Antichess Olympiad 2026 Rules • page 1/1 • www.antichess.org • lichess.org

Hello Everyone.

This thread is to announce the rules for the Antichess Olympiad 2026. While most of the rules are the same as last year, there are a few new things and some changes from last year.
The full rules are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OsCm-qxbFXnaJlIgs_bByageO5p_2-F2LN5QKnbpKro/edit?usp=sharing

The TLDR version of the rules is (please still read the rules for specifics):

Format same as last year (Swiss + Knockout)
Slight change to team balancing criteria
Teams from countries/regions this year
Time controls same as last year
No public cheating accusations
Stricter eligibility criteria to prevent cheats, and high penalties for teams whose players get banned by lichess

If the rules get updated, I will mention it in this thread. Please don't post anything else here.

The tournament will start on 12th May 2026.

Hello Everyone. This thread is to announce the rules for the Antichess Olympiad 2026. While most of the rules are the same as last year, there are a few new things and some changes from last year. The full rules are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OsCm-qxbFXnaJlIgs_bByageO5p_2-F2LN5QKnbpKro/edit?usp=sharing The TLDR version of the rules is (please still read the rules for specifics): - Format same as last year (Swiss + Knockout) - Slight change to team balancing criteria - Teams from countries/regions this year - Time controls same as last year - No public cheating accusations - Stricter eligibility criteria to prevent cheats, and high penalties for teams whose players get banned by lichess If the rules get updated, I will mention it in this thread. Please don't post anything else here. The tournament will start on 12th May 2026.

cFlour

Update: The idea for registration into teams has been dropped. You can make a team with anybody you wish, as long as the team satisfies eligibility criteria.

cFlour

Clarfification regarding a certain situation in a match:

If your opponent disconnects while a game is going on, and you get the button which asks you to "Claim a Win" or "Call a Draw", do not hit "Claim a Win".

If you want, you can call a draw. Otherwise, wait until the opponent's clock reaches 0 and let the game finish as time out, and not "_ left the game".

From now onwards, if a player hits the "Claim a Win" button, they will not get the win for that game. Their opponent will decide what to do about that game (either draw, win for the player who got disconnected, or replay the game).

Clarfification regarding a certain situation in a match: If your opponent disconnects while a game is going on, and you get the button which asks you to "Claim a Win" or "Call a Draw", do not hit "Claim a Win". If you want, you can call a draw. Otherwise, wait until the opponent's clock reaches 0 and let the game finish as time out, and not "_ left the game". From now onwards, if a player hits the "Claim a Win" button, they will not get the win for that game. Their opponent will decide what to do about that game (either draw, win for the player who got disconnected, or replay the game).

cFlour

Quick Update: How Forfeits Work

We’ve had a few questions about forfeits lately, so here is exactly how they are handled.

The Baseline Score: If you have a legitimate forfeit claim, you automatically get a minimum win of 72–0.
Extra Points: In exceptional cases, admins can bump that score up to a maximum of 144–0.
The Scoring Scale: Forfeits are scaled in eighths (increments of 18 points). For a totally unplayed match, the only possible forfeit scores are 72, 90, 108, 126, or 144.
How We Decide: Extra points depend on how much effort you put into scheduling and whether your team needs the push to reach a total team score of 289 to win the overall match.

Examples of How This Looks in Practice:

Scenario 1 (72–0): You and your opponent agreed on a specific time to play, but they didn't show up. Because scheduling communication happened, you receive the standard 72–0 win.
Scenario 2 (108–0 or higher): Your opponent wasn't clear in communication or didn't make any effort to schedule, while you tried your absolute best to set up the match. Depending on the severity, you will get 108–0 or above from the allowed scale to help your team hit that 289 milestone.
Scenario 3 (144–0): Your opponent completely refused to schedule, and your team is too far behind to reach 289 points regardless of this match outcome. In this severe case, you will be awarded the maximum 144–0 win.
Scenario 4 (Mid-Match Forfeits): If you already played some games of the match before the forfeit happened, the forfeit points won't be the full amount. Instead, the score will be scaled down based only on the remaining games left to play.
Example: If your current score is tied at 24–24 and you both agreed to play the rest of the games later, but that "later" never happened, your effort to reschedule the remaining games determines your points. If a Scenario 1 forfeit happens here (they miss the agreed rescheduled time), you get half of the points for the remaining games, making the final score 72–24.

A Quick Reminder For Everyone:
To keep things fair and maximize your team's overall score, please try to play as many games as you can. Even if you don't have enough time to finish the full match, getting a few games completed helps your team a lot more than walking away with a total forfeit!

Quick Update: How Forfeits Work We’ve had a few questions about forfeits lately, so here is exactly how they are handled. * **The Baseline Score:** If you have a legitimate forfeit claim, you automatically get a minimum win of **72–0**. * **Extra Points:** In exceptional cases, admins can bump that score up to a maximum of **144–0**. * **The Scoring Scale:** Forfeits are scaled in eighths (increments of 18 points). For a totally unplayed match, the only possible forfeit scores are **72, 90, 108, 126, or 144**. * **How We Decide:** Extra points depend on how much effort you put into scheduling and whether your team needs the push to reach a total team score of **289** to win the overall match. Examples of How This Looks in Practice: * **Scenario 1 (72–0):** You and your opponent agreed on a specific time to play, but they didn't show up. Because scheduling communication happened, you receive the standard **72–0** win. * **Scenario 2 (108–0 or higher):** Your opponent wasn't clear in communication or didn't make any effort to schedule, while you tried your absolute best to set up the match. Depending on the severity, you will get **108–0 or above** from the allowed scale to help your team hit that **289** milestone. * **Scenario 3 (144–0):** Your opponent completely refused to schedule, and your team is too far behind to reach **289** points regardless of this match outcome. In this severe case, you will be awarded the maximum **144–0** win. * **Scenario 4 (Mid-Match Forfeits):** If you already played some games of the match before the forfeit happened, the forfeit points won't be the full amount. Instead, the score will be scaled down based only on the **remaining games** left to play. * *Example:* If your current score is tied at **24–24** and you both agreed to play the rest of the games later, but that "later" never happened, your effort to reschedule the remaining games determines your points. If a Scenario 1 forfeit happens here (they miss the agreed rescheduled time), you get half of the points for the remaining games, making the final score **72–24**. A Quick Reminder For Everyone: To keep things fair and maximize your team's overall score, please try to play as many games as you can. Even if you don't have enough time to finish the full match, getting a few games completed helps your team a lot more than walking away with a total forfeit!