Scholastic Chess Tournament at the Meadowdale Public Library

Scholastic Chess Tournament at the Meadowdale Public Library

Saturday, May 3, 2025, with Round 1 at 9:30 am

Place: Meadowdale Public Library, 4301 Meadowdale Blvd, North Chesterfield, VA. It’s a really nice place to play chess!!

Registration: www.vachess.org, or onsite at the library starting at 8:30 am on Saturday. Round 1 in the Scholastic Tournament is at 9:30 am. We will have an “Orientation to Tournament Chess” at 9 am for new players. We also will have a Tournament Information Meeting on Zoom on Thursday, May 1st for new players—check our website www.vachess.org as the tournament date nears.

Round 1 at 9:30 am. Registration will close at 9:00 am if you want to play in Round 1. We recommend any NEW players show up for our “Orientation to Tournament Chess” to be given onsite at 9 am or attend the Zoom meeting mentioned above.

Sections: Play is in 4 Sections:

• K-12 and K-5 Rated: For players in grades K-12 and K-5 who have or want to receive an official US Chess Federation rating. US Chess membership is required to play in this section. Players who already have official US Chess ratings will be paired using the higher of their US Chess Regular and over-the-board and online ratings from the May 2025 US Chess Rating Supplement.
• K-12 and K-5 Not Rated: This section is also for players in grades K-12 and K-5, but it is for those who are NEW to Chess and want to “test the waters” of tournament-style gameplay. K-12 players with US Chess ratings over 600 and K-5 players with US Chess ratings over 400 cannot play in this section. U.S. Chess Federation membership is NOT required in this section, but players will not receive an official US Chess rating after their games. If you are looking to get a rating, you need to play in either the K-12 or K-5 Rated sections.

Format: 4 Rounds, Swiss System. This is NOT an elimination event; each player plays 4 games. Click here to read about a Swiss System chess tournament.

Time Control: Rounds 1-3 played at Game-40 with 5-seconds of Time Delay per move. Round 4 played at Game-60 with 5-seconds of Time Delay per move. In Round 1 “Game 40, delay 5” means each player has 40 minutes of thinking time and the player’s clock “delays” for 5 seconds after each move before it starts counting down.

Schedule: Round 1 is at 9:30 am with later rounds played “as soon as possible” in each section. This means a player’s next game begins about 10 minutes after their last game finishes in the previous round for that section. The only round with a pre-scheduled start time is Round 1. Parents should expect K-5 games to last until about 2 pm. The K-12 games could easily go until 4 pm.

Eligibility: Players in grades Pre-K through 12, including home school and virtual school children. US Chess Federation membership is required to compete in the K-12 and K-5 Rated Sections.

Entry Fee: $25 in advance, $30 starting Thursday, May 1st and at the tournament site. Cash, checks, and credit cards accepted for entry.

Prizes: Trophies only, no cash awards. 1st-5th place Player and 1st-3rd place Team in all 4 Sections. Medals to players who score at least 2 points. A "team" is 2 or more players who attend the same school and are playing in the same section of the tournament. That school does not need to have a chess club or chess team, just two or more players who attend the same school. Contact Mike Hoffpauir (mhoffpauir@aol.com) if you are unsure whether your players can form a team. We hand out awards by section shortly after that section is finished; we don’t wait until the end of the whole tournament.

Chess Sets and Chess Clocks: We will provide sets and clocks for all games, but players are welcome to use their own clocks if their clock can be set to the proper time control.

Chess Notation: Notation is mandatory in the K-12 Rated Section. Notation is optional but very highly encouraged in all other sections. We will provide "score sheets" for players to take chess notation, but players need to bring their favorite pens or pencils.

FREE CHESS COACHING: VA Chess Federation Vice President Mike Callaham will be on hand to provide post-game analysis for players. BUT to get the free game analysis you need to have recorded your game using chess notation!!

Pre-Tournament Zoom Meeting. We will schedule a pre-tournament information meeting on Zoom. Our plan is to schedule this meeting for Thursday, May 1st, 2025 for 7 or 7:30 pm. Keep an eye on the VA Chess Federation website (www.vachess.org) for information.

Organized by the Virginia Chess Federation: Mike Hoffpauir, National Tournament Director; mhoffpauir@aol.com, 757-846-4805.

Many Thanks to: Mr. James Hudson, Branch Manager, Meadowdale Public Library. Without James’s initiative and the support of his wonderful staff, this tournament would not happen. Thank you, James!!