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. |