 26 years old as undergraduate students, or under 30 years old as graduate students, as of September 1 of the academic year in which the tournament takes place.
2. Satisfy all of the following three conditions:
   • Are full-time, degree-seeking students (e.g., at least 12 semester credit hours for undergraduate students and 9 semester credit hours for graduate students)
   • Have a grade-point average of at least B (e.g., at least 3.0 on a 4-point scale)
   • Have satisfied conditions 1 and 2 for at least one full semester at their team’s college or university prior to the event. (Thus, note that this is an exception to Rule 4, below.)

Rule 1 applies to all college events — individual or team. There are no age restrictions on players not having the two above-mentioned international titles.

All international grandmasters and international masters are eligible to play in a maximum of six Pan-American Inter-Collegiate Team Chess Championships.

College and University players shall be enrolled at least half-time (e.g. 6 semester credit hours) during the semester of eligibility. For the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Championship, traditionally held between Christmas and New Year’s each year, players must be enrolled in the fall semester preceding the event. A player must not be enrolled in high school.

College and university players shall be eligible to play for a total of six years, where a year is defined as being either a traditional academic year of a fall and spring term or a fall term or a spring term, e.g., a player enrolled in spring of 1998, spring of 1999 and fall of 1999 is considered enrolled for three years under this rule.

College and university players shall be enrolled in a degree-seeking program with a cumulative grade point average of at least a C. If a student is new to the institution and has no GPA, then this requirement is waived.

College and university players for a Pan-American team must all be resident at the same geographical location, which can include multiple campuses and instructional facilities used by the same college or university the players represent. All players must live either in on-campus housing or in housing within reasonable commuting distance of each other and the college or university they are representing.

Colleges and universities offering chess-related scholarships shall maintain records about the individuals awarded such scholarships, their time of attendance, the degrees received if any, and the grade point average attained.

Faculty and staff are not eligible to compete. In this context, “staff” is not intended to include student workers or teaching assistants.

Faculty conflicts. A faculty member serving as a consultant or director to a university or college chess program should adhere to the following guidelines:

1. To admit no player to their program who does not, in their judgment, demonstrate a serious likelihood of achieving a degree.
2. To not offer independent study courses to members of the chess team.
3. To not recruit players from other chess programs.
4. To scrutinize carefully undergraduate students applying for a second baccalaureate.

Noncompliance:

1. Winning teams should file a report to document compliance with these regulations with the US Chess.
2. Any team’s standing may be challenged for non-compliance by a competing team through a written complaint sent within 30 days to the Executive Director or the Scholastic Director of US Chess. That official shall gather the relevant documentation of the complaint, make a recommendation as to disposition, and send it to the US Chess Executive Board for resolution.