Proclamation of the 2014 Micronational World Chess Championship Cycle

Instead of a simple open single round-robin tournament like the 2013 edition, the 2014 Micronational World Chess Championship will be backed by a cycle consisting of various tournaments. Those will be:

1: The World Championship

2: The Candidates Tournament

3: The I.M.C.F. Cup

4: The I.M.C.F. Grand Prix series

First, here's the full tournament schedule for 2014:

January: 1st Grand Prix

March: 2nd Grand Prix

May: 3rd Grand Prix

July: 4th Grand Prix

August - September: I.M.C.F. Cup

October 15- November: Candidates Tournament

December: World Championship Match

To sign-up, you can leave a comment stating your name and micronation, or send an e-mail at micronationchess@gmail.com

What follows is specific information for each tournament:

The World Championship:

The World Championship is an 8-game match between the current champion and the challenger. The winner of the match will be declared Micronational World Champion. In case of a draw, rapid tiebreakers will be played. In case of another draw, blitz tiebreakers will follow, and they will be repeated as many times as needed until a winner emerges.

The Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament is a closed 6-player double round-robin tournament. The winner of the Candidates Tournament qualifies as the challenger for the World Championship.

There are several ways to qualify for the Candidates Tournament:

2 spots will be awarded to the 2 highest-rated players in the I.M.C.F elo rating list right before the tournament begins.

2 spots will be awarded to the winner and the runner-up of the I.M.C.F. Cup.

1 spot will be awarded to the winner of the I.M.C.F. Grand Prix series.

1 spot will be awarded to the runner-up of last year's World Championship.

The current champion is not allowed to participate in the Candidates Tournament. If he/she qualifies for it, their spot is awarded to the next in line.

If someone qualifies for the Candidates Tournament more than once, he chooses one spot to keep and the rest are awarded to the next in line.

The I.M.C.F. Cup

The I.M.C.F. Cup is a 20-player tournament that combines single round-robin and single knockout formats. The players are divided into 4 groups of 5 players each and play in single round-robin format. The winner and runner-up of each group advance into a single knockout stage, where every stage consists of 2 games (with alternating colors), besides the final, which consists of 4 games (with alternative colors).

The I.M.C.F. Cup is a semi-open event. Anyone can sign-up for it, but in case sign-ups exceed the amount of spots, priority will be given to players with a higher I.M.C.F. elo rating, players who are known as skilled in the micronational chess community, and players with macronational chess achievements.

The winner and runner-up of the I.M.C.F. Cup qualify for the Candidates Tournament.

The I.M.C.F. Grand Prix series

The I.M.C.F. Grand Prix series is a total of 4 single-round robin tournaments. 12 players will participate in the series, 9 of which will play in each tournament. Each player will participate in 3 out of 4 tournaments.

The I.M.C.F. Grand Prix series is a semi-open event. Anyone can sign-up for it, but in case sign-ups exceed the amount of spots, priority will be given to players with a higher I.M.C.F. elo rating, players who are known as skilled in the micronational chess community, and players with macronational chess achievements.

The winner of the I.M.C.F. Grand Prix series qualifies for the Candidates Tournament.