Celebrating Chess: Scholastic and Open Tournament

Celebrating Chess: Scholastic and Open Tournament

Bunche Elementary School

700 S. Jackson, Midland, TX 79701

https://www.kingregistration.com/event/2023OctSchOpen

(Payment will be made through the STRIPE system, which works much better than the PAYPAL system used at the Region IX Tournament.)

Tournament Registration: Please use the online registration site listed above.

Early Entry Discount $20 before 11 pm on 10/12/2023. Please register online as early as possible. (Early entries help ensure a smooth event.) Withdrawals by 10/19/2023 may request a refund, minus $2.50 processing fee. No refunds after 10/19/2023. No player substitutions allowed.

Regular Entry $25 by 11 pm 10/19/2023; No online entries accepted after 11 pm on 10/19/2023.

Late On-site Entry $30 on day of event, cash or credit card. On-site Registration will be offered ONLY if there is room left in the event: 7:45 - 8:15 AM. All on-site Registrants will receive a first-round half-point bye. This means they will not play in the first round and they will start playing in round 2.  This will help us start the event on time.

Advance entries can be viewed online and will be physically posted at the playing site.  Everyone on that list will be paired for the first round. No check-in is needed unless errors need to be corrected.

Opening announcements at 8:45 AM. First round starts at: 9:00 AM

Lunch: Short break for lunch, probably after Round 3. 

Format: 5 Round Swiss, non-elimination. Everyone plays all day. Rounds for all sections will start ASAP. 

Equipment: Chess sets will be provided for tournament. Scoresheets provided. Players should bring pencils or pens to take notation. Please bring a delay-capable digital chess clock if you have one. (LABEL it with your name!)

Time Controls: G/30; d5.  If a game starts with no clock, you can expect a clock to be placed on the game if it goes long. Players arriving at the board more than 30 minutes late for any Round will forfeit the game and risk being removed from the tournament entirely.

Six Sections: Five sections for students and one section for adults and students rated over 1000. Students eligible for more than one section can choose which section they want to play in. Section changes are difficult after the tournament starts, so please ask before you register if you don’t understand the choices.

• Primary (Grades K to 3rd students with any rating or unrated.)
• Elementary (Grades K to 6th students with any rating.)
• Elementary Novice (Grades K to 6th students rated under 500 USCF or unrated.)
• Middle School (Grades 6th to 8th with any rating.)
• High School (Grades 9 to 12 with any rating.)
• Open Event (Adults with any rating and students rated 1000 or over. Those students can choose to play in Open or in their grade section).

(If any Scholastic section does not have enough entries, it may be merged with another scholastic section for pairing purposes, but awards will be given as advertised.)

USChess Memberships: All players in all sections must have a USChess membership. Obtain this BEFORE registering for the tournament. It must be paid for and valid (non-expired) for the month of October 2023. Tournament Directors will verify the membership on the USChess website. Purchase or renew a USChess membership online at www.uschess.org. Please do NOT select the option to “Pay Later” since that will not give you a valid expiration date.  Membership fees are $20 per year for players under age 19. Adult Memberships vary with age. Family Memberships are also available and may be more economical for some families.

Scorekeeping: Players should keep a record of all moves until either player has less than five minutes on the clock. See: https://www.chesskid.com/learn/videos/how-to-keep-score-algebraic-notation  

Byes: If player needs to miss a round, a bye can be requested for that round. One ½-point bye available for Rounds 1-4, if requested during registration ONLY. Additional byes will receive 0 points. No ½-point byes will be given for Round 5. Organizers cannot guarantee when any specific round will start. Consider this when requesting any byes.

Awards: Presented on-site at the conclusion of the event. If you cannot be present for the awards ceremony, you may designate IN WRITING a coach, friend or teammate to pick up your award for you. No awards will be mailed.

• • Trophies - Top 3 individuals in each scholastic section
  • Team Trophies: Top 2 Teams (Schools) in each scholastic section. (Sections will not be combined to calculate Team Trophies, even if they have to be combined for playing purposes.)
  • Medals to Scholastic Section players with positive score (at least 3.0 points) who do not receive a trophy.
  • Commemorative Ribbons to all Players
  • Cash Prize(s) for Open Section based on entries. To be announced at tournament.

TEAMS (Scholastic Sections Only)

A scholastic team will consist of students who attend the same school and play in the same section. The team score will be determined at the conclusion of the tournament to include the top four scores from that team. A school must have a minimum of two players in the same section in order to compete for a team award. A team may have any number of members, but only the top four scorers will count toward team competition.

Homeschool students may play as a team if they are members of (1) the same nuclear family or (2) a support group or co-op that provides academic learning (not just chess). Homeschool students who want to play as a team must contact Brenda Hardesty in advance of the tournament to get a team code (if their organization meets the TCA definition of a homeschool team). Homeschooled student may not play for a public school.

For Questions (email preferred): Brenda Hardesty, Click here to show mail address (325-853-2324, cell 325-716-0096)