Below are the rules for running a chess ladder competition.
1. Initial positions on the ladder are determined randomly. New members of the Club are added to the bottom of the ladder.
2. You may challenge anyone who is one, two, three, or four spots above you on the ladder. If you are challenged to a ladder game, and you are not already in a game, and if there are at least 60 minutes available to play, you must play. (A refusal to play is treated as a loss.) Ladder games must be played with a clock. The time limit is 30 minutes per player.
3. The player making the challenge plays White. The person being challenged plays Black.
4. If the lower-ranked player wins, the lower-ranked player takes the higher-ranked player’s spot on the ladder, and the higher-ranked player moves down one spot.
5. If the higher-ranked player wins, there is no change in the players’ rankings.
6. If the game ends in a draw, the lower-ranked player takes the spot just below the higher-ranked player. Draws by agreement must be approved by an arbiter.
7. After a ladder game is played, at least one of the players must play a ladder game against someone else before they are allowed to play each other again.
