2025 Virginia Scholastic & College BLITZ Championships

2025 Virginia Scholastic & College BLITZ Championships

Friday, March 7, 2025

Monticello High School, 1400 Independence Way, Charlottesville, VA

What: 2025 Virginia Scholastic & College Blitz Championships.

When: Friday, March 7, 2025, with Round 1 at 6:30 pm. Play usually ends about 8:30 pm.

Where: Monticello High School, 1400 Independence Way, Charlottesville, VA, 22902. Please DO NOT call the school for information about the chess tournament.

Player Eligibility: This event is open to anyone; Virginia residency is NOT required for our Blitz event!

Hotels: The Virginia Chess Federation has lodging options with several hotels near the school. The properties represent a range of selections and costs. See www.vachess.org for the options available. Some hotel options offer a lower price if you reserve your room(s) before the end of 2024!

Event Format: 4 rounds of play using the Swiss System. Each round is a “double-round”—e.g., in each round you play one game as White and the second game as Black. This is NOT an elimination tournament! NO BYES in Blitz. You play all rounds. Time Control is Game in 5 minutes (e.g., each player has 5 minutes to make all moves).

Entry Fees and Registration:

• Scholastic & College Blitz Entry Fee: $30 through February 28th; increases to $35 on March 1st through Wednesday, March 5th. Increases to $40 starting Thursday, March 6th and onsite.
• Parents & Friends Blitz Entry Fee: $15 through February 28th; increases to $20 on March 1st and onsite.
• Online Registration: www.vachess.org. Schools wanting to register and pay for their players as a group should contact Mike Hoffpauir, VA Chess Federation (see Note 2 below).
• Onsite Registration: Friday, March 7th, from 4:30-6 PM.
• For players who register for Blitz only, the VA Chess Federation will retain $5 from each Blitz entrant who withdraws before the start of Round 1.

Sections of Play: Games are in 4 sections:

• Grades Pre-K through 5
• Graded 6 through 12
• College
• (New for 2025) Parents & Friends (P&F)

Event Schedule for the Scholastic Sections:

• Friday, March 7th: Onsite Registration ends at 6 PM. Blitz Tournament starts at 6:30 pm. We will do our best to pair for Round 1 those players who enter after 6 PM, but this is not assured.
• Awards will be distributed during the rounds on Saturday. Blitz Awards will not be distributed on Friday evening unless the player is not participating in the Main Tournament on Saturday.

Time Control: Each Round is 2 games (one as White, one as Black), with the time control of Game-5 and no time delay. This means each player has a total of 5 minutes to complete all moves in each game.

Ratings Used: Players will be paired using the higher of their US Chess over-the-board and online regular and Blitz ratings found in the US Chess Rating Supplement for March 2025 (to be published by the US Chess Federation on or after Feb 21st, 2025). These same ratings determine eligibility for prizes. Established ratings have priority over provisional ratings. Ratings in other systems such as FIDE or from another country will be considered, especially when a player has no US Chess rating. We do not use ratings from platforms such as Chess.com, Chesskid.com, Lichess.com, and ICC. The Chief TD makes the final decision about players’ ratings used for the tournament.

Awards: Individual and Team trophies in Scholastic and College sections. If you have questions about the eligibility for players or teams, contact Mike Hoffpauir (see Note 2 below). Awards in P&F Blitz are Gift Certificates to the onsite Chess Books & Equipment Store.

Notes:

1. A current US Chess Federation membership is required for all participants. Renew your US Chess membership or become a new US Chess member through the VA Chess Federation at www.vachess.org and select the “Join US Chess” tab on the left side of the screen. Joining through the VA Chess Federation saves you a little money.
2. Event Organizer: Virginia Chess Federation, Mike Hoffpauir, Click here to show mail address, 757-846-4805 (text)