For the first time, the team championships for the prestigious Ruia Gold Cup will be played on a knockout basis after 15 rounds of Swiss league. Each round in the Swiss league will consist of 12 boards.

The expected 200 teams will be divided into two groups and the top 16 from each group will qualify for the round of 32. The qualified teams will play a knockout match over 32 boards in two session of 16 boards each. The pre-quarterfinals will be played over 36 boards in three sessions of 12 boards each. The quarter-finals, to be played using screens, will be over 42 boards in three sessions.

The screens will continue until the final, and semifinals will be over 48 boards divided into three sessions. The final will be held on November 13 and played over 64 boards divided into four sessions.

The board A match for the Dhampur Sugar Mills Trophy and the open pair's event for the Holkar Trophy will be three eliminations for both these events.

There will also be two categorised pairs events for masters and non-masters. For the masters event, each player will have to be a master or senior master, having at least 150 master points and not more than 400 master points as per the BFI list as on October 1, 1998.

For the non-masters, the players will have to have less than 150 master points.