Parents & Friends Tournament at the VA Scholastic Championships

Parents & Friends Tournament at the VA Scholastic Championships

Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, 2024

William Fleming High School, 3649 Ferncliff Ave. NW., Roanoke, VA 24017

What: Parents & Friends Tournament at the VA Scholastic Championships

When: Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, 2024, with Round 1 on Saturday at 12:45 pm.

Where: William Fleming High School, 3649 Ferncliff Ave. NW, Roanoke, VA 24017. Please DO NOT call the school for information about the chess tournament.

Hotels: The Virginia Chess Federation has made arrangements with several hotels near the school. The properties represent a range of options 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 2023!

Event Format: 4 Rounds using the Swiss System. This is NOT an elimination tournament!

Entry Fees and Registration:

• Entry Fees: $30 through Friday, March 1st; increases to $35 on Saturday, March 2nd and on-site. Entry on-site permitted on Friday March 8th and Saturday March 9th until 12-noon. Players registering after 12-noon on Saturday risk not being 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 8-9th: On-site Registration from 4-9pm on Friday and 9am-noon on Saturday.

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 the complete each move.

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 2024 (to be published by the US Chess Federation on or after Feb 16, 2024). 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 on-site Chess Book & Equipment Store. There are no cash awards, and gift certificates must be redeemed on-site and cannot be exchanged for cash.

Player Eligibility: The 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 membership or become a new member at www.uschess.org and select the “Join” tab at the top of the screen. If you are a current member, please have your US Chess ID number handy.