Answers.Body: <p>According to <a href="https://fide.com/news/889" rel="noreferrer">an announcement</a> on the FIDE website today, 4th January 2021,</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>The FIDE Council has approved a new set of rules to be applied to official online chess competitions. The document, which will be incorporated into the laws of chess, is the result of a joint effort by a dedicated task force, in which several FIDE Commissions were involved</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>According to Article 1 of the new <a href="https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/Annex_6.4%20Fide%20Online%20Chess%20Regulations.pdf" rel="noreferrer">FIDE Online Chess Regulations</a> they build on the existing FIDE Laws of Chess:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p><strong>Article 1: Application of the FIDE Laws of Chess</strong></p>
  <p>1.1 Articles 1 – 3 of the Basic rules of play from the FIDE Laws of Chess are fully applied, except Article 2.1.</p>
  <p>1.2 Article 2.1 of the Basic rules of play from the FIDE Laws of Chess is superseded by Article 3.1 of
  these Regulations.</p>
  <p>1.3 Articles 4 and 5 of the Basic rules of play from the FIDE Laws of Chess are superseded by Articles 3 and 5 of these Regulations respectively</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>The new Article 3 deals with the mechanics of moving the pieces in online chess and so covers things like pre-moves and auto promotion.</p>
  <p>The new Article 5 on completing the game is particularly interesting as it changes the repetition and 50/75 move rule to reflect the way online platforms currently operate. Here is what it says:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p><strong>Article 5: Completing the Game</strong><br />
  5.1 The game is won by the player who has checkmated <strong>his/her</strong> opponent’s king.<br />
  5.2 The game is won by the player whose opponent declares <strong>he/she</strong> resigns by pressing button “resign” or
  by another method available on the playing zone.<br />
  5.3 The player can offer a draw in accordance with any method provided by the playing zone. The offer cannot be withdrawn and remains valid until the opponent accepts it, rejects it by playing a
  move or the game is concluded in some other way.<br />
  5.4 <strong>The game is automatically drawn when</strong>:<br />
  5.4.1 <strong>the same position appeared for the third time</strong> (as described in Article 9.2.2 of the FIDE Laws of Chess);<br />
  5.4.2 the player to move has no legal move and his/her king is not in check. The game is said to end in
  ‘stalemate’;<br />
  5.4.3 a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves;<br />
  5.4.4 <strong>the last 50 moves by each player have been completed without the movement of any pawn and without any capture.</strong></p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>There is much more,including rules covering disconnection, and it is worth examining in detail. I have to admit that, although I'm a non-smoker myself, I find article 9.9 over-authoritarian -</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>9.9 Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is not permitted when visible on camera.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>There is, quite rightly, nothing about eating or drinking on camera. FIDE should not be legislating on other non-disturbing behaviour in players' own homes.</p>
  <p>Finally it is noteworthy that FIDE has adopted the more inclusive he/she, his/her</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-01-04T23:33:46.770Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-01-05T10:50:18.290Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2021-01-05T10:50:18.290Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Body: <p>FIDE has its <a href="https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012018" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Laws of Chess</a> which have governed over-the-board chess for almost 100 years. During the Covid pandemic OTB chess has almost stopped in many countries and more and more chess is being played at a serious level online.</p>
  <p>Some federations, which have had to cancel their regular national championships, have replaced them with an online version. Example - the English Chess Federation. Their <a href="https://www.englishchess.org.uk/british-online-chess-championships/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">online national championships</a> have just finished with Micky Adams winning the first place playoff.</p>
  <p>Does FIDE have regulations for online chess which can be used as a standard by the member federations?</p>
  
Tags: <rules><fide><online-chess>
Title: Does FIDE have rules governing online chess?
ThreadText: # Does FIDE have rules governing online chess?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-04)
  
  FIDE has its [Laws of Chess](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012018) which have governed over-the-board chess for almost 100 years. During the Covid pandemic OTB chess has almost stopped in many countries and more and more chess is being played at a serious level online.
  
  Some federations, which have had to cancel their regular national championships, have replaced them with an online version. Example - the English Chess Federation. Their [online national championships](https://www.englishchess.org.uk/british-online-chess-championships/) have just finished with Micky Adams winning the first place playoff.
  
  Does FIDE have regulations for online chess which can be used as a standard by the member federations?
  
  **Tags:** rules, fide, online-chess
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_0 on 2021-01-04. Score: 11 | Accepted answer
  
  According to [an announcement](https://fide.com/news/889) on the FIDE website today, 4th January 2021,
  
  > The FIDE Council has approved a new set of rules to be applied to official online chess competitions. The document, which will be incorporated into the laws of chess, is the result of a joint effort by a dedicated task force, in which several FIDE Commissions were involved
  
  According to Article 1 of the new [FIDE Online Chess Regulations](https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/Annex_6.4%20Fide%20Online%20Chess%20Regulations.pdf) they build on the existing FIDE Laws of Chess:
  
  > **Article 1: Application of the FIDE Laws of Chess**
  >
  > 1.1 Articles 1 – 3 of the Basic rules of play from the FIDE Laws of Chess are fully applied, except Article 2.1.
  >
  > 1.2 Article 2.1 of the Basic rules of play from the FIDE Laws of Chess is superseded by Article 3.1 of
  > these Regulations.
  >
  > 1.3 Articles 4 and 5 of the Basic rules of play from the FIDE Laws of Chess are superseded by Articles 3 and 5 of these Regulations respectively
  
  The new Article 3 deals with the mechanics of moving the pieces in online chess and so covers things like pre-moves and auto promotion.
  
  The new Article 5 on completing the game is particularly interesting as it changes the repetition and 50/75 move rule to reflect the way online platforms currently operate. Here is what it says:
  
  > **Article 5: Completing the Game**  
  > 5.1 The game is won by the player who has checkmated **his/her** opponent’s king.  
  > 5.2 The game is won by the player whose opponent declares **he/she** resigns by pressing button “resign” or
  > by another method available on the playing zone.  
  > 5.3 The player can offer a draw in accordance with any method provided by the playing zone. The offer cannot be withdrawn and remains valid until the opponent accepts it, rejects it by playing a
  > move or the game is concluded in some other way.  
  > 5.4 **The game is automatically drawn when**:  
  > 5.4.1 **the same position appeared for the third time** (as described in Article 9.2.2 of the FIDE Laws of Chess);  
  > 5.4.2 the player to move has no legal move and his/her king is not in check. The game is said to end in
  > ‘stalemate’;  
  > 5.4.3 a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves;  
  > 5.4.4 **the last 50 moves by each player have been completed without the movement of any pawn and without any capture.**
  
  There is much more,including rules covering disconnection, and it is worth examining in detail. I have to admit that, although I'm a non-smoker myself, I find article 9.9 over-authoritarian -
  
  > 9.9 Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is not permitted when visible on camera.
  
  There is, quite rightly, nothing about eating or drinking on camera. FIDE should not be legislating on other non-disturbing behaviour in players' own homes.
  
  Finally it is noteworthy that FIDE has adopted the more inclusive he/she, his/her
  
  
  ---
  
  