02.23.17 We have received some inquires about the requirement for determining board order in the high school championship section of the upcoming Maine State Scholastic Team Chess Championships at the University of Maine in Orono on Saturday, March 11, 2017. The purpose of this post is to clarify the board order requirements and expectations of players, coaches, and teams participating in the high school championship section.

Players, coaches, and teams will be required to adhere to USCF Rule 31B which states, in part, that: Players on a team are ranked according to rating; the highest-rated players play on lower board numbers. (The lower the board number--board one being the lowest--the higher the player's USCF rating.)

In addition to this rule, the format of the high school team championship is stated in the pre-tournament information and registration packet as follows: Each high school championship team will consist of 5 players ranked from strongest (Board 1) to weakest (Board 5).

Therefore, coaches should rank their players in descending order of USCF rating from highest-rated on board one to lower-rated on subsequent boards. Unrated players, according to Rule 31B, must play on higher-numbered (lower-strength) boards. There is a rule variation on unrated players however. Variation 31B2 states: An unrated player may play on any board; this practice is therefore acceptable.

The March 2017 USCF Ratings Supplement will be used to determine a player's USCF rating.

Here's the full text of USCF Official Rules of Chess 6th Edition Rule 31B:

31B. Player rankings. Players on a team are ranked according to rating; the higher-rated players play on lower board numbers. Alternates must be lower-rated than regular team members. Unrated players, unless assigned ratings (28D), must play on higher-numbered boards than lower-rated players. If a player is missing from the lineup, lower-rated teammates must move up to preserve the order by rating, so that if a team forfeits games, they are always on the last (highest-numbered, lowest-rated) boards. Board assignments must always be made as described in the preceding paragraph.

And here's the full text of Rule Variation 31B2:

Variation 31B2. Placement of unrated players in team lineup. An unrated player may play on any board.

Here's a link to the ChessMaine.net Events page where you can find information and registration forms for all upcoming state scholastic team and individual championships.