Chess Clubs
Find Out More About The Clubs So You Can Be Part Of The One That Fits You Best.
Our Clubs System
Clubs are very important in the Lebanese chess system. Any active club (participated in at least one club’s championship in the election year) has the right to vote in the elections of the 11 board members.
Each player chooses a place where he can be part of a family that helps him train, play and participate in tournaments held in Lebanon. The Lebanese League is currently divided into 2 parts: 1st Division and 2nd Division.
The 1st Division consists of 10 Clubs whereas the rest of the clubs are in the 2nd Division. Once a year, the official Classic tournament takes place where 2 teams fall to 2nd League and the first 2 clubs of the 2nd League rise to the top League. The 2nd League is held in 4 categories based on location, and the final 4 play each other in a teams round robin to reach the 2 qualifiers.
The rapid and Blitz tournaments are open to all clubs and are organized in a Swiss tournament of 9 or 11 rounds. In any official tournament, 12 player represent each club and 6 players compete each round.
Players sign with the club for 2 years. Juniors under 16 years old sign for 4 years. The reason behind this is that clubs invest in their juniors to benefit from them later in the official tournaments. Each player can once during his signature period change clubs on condition that the first club agrees to let him/her go.
Each club hands in the list of its players to the federation at the beginning of the year with the signature of the players. There is no limit to the number of players, and during the year, any player who is not part of another club can join the club for an additional fee of 100$. Before the start of any official club tournament, the club sends a list of the 12 players who will be representing the club in that tournament arranged in order. The order has specific rules that need to be respected and the most important and questionable one is : The players should be arranged in decreasing order of their ELO.