raburn

series
Premier
League
Handbook
Season 2020/21
The Raburn Association
Premier League

Season 2020/21
Head Admin
Sengdao (Founder)

Board Administration
amazonriver17
beecca121220
GMAaaankush
jdfam7
jzebra19
MakeHell_Tal
Reddythechessplayer
Schachmasteo
stevis5
turtlelover684

Website Published by The Raburn Association Premier League

www.chess.com/club/raburn-series-premier-league © The Raburn Association Premier League 2020
The Raburn Philosophy: Our Vision

Season 2020/21
Foreword

The Raburn Philosophy: Our Vision is a statement of our vision and goal to run
Premier League chess to the highest possible standards in a professional
manner with the utmost integrity.

As the Board Administration of the Raburn Series, we are determined:

To conduct with the utmost good-faith and honesty.

To create a complete Rule book which is understood, relevant and up-to-date.
To embrace disciplinary procedures which uphold Chess.com Fair Play directives.
To present penalties which are fair and realistic.
To ensure the compliance of the Rules at all times.

Our Vision

Our Vision sets out our commitment to run Premier League chess to the highest
possible standards in case you did not see that point the first time. A Raburn
experience is defined by the chance and opportunity to join forces with other
students across Illinois in projects, discussion, debate, and simple games to
share among one another.

With that aim, we, the Board Administration of the Raburn Series, are adamant
to give players the chance:

To immerse in an environment and community that shouts positivity throughout.

To express their passions for the game of Chess.
To use Chess.com as a platform for design, entrepreneuership, and leadership.
To create a one-of-a-kind experience that preserves team values.
To bring Illinois High School Association Chess to online accessibility.
Team Directory* 01

Fixtures* 18

Rules 01
Terms and Conditions 23
The Series: Governance and Competition 24
The Series: Teams 25
The Players 26
Fair Play 27
Awards 28

Statistics 01

*To be finalized after all teams submit rosters.

Team
Directory
 Chess.com Comets
Affiliations

Team Directory: Chess.com Comets

Evanston (Twp.)

Contact: @stevis5
www.chess.com/member/stevis5
Squad List
1. JosTim
2. stevis5
3. K-AgarwalMMII
Manager Board Sponsor
stevis5 Reegium 4. 7ania7
5. MakeHell_Tal
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
MakeHell_Tal Staunpound 6. rcu_21
7. HomelessBishop
Head Coach Academy Manager
JosTim rcu_21 8. mightywarrior24

Primary color Secondary color Alternative color

#f2562f #494cb4 #fce001

3 4
 Hinsdelk Grove
Affiliations

Team Directory: Hinsdelk Grove

Darien (Hinsdale South)
Elk Grove Village (E.G.)
Hinsdale (Central)
Sterling (H.S.)
Squad List
Contact: @KSPCricket
www.chess.com/member/KSPCricket 1. GMAaaankush
2. sengdaonumber1
3. JESUS_LIVES7
Manager Board Sponsor
KSPCricket Elk Grove Crickets 4. KSPCricket
5. Da_Chess_Queen10
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
KSPCricket Elk Grove Croquettes 6. johnnyboy0362
7. alwaysreti
Head Coach Academy Manager
GMAaaankush JESUS_LIVES7 8. tghy71
9. NubbyCheeseking
Primary color Secondary color Alternative color
10. Bosun1234

#005129 #fecc2b #fcde93

5 6
 Fremd Vikings
Affiliations

Team Directory: Fremd Vikings

Barrington
Palatine (Fremd)

Contact: @Schachmasteo
www.chess.com/member/Schachmasteo Squad List
1. Gthans
2. Reddythechessplayer
3. Schachmasteo
Manager Board Sponsor
Schachmasteo Minnesoda Vikings 4. Iamnotasandbagger
5. koolperry
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
aggara1 cringe 6. aggara1
7. arnavbatta
Head Coach Academy Manager
dontbetaken koolperry 8. pranay_nae
9. awalker9255
Primary color Secondary color Alternative color
10. dontbetaken

#37761d #b6d6a9 #ffe200

7 8
 RAR Attackers
Affiliations

Team Directory: RAR Attackers

RAR

Contact: @MiddlegamerUmesh
www.chess.com/member/middlegamerumesh
Squad List
1. 1e41-0
2. 1e41-O
3. rychessmaster1
Manager Board Sponsor
MiddlegamerUmesh Truelson Foundation 4. MiddlegamerUmesh
5. DanielGuel
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
MiddlegamerUmesh RAR Inc. 6. ShaoniHiya
7. 1_a31-0
Head Coach Academy Manager
DanielGuel ShaoniHiya 8. NobleElevator

Primary color Secondary color Alternative color

#3e85c7 #a1c4c8 #021a99

9 10
 Rockford Floridians
Affiliations

Team Directory: Rockford Floridians

Rockford (Auburn)
Rockford (Guilford)

Contact: @joaquin154
www.chess.com/member/joaquin154 Squad List
1. HansCoolNiemann
2. LilRag
3. race2GM
Manager Board Sponsor
joaquin154 MyHomework Foundation 4. jerry15
5. quan319
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
quan319 EggoLegos 6. quintintanksley
7. jbking07
Head Coach Academy Manager
quintintanksley TheAngularLouis 8. joaquin154
9. TheAngularLouis
Primary color Secondary color Alternative color
10. ethanv26
11. AlignedAphid
#fbd600 #0d7d38 #fffeee

11 12
 Rolling Croissant Rockets

Team Directory: Rolling Croissant Rockets

Affiliations
Arlington Heights (Hersey)
Palatine (H.S.)
Rockford (Auburn)
Rolling Meadows
West Chicago Squad List
Contact: @Sengdao 1. jphillips
www.chess.com/member/sengdao
2. Sengdao
3. SuperSamraat
Manager Board Sponsor
Sengdao The Walt Disknee Company 4. Ballernate22
5. beecca121220
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
jzebra19 Cost Co. 6. amazonriver17
7. TheGalaxyInvader
Head Coach Academy Manager
jphillips TheGalaxyInvader 8. Piquantpainter
9. turtlelover684
Primary color Secondary color Alternative color
10. jzebra19
11. batmanmuffinz
#df9c60 #f96b9c #482e92

13 14
 SteamROLers

Team Directory: SteamROLers

Affiliations
RAR

Contact: @Stephen_Stanfield
www.chess.com/member/stephen_stanfield
Squad List
1. Joseph_Truelson
2. Chess4PK
3. T0TS
Manager Board Sponsor
Stephen_Stanfield Truelson Foundation 4. Stephen_Stanfield
5. ZaeemA
Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer
Stephen_Stanfield ROL Inc. 6. StealthNight
7. Leon_Likes_Chess
Head Coach Academy Manager
Joseph_Truelson Chess4PK 8. KoalaKnightMI
9. GoldenDegree
Primary color Secondary color Alternative color
10. 1c41-O

#fdb62f #878787 #cdcdcd

14 15
 Stillman Valley Cardinals

Team Directory: Stillman Valley Cardinals

Affiliations
Stillman Valley

Contact: @Johnmichigan
www.chess.com/member/johnmichigan
Squad List
1. Johnmichigan

Manager Board Sponsor

Johnmichigan Mountain 'Ew

Chief Statistician Piece Manufacturer

Johnmichigan PepZi

Head Coach Academy Manager

--- ---

Primary color Secondary color Alternative color

#b0063A #ffc20e #000000

16 17
Fixtures
 Premier League Premier League
Fixture List Season 2020/21 Fixture List Season 2020/21
Please be aware that fixtures are always subject to change and these will appear in each match's respective

Fixtures
negotiation forums and on chess.com/club/raburn-series-premier-league.
Matchweeks run from Tuesday to Sunday unless otherwise stated.

Matchweek 1: April 28th to May 3rd

RAR Attackers v Rolling Croissant Rockets --:-- No Broadcaster

3 4
Raburn
Series Rules
 Rules of the Raburn Series Contents
Contents

Rules Index
Raburn Series Rules
Terms and Conditions -- The Players --

Section A: Terms and Conditions -- Section F: Negotiation --

Terms -- Initializing --
Conditions -- Finalizing A Time --

The Series: Governance and Competition -- Section G: Play --

Section B: The Series — Governance -- Setup --

Board Administration -- Game --

Appeal Board -- Section H: Results --

Section C: The Series — Competition -- Reporting Results --

Competition Format -- Fair Play --

Fixtures -- Section I: Chess.com Policy --

IHSA Scoring + Tiebreaks -- Outside Assistance --

The Series: Teams -- Section J: Disciplinary --

Section D: The Series — Teams -- Automatic Action --

Requirements -- League Action --

Strength Order -- Awards --

Section E: The Series — Roles -- Section K: Awards --

Manager -- Team Awards --

Chief Statistician -- Individual Awards --

Other Roles --

3 4
 Terms and Conditions Section A: Terms and Conditions
Section A: Terms and Conditions

Rules Index
Definitions
Appeal Board means like a chessboard but with appeals instead of chess. Matched Played means the number of matches played by during the Season.

Board Administration means the administration that determines valid chess boards. Player means a person that is playing for a team.

Broadcaster means a user streaming a League Match. Points means points in the Standings as a result of a match..

Chess.com means self-explanatory. Raburn means the Raburn Series Premier League.

e5 means a square on the chessboard. Raburn Series means Raburn.

Fair Play means playing fairly. Raburn Series Prem. means Raburn.

Free Agent means players who do not have a team. Registration means the period of time of sign up for the upcoming season.

Form means the quantification of Players' recent performances. Season means a collection of Matchweeks to crown Raburn Champions.

Forum means a list of comments on the Chess.com club. Section means a Section of these Rules.

IHSA means the Illinois High School Association. Squad List means the list of eligible players to play for a Team.

Individual Points means a player's individual score. Team means a group of 8-12 players who play together for points.

League Match means a match between two teams for the current season. Team Points means a team's score during a match.

Manager means a person managing a team. The Raburn Association means "uh, the Raburn Association".

Matchweek means the week at which a match is played. Username means what a player goes by on Chess.com.

3 4
 Terms and Conditions The Series: Governance and Competition
Section A: Terms and Conditions Section B: The Series — Governance

Rules Index
Below are the governing bodies of the Raburn Series.

Board Administration
The Administration in charge of the Raburn
All terms on the previous pages have been Series Premier League. Designated as
defined for convenience and formality. By no Admins on the Chess.com club.
means should these terms be used as
absolutes to define the League. This group is in charge of forming rules and
advances with the best interests of Raburn
and its players in mind. They hold the
Thank you. absolute right to change logistics and
operations for the betterment of the League
at all times.

Appeal Board
A subset of the Board Administration. The
Appeal Board is tasked with handling
received appeals and choosing the most
appropriate action for any misdemeanor.

3 4
 The Series: Governance and Competition
Section C: The Series — Competition
The league format is a double round-robin in
which all teams play all other teams, and the
team that has the most points at the conclusion
of the round-robin will be the season three
champions.
Match scoring is three points for a win, one for a
draw, zero for a loss.
Every round during the Season will start
Tuesday, and players have from Tuesday to
Sunday to negotiate with their opponent and
schedule a game.
3 4
Section C: The Series — Competition
Each team fields 8 boards.
Rules Index
Scoring for each board works as follows: 12 points for a win on board one,
11 points for a win on board two, and so on until we reach five points for a
win on board eight. A draw on any board splits the points between teams.
This means that there are 68 total points in any match, and once a team
scores above 34.5, they have won the match.
If a match isn’t played entirely, teams will be awarded a forfeit score. If it
is determined that one team tried harder to get the match played, they
will win by a score of 48-20. If it is determined that both teams gave an
equal effort in getting the match played, then the result shall be a 34-34
tie.
If an individual game between players isn’t played, and it is determined
that one player tried harder to get a game played, they will receive the
full board points available to them. If it is determined that both players
gave an equal effort in getting the game played, then the board points
will be split.
Tiebreaks will be as follows: 
If there are two teams in a tie: Head to Head, Point Differential, IHSA
Tiebreaks. If there are three or more teams in a tie: Score against tied teams,
Point Differential, IHSA Tiebreaks
IHSA Tiebreaks: For each match played, add 10 to the team’s match points,
multiply by 1 plus the square of the number of matches won by the
opposing team, and divide by 100. Add the values for all matches to
determine the tiebreaker. The higher the sum of those values, the higher the
value of tiebreak.)
 The Series: Teams Section D: The Series — Teams
Section D: The Series — Teams

Each team will have a roster of at minimum eight, and at
maximum twelve players for the season. There are no
restrictions on who is on this team besides the notion that the
top 8 players on a team must have an estimated average
Chess.com blitz rating of at most 2100. All players must have at
least 10 blitz games played prior to registration.
Rules Index
EXAMPLE:
The eight boards (numbered 1 to 8) are
occupied by players whose Strength Order is 1,
2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 8, 7. Player #3 (on Board 5) and
Player #7 (on Board 8) must forfeit. Improper
substitution or failure to follow correct
substitution procedures will result in penalties
that can include forfeiture.

Before the beginning of the seasons, team managers must tell

Sengdao the strength order for the players on their roster.
Strength Order is a sorted list of the eligible
players, ranked by playing strength. Any number of
substitutions may be made, but the players must always be
12453687
seated in Strength Order.

The eight-person lineup for each round must comply with this
strength order, with the strongest player on board one, and the
weakest player on board eight. Stacking, or the act of sending
a faulty strength order in order to have stronger players on
lower boards, is forbidden and will result in disciplinary actions
if caught.

3 4
 The Series: Teams
Section E: The Series — Roles
Each team will have one manager and one head coach.
The manager will be expected to:
Register the team at the beginning of the season and
set the strength order to be used for the entirety of
the season
Set the lineup each week, rotating players on teams
of more than 8
Submit each week’s lineup to @Sengdao by the
Monday before the matchweek begins
If no lineup is submitted by this date, the previous
week’s lineup will be used
The head coach will be expected to:
Analyze and review individual matches with insights
to improve the team
Assist the manager in picking out a lineup every week
Act as an assistant manager and provide morale
support!
3 4
Section E: The Series — Roles
Each team will also have one Chief Statistician. The Chief
Rules Index
Statistician will be expected to:
Update individual stats for team members following each
game each matchweek
Stats should be updated for a matchweek by the Monday
before the next matchweek begins
Due to these responsibilities, Chief Statistician will be
required to have spreadsheet access. Message @Sengdao
your Gmail account in order to be granted spreadsheet
access.
Finally, all teams will have an Academy Manager, Board
Sponsor, and Piece Manufacturer.
Academy Manager: Brings up the youth and recruits new
players for the future growth of the team
Board Sponsor: Sponsors the team and provides the all
important chess board (yes, all 64 squares of it)
Piece Manufacturer: Manufactures pieces for each team—
very important, since players can’t play without pieces (well,
they could play blindfold, but that would make the piece
manufacturers sad)
 The Players The Players
Section F: Negotiation Section G: Play

Rules Index
When it is an hour before one's scheduled play time, it is
To negotiate with your opponent, there will be threads for each
recommended that you:
match, in which you can contact your opponent and find a mutually
agreed upon time to get the game played.
1. Check the color you are playing on
2. Message your opponent saying you are awake and ready to
You may also choose to contact your opponent via other ways,
play in an hour's time
such as the Raburn Discord server, chess.com global chat,
3. Invite your teammates to come watch and support you!
chess.com private messages, or chess.com notes.
When it is time to play, challenge your opponent to a 15|10
If you choose to contact your opponent privately outside the
rated game on Live Chess, All games must be rated. Warnings
thread, you must send evidence of negotiation to your team
will be given if this guideline is not followed. Multiple violations
manager, or post in the thread for the match.
will result in suspension.
If players agree to time on Sunday and do not play a game within
the Tuesday through Sunday time period, the match will
automatically be called a draw on that board.

If two players cannot find a time that they can play at, they may
agree to a pre-arranged draw, but this may only happen on the
last day of the round, and if there is enough evidence that both
players attempted to get the game played.

If teams choose so, they can attempt to try and play all eight
board matches at the same time, but this is not a requirement.

3 4
 The Players Fair Play
Section H: Results Section I: Chess.com Policy

Rules Index
As cited by Chess.com's article "What
do I need to know about Fair Play on
Chess.com?", here are the rules:

After a match has been completed, at least
one of the players must post the result on the
match's respective negotiation forum including
the following details:
White's Username vs. Black's Username
Result
Link to Game
No chess programs or
engines (e.g. Chessmaster, Fritz,
Komodo, Houdini, Stockfish,
Chessbase with any active UCI
engine, etc.) can be used to
analyze positions in ongoing
games at any time.
In Live Chess, no outside
assistance OF ANY KIND is
permitted.

Fixing game results by playing

with multiple accounts or losing
intentionally is also against the
rules.

3 4
 The Players
Section J: Disciplinary
If a player is caught cheating in the league,
their account will be reported to Chess.com,
and their results throughout the season will be
given automatic losses for any matches they
played in. Chess.com's Fair Play System will be
active during Raburn Series play.
If a person who has been banned from
chess.com for cheating attempts to return to
the league through a new account, they will not
be allowed back into the club.
If a team manager knowingly brings back a
banned account onto their roster, they will be
disciplined anywhere from a 1 match loss for
the round to a full-season suspension.
3 4
Section J: Disciplinary
Rules Index
If a team is caught stacking during the season,
the team’s results from previous weeks shall be
negated, and the team must carry on with a
strength order that Sengdao agrees to.
Individual players may be given warnings for
actions including, but not limited to: spamming
the notes, pretending to be someone else,
multi-accounting, etc. If a player receives a
warning, they must cease doing whatever
action they have been warned against. If a
player repeatedly receives warnings, they may
be removed from the league.
If a player feels like a warning was unjust, they
may appeal the decision.
 Awards
Section K: Awards
The most important question—
what do I get if I win?
3 4
Section K: Awards
Rules Index
The winning team of the Raburn
Series Premier League will win the
Raburn Series Premier League title!
Literally, we will change the title of
the club to represent the name of
the winning team for an entire week!
Every member of the winning team
will also receive the high honor of a
chess.com trophy. Wow, how
exciting!
The top performer each week on
each board will enter the "Team of
the Week". The top point scorer
during the whole of the Season will
be crowned MVP.
Statistics
Season 1 Season 2
Standings Standings

Statistics
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts

1 Hinsdale Central 6 6 0 0 74 20 +54 18 1 Fremd Vikings 7 7 0 0 73.5 22.5 +51 21

2 Horseman Uni* 6 5 0 1 70 25 +45 15 2 Chess.com Comets 6 5 1 0 47.5 13.5 +34 16

3 Highland Park Giants 6 4 1 1 64 29 +35 13 3 RAR Attackers* 7 5 0 2 64 29 +35 15

4 Wisconsin Warhawks 6 3 2 1 61 35 +26 11 4 Rockford Rockets 7 4 1 2 55.5 24.5 +31 13

5 Rockford Rockets 6 3 2 1 49 45 +4 11 5 Neuqua Valley Wildc. 7 3 1 2 22 22 ±0 10

6 Chess.com Comets 6 3 1 2 63 33 +30 10 6 Meadows Mottsters 7 3 0 4 38.5 46.5 -8 9

7 New Coach City 6 3 1 2 52 41 +11 10 7 RARBurners 6 2 2 2 26.5 29.5 -3 8

8 Quintin's Amigos 6 2 1 3 43 51 -8 7 8 Wisconsin Warhawks 7 1 4 2 10.5 17.5 -7 7

9 Ararat Mavericks 6 1 3 2 31 48 -17 6 9 Quantwins Want to Wi. 5 1 3 1 14.5 17.5 -3 6

10 En-Croissants 6 2 0 4 33 60 -27 6 10 Ararat Mavericks 6 0 3 3 4 28 -24 3

11 Rockford Rollin' Thun. 6 1 1 4 33 47 -14 4 11 En-Croissants 6 0 1 5 10.5 53.5 -43 1

12 Meadows Mottsters 6 1 1 4 33 61 -28 4 12 Next Generation 6 0 0 6 0 48 -48 0

*won Playoffs—crowned Champions

13 Neuqua Valley Wildc. 6 1 1 4 28 66 -38 4

14 Next Generation 6 0 0 6 14 94 -80 0

*won Playoffs—crowned Champions

Season 1 Season 2
Top Pointscorers Top Pointscorers

Statistics
Pos Name P W D L PPG Pts Pos Name P W D L PPG Pts

1 MaxM88 22 17 3 2 3.36 18.5 1 Schachmasteo 20 19 0 1 3.80 18.5

2 MINHPHAT 20 16 2 2 3.40 17.0 2 MiddlegamerUmesh 23 14 1 8 2.52 14.5

3 RicedFries 16 13 2 1 3.50 14.0 3 Johnmichigan 11 10 0 1 3.64 10.0

4 shmelder333 15 13 2 0 3.73 14.0 4 SuperSamraat 14 9 1 4 2.71 9.5

5 jdfam7 20 13 2 5 2.80 14.0 5 koolperry 20 9 1 10 1.90 9.5

raburn
series
Premier chess.com/club/raburn-series-premier-league
League chess.com

The Raburn Association Premier League

Unregistered Office 1337 Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, S1P 8BP. No. 3141592 USA