New Orleans Chess House Saturday Tournament

Location: The New Orleans Chess House, 1514 Poland Avenue, New Orleans LA 70117. Street parking is available. Access to the NOCH is via stairs with railings on either side.

Sections: Open and Under 1000. Playing up is permitted if the player rating is over 900 live or monthly rating. Sections are combined when the Under 1000 section has fewer than 5 players.

Rated Event: Our Saturday tournaments are rated by the US Chess Federation. There are Open and Under 1000 sections.

Prizes (guaranteed): A prize of $100 and free entry to the next Saturday tournament is offered to first place; an unrated blitz playoff tiebreak (5 minutes per side) may decide the winner in lieu of a "statistical tiebreak". Second place wins a free entry to the next Saturday tournament as well. For the Under 1000 section, there is a first place trophy prize, with unrated blitz tiebreaks possible (5 minutes per side).

Time: This event occurs on most Saturdays with registration closing at 4:50pm CST and games starting at 5:00pm CST.  The Under 1000 section typically ends much earlier than the total possible time; the Open section is expected to finish all games before 9:30pm CST. Players hoping to attend with a tight schedule are encouraged to take a first round bye to accommodate a late arrival or a last round bye to leave early.

Time Control: G/25 +5. Five rounds. Standard tournament chess. Players play all rounds unless they withdraw or arrange a half-point bye (an unrated draw instead of playing a game) ahead of time. Both players have 25 minutes total plus 5 seconds added every move to make all of their moves in the game. Writing the moves down is mandatory until time is below 5 minutes for either player. Official tournament rules apply such as the touch move rule (if you intentionally touch it and you can move it, you have to, including capturing your opponent's pieces if you touch them).

Entry: Entry fee is $40, which may be discounted with membership benefits (starting at $5/year -- see membership options for more details, including the Tournament-Only Plan). To enter, visit https://www.neworleanschesshouse.com/, become a member using the "MEMBERSHIP" button at the top, visit "EVENTS" from the bar of options (dropdown on mobile), and pick the tournament you want to join!