Parents & Friends Tournament at the 2025 VA Scholastic Championships

Parents & Friends Tournament at the 2025 VA Scholastic Championships

Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, 2025

Monticello High School, 1400 Independence Way, Charlottesville, VA

What: Parents & Friends Tournament at the VA Scholastic Championships. For information about the Parents & Friends Blitz tournament on Friday March 7th see the separate announcement for Blitz at www.vachess.org.

When: Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, 2025, with Round 1 on Saturday at 12:45 pm.

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

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 using the Swiss System. This is NOT an elimination tournament!

Entry Fees and Registration:

• Entry Fees: $30 through February 28th; increases to $35 on March 1st and onsite. Entry onsite permitted on Friday March 7th and Saturday March 8th until 12 noon. Players who register after 12 noon on Saturday might not be paired until Round 2.
• Registration: On-line at www.vachess.org.
• One half-point Bye is available in any of the 4 rounds of the tournament.

Sections of Play: All players compete in one section.

Event Schedule for the Scholastic Sections:

• Friday & Saturday, March 8-9: Onsite Registration from 4-9 pm on Friday and 9 am until noon on Saturday. For information about the Parents & Friends Blitz Tournament, see www.vachess.org.
• Saturday: Rounds 1 and 2 at 12:45 pm and 4:45 pm.
• Sunday: Rounds 3 and 4 at 9:45 am and 1:45 pm.

Time Controls: All players’ clocks will be set each round using the time controls listed here.

• Round 1: Game-45 + 5 seconds of time increment. This means each player has a total of 45 minutes to complete all moves in each game, plus each player gets an additional 5 seconds after completing each move.
• Rounds 2-4: Game-60 + 5 seconds of time increment.

Ratings Used: Players will be paired using the higher of their US Chess over-the-board and online regular ratings found in the US Chess Rating Supplement for March 2025 (to be published by the US Chess Federation on or after Feb 21, 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. Ratings from platforms such as Chess.com, Chesskid.com, Lichess.com, and ICC are not used. The Chief TD makes the final decisions about all players’ ratings used in the tournament.

Awards: All awards are gift certificates to the onsite Chess Book & Equipment Store. There are no cash awards. Gift certificates must be redeemed onsite and cannot be exchanged for cash.

Player Eligibility: The Parents & Friends event is not open to players eligible to compete in the College or Scholastic sections of the main tournament. 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 the US Chess Federation through the VA Chess Federation saves you a little money.