Hybrid Competition Rules

Effective: June 2026 · Format: Alternating mat rounds and chess games with a single, scaled clock link. Supersedes v1.1.

1. Overview

ROLL CHESS is a hybrid competition where mat performance sets the clock you take to the board. Competitors alternate between a Mat Phase (timed BJJ sparring or positional rounds) and a Board Phase (standard chess, rapid or blitz per tier). One mat score drives one clock adjustment — no second penalty system.

2. Equipment

• Standard chess set and clock (digital required for sub-second scaling)
• BJJ gi or no-gi per event rules
• Mat area and board area separated but visible to both competitors
• ROLL CHESS clock card or trainer app to compute the adjustment

3. Match Structure

3.1 Default Format (Standard Hybrid)

3.2 Sprint Format

One 4-minute mat round → one 5+3 blitz game. Used for brackets and open mat nights.

4. The Clock Engine

4.1 One mat score (RMS)

Each mat round produces a single Round Mat Score from −25 to +20. This is the only mat output.

4.1.1 Tap timing (anti-gaming)

A tap is scored on a clock so it cannot be used to skip a hard round cheaply. An immediate tap is the maximum −25; the penalty eases the longer you genuinely defend, down to a floor of −15 for a tap in the final stretch of the round.

You can never tap your way to a soft landing — bailing early costs the most.

4.2 Conversion to board time

The RMS converts continuously into a starting-time adjustment, expressed as a fraction of the game's base time — so it scales correctly across every time control and has no band cliffs.

The loss cap is deliberately larger than the gain cap: a mistake on the mat costs more than dominance pays. The asymmetry is fixed and bounded — it can no longer stack into a runaway deficit.

4.3 Scaling examples (Medium tier)

Worked example, Medium, 10+5: a dominant Mat 1 (RMS +18) gives Δt = 600 × 5% × (18÷20) = +27s, so Board 1 starts at 10:27. A tap in Mat 2 (RMS −20) gives 600 × 8% × (20÷25) = −38s, so Board 2 starts at 9:22.

4.4 Floor

Starting time never drops below 60% of base. Every board game stays real chess.

4.5 Heavy-tier increment clause (optional)

On a tap at Heavy tier, the first 5 board moves earn no increment, so the deficit cannot be instantly refilled.

5. The Readiness Spectrum (display & tiebreak)

A 0–100 readiness gauge starts at 50 and is nudged by RMS ÷ 2 each round (clamped 0–100). In v1.2 it is a running picture of your night and a tiebreaker only — it no longer sets the clock. The Clock Engine (Section 4) owns time. This removes the v1.1 problem where the spectrum and a separate penalty table both taxed the same mat event.

6. Carryover

• The mat resets to a neutral start every round.
• Each board game's time adjustment comes only from the mat round immediately before it. Adjustments do not stack across the match.
• The readiness spectrum is the one value that accumulates across the night, for display and the aggregate-spectrum tiebreak.

7. Winning the Match

Most board points (win = 1, draw = 0.5 each). Tiebreakers, in order: aggregate spectrum, total RMS, then an Armageddon blitz.

8. Divisions

9. Trainer Alignment

The ROLL CHESS Trainer v0.6 simulates these rules. Training Mode is consequence-free; Recovery Mode applies the Clock Engine at the chosen tier with live RMS readout.

ROLL CHESS v1.2 — One mat score, one scaled clock. Mat performance is board preparation.