7th Edition Rule Book Free Chapters: Updated For 2023

Tim Just, Chief Editor of the 5th, 6th, and brand new 7th edition of the rule book.

At the 2018 Delegates Meeting in Middleton, Wisconsin, a motion passed to make portions of the 7^th Edition of the US Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess edited by Tim Just available on-line in a free, downloadable format. The most utilized chapters in past rulebooks were: Chapter 1 (Official Rules of Chess), Chapter 2 (Tournament Section), and Chapter 11 (Blitz Chess).

At the Special Delegates Meeting held online in 2020, it was decided to make Chapter 10 (Rules for Online Tournaments and Matches) also available for free download

At the 2021 Delegates Meeting in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a revised Chapter 9 for Correspondence Chess Rules was adopted and it was then decided to also make that chapter available here.

These 7^th edition chapters are now available for viewing and downloading at no cost using the below link. 

2023 Version (Effective 1/1/2023):

• Update File For 2023
• Chapter 1,2, 9, 10, and 11 Combined 

2021 Version (Effective 1/1/2020; Updated on 10/1/2021):

• Update File For 2020-2022
• Chapter 1,2, 9, 10, and 11 Combined 

With a simple point and click within the Table of Contents and on cross-referenced items, the rules become easily accessible. You can also do a text search within the PDF. The easy access of these on-line chapters makes excellent reference material for both the Tournament Director (TD) and player alike. TDs are encouraged to compare the on-line material to any printed material presented to them by players before making any rulings.

The full, unabridged paperback of the 7^th edition is available for purchase from US Chess Sales here. (Note: Due to an Amazon production delay, the 2021 print version will not be available until mid-October.) The eBook version is available via Amazon. Both of these have been updated for 2021/2021. These versions contain pairing rules, prize fund distribution rules, equipment standards, the US Chess Code of Ethics, rating information, correspondence rules, round robin tables, Tournament Director Certification regulations, an index, and much more. All chapters will cross reference rules for the entire book.

All TDs should have a complete copy of the 7^th edition of the rulebook either as an eBook or paperback copy. If you note any typos or other mistakes, please send them to dlucas@uschess.org and put “Rulebook” in the subject line.

Note: Rule 28A references pairing cards. As those are no longer available for purchase, you can download pdfs here, in three different colors, for you to print out: White, Green, Blue.

 

2020 Updates

Note: The 2020 updates of these chapters were uploaded on December 20, 2019 and incorporate the rules changes to 11D and 11D1 that go into effect on January 1, 2020 and also incorporate minor corrections.

UPDATE 1: Minor corrections were incorporated on May 11, 2020. Note: v7.1 of these chapters were uploaded on July 19, 2019 and incorporate minor corrections.

UPDATE 2: A new Chapter 10 (Rules for Online Tournaments and Matches), adapted at the Special Delegates Meeting on August 15, has been posted and goes into effect on August 21, 2020. The combined Chapter 1-2-11 download has been updated to include Chapter 10, and slightly revised individually downloadable Chapters 1 and 2 (updating Chapter 10 references) have been uploaded as well. 

UPDATE 3: "Update 2" files have been revised to fix various typos.

At the 2018 Delegates Meeting in Middleton, Wisconsin, a motion passed to make portions of the 7^th Edition of the US Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess edited by Tim Just available on-line in a free, downloadable format. The most utilized chapters in past rulebooks were: Chapter 1 (Official Rules of Chess), Chapter 2 (Tournament Section), and Chapter 11 (Blitz Chess). Those three 7^th edition chapters are now available, individually or packaged together, for viewing and downloading at no cost using the below links. After the Special Delegates Meeting on August 15-16, 2020, it was also decided to make Chapter 10 (Rules for Online Tournaments and Matches) also available for free download.

2020 Version (Effective 1/1/2020; Updated on 9/17/2020):

Update File For 2020 Chapter 1,2, 10, and 11 Combined 

 

Note: Rule 28A references pairing cards. As those are no longer available for purchase, you can download pdfs here, in three different colors, for you to print out: White, Green, Blue.

• Chapter 1 Only 
• Chapter 2 Only
• Chapter 9 Only (Correspondence Chess)
• Chapter 10 Only
• Chapter 11 Only

2019 Updates

2019 versions for reference:

Chapters 1, 2, and 11 Combined

Chapter 1 Only

Chapter 2 Only

Chapter 11 Only