The Charity FPL Chess League is a fun and competitive league for chess players in the FPL community. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a maestro, this is a great opportunity to pit yourself against players of a similar ability and join a fantastic and welcoming corner of the community.
The Story Behind CFPL Chess League & Season 1
Just under a year ago, I noticed some posts about chess from a number of FPL Twitter accounts and first had the idea to create a chess competition for FPL players. I managed to get 16 players together for a mini-tournament, which was very successful. Off the back of that, I decided to set up a fully-fledged, multi-division league.
So, in December, the Charity FPL Chess League was born. 18 players were split into three leagues of 6 players, all of whom donated a minimum of £2 to Cancer Research UK. Together we raised £82.
We had the full range of abilities taking part. Divisions 2 & 3 were mostly made up of casual players and beginners (700-1100 ELO), and Division 1 was made up of intermediate players (1300-1800 ELO), so every player was pitted against those of a similar ability to them. It would great to see some even better players enter Season 2.
The standings weren’t only decided by results on the chessboard. Winning FPL Head-to-Heads against your opponents earned you bonus points, so it was important to perform well in both games. A number of the matches were also streamed live on YouTube, adding to the overall experience of playing in the league, and giving a few of the players to try their hand at commentating.
The post-season consisted of two promotion playoffs and the centrepiece: the Season Final, where the top two in Division 1, Emre Erden from Turkey and Isak Klaudiussen from Norway, battled it out for the title of Season 1 Champion. In the end, Emre edged a very tight four-game match 2.5-1.5 live on YouTube, winning himself a trophy and the glory of being the best chess player in the FPL Community… for now.
Season 2 Information
Entries are now open for Season 2 for anyone who plays both FPL and chess. If you are interested in signing up, please read all the following information carefully and fill in the Google Form at the end of the article to enter.
Emre, the Season 1 winner, requested that the charity for Season 2 worked to help children suffering across the world from poverty or war. Therefore, I have chosen Save The Children, who say that their vision is: “A world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation”. I ask that all participants make a minimum donation of £2 through the JustGiving page when they fill in their entry form, but if money is an issue for anyone, do get in touch on Twitter at @CharityFPLChess or by email at chessfpl@gmail.com.
Division Structure
- The exact division structure depends on the number of entries, but new players will be placed in divisions with similarly rated players where possible and promotions/relegations from Season 1 will be upheld. For example, anyone rated 1600+ rapid will almost certainly be in the top division.
- There will be promotion and relegation between divisions for those who continue in Season 3, which is pencilled in for Spring 2022.
Match Format
- You will play one match against every opponent in your division. All these matches will consist of two games of 15|10 (15mins per player, 10s added after every move) rapid chess, with colours switched for the second game.
- Matches must be played on chess.com.
- For each individual game, you will earn 2pts for a win and 1pt for a draw (so up to 4pts available per match).
- You will also play an FPL Head-to-Head against each opponent in a predetermined gameweek. 1pt for a win, 0.5pts each in the rare case of a tie.
Post-Season
- After all the matches have been completed, there will be a post-season with promotion playoffs and the Season Final.
- All post-season matches will have an FPL portion followed by a chess portion.
- FPL: The player with the highest aggregate net score across GW13 & 14 will go 1-0 up in the match.
- Chess: This will consist of two 15|10 rapid games followed by two 5|5 blitz games, with colours switching between games.1pt per win, 0.5pts per draw.
- If the match is tied at 2.5-2.5 at the conclusion of the chess portion, a 3|0 blitz tiebreak will decide the winner.
- The Season 2 champion will win a trophy and have the opportunity to choose the charity for Season 3.
Streaming
- There will be a regular weekly slot (day/time TBC) where games are streamed on the Charity FPL Chess League YouTube channel. You will be able to put yourself forward to have a game streamed.
- All post-season matches will be streamed if possible.
- We have a small team of commentators, but we are looking to expand. If you would be willing to stream and commentate (regardless of chess level and streaming experience), then get in touch at chessfpl@gmail.com.
Updates and communication will be via email and the Charity FPL Chess League Twitter account (@CharityFPLChess).
Key Dates
Entry Deadline: Monday 13th September
Season Start: Monday 20th September
Season End: Friday 26th November (Provisional)
Post-Season: Monday 29th November – Sunday 12th December (Provisional)
Your Commitments
- Please do NOT enter if you do not think you have the capacity or motivation to play all your matches. Depending on entries, this would be a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 9 matches.
- Each match will last between 45-90 mins. The season will be 10 weeks long, which amounts to less than one match per week. In the event of 10 player divisions, the regular season will be extended by a week.
- You must adhere to Chess.com’s Fair Play Policy in all matches.
- It is the PLAYERS’ responsibility to arrange all matches via email, Twitter or otherwise and report results via Twitter or email.
- A failure to fulfil all your matches may result in expulsion from the league. A walkover may be claimed if there is sufficient evidence of multiple attempts to arrange the match from one of the players.
