VA Scholastic Championship Warmup Tournament

Virginia Scholastic Chess Championships
Warm-up Tournament

at George H. Moody Middle School in Richmond, VA

Saturday, February 28, 2026, with Round 1 at 9:30 AM.

Who: Players in Grades Pre-K through 12

What: A one-day tournament to help you prepare for the 2026 Virginia Scholastic Championships!

When: Saturday, February 28, 2026, with Round 1 at 9:30 AM.

Where: George H. Moody Middle School, 7800 Woodman Rd., Richmond, VA 23228

Registration and Fees: Register for $25 online at www.vachess.org by Sunday, Feb 22nd. Registration increases to $30 on Monday, Feb 23rd and $35 onsite at the tournament. Onsite Registration is from 8-9 AM, players who try to enter after 9 AM may not be paired for Round 1.

REGISTER NOW at this link or at www.vachess.org. 

Format:

• This is a “Swiss System” tournament, it is not an elimination event. The tournament will have 4 rounds of rated US Chess play, so everyone gets to play 4 games. Click here to read about a Swiss System chess tournament.
• Each player is allowed one, optional half-point Bye. Not sure what a “Bye” is? Click here to learn more about Byes in chess.
• Individual: Individual: 1st through 6th places in all 4 sections. Medals to players in all sections who finish with a 50% score (2 points) or better. Ribbons to all other players in the K-3 and K-5 Sections.
• Teams: 1st and 2nd place Teams in all 4 sections. A “team” is 2 or more players who attend the same school. A school is not required to have a formal ‘chess club’ to participate or be eligible for a team award. Players on a team must all compete in the same Section of the tournament. Parents or players with questions about home school teams should contact Mike Hoffpauir (Click here to show mail address, 757-846-4805) to understand the options available.

Sections: Players can compete in one of four sections: K-3, K-5, K-8, or K-12. All players must be members of the US Chess Federation.

Who can Play: Players in grades Pre-K through 12. This tournament is open to out-of-state players. FIRST-TIME PLAYERS ARE ALSO WELCOME!!!

Awards: There are individual and team awards.

Pre-Tournament Information Meeting: On Wednesday or Thursday, Feb 25th or 26th, at 7 PM or 7:30 PM we will schedule a 45-minute “Pre-Event Information Meeting” for anyone who wants to learn more about how the event will run. Information about this meeting will be posted on the Virginia Chess Federation website (Link). We will record the meeting for people unable to attend.

Tournament Schedule:

• Round 1 is at 9:30 AM. Follow-on rounds in each section will begin “as soon as possible” in each section after the previous round ends. We do not wait for all sections to finish a round before we start the next round. For example, it is possible for the K-3 and K-5 players to finish 4 rounds and receive their awards by 1 or 1:30 PM, while the K-8 and K-12 sections may be playing until 3:30 or 4 PM.
• We will have a 45-min to 1-hour Lunch Break during the tournament to allow players to eat.
• You might also want to bring a lawn chair or two just in case you need to use them.

Time Control: For all rounds except the final round, players will use Game-40 + 5 as their time control. This means each player has 40 minutes, plus an additional 5 seconds per move, to make all his/her moves for the game. The final round (Round 4) will use a time control of Game-60 + 5, which is the same time control we will use in Rounds 1-3 at the State Scholastic Championships.

Chess Equipment: We will provide chess and chess clocks for all games. IMPORTANT NOTE: We will NOT be providing chess clocks at the State Championships in March, so it is a very good idea for you to bring your own clock to the tournament at Moody Middle School, or to have one you can bring to the State Championships.

Chess Notation:

• All players competing in the K-5, K-8 and K-12 sections must take chess notation. In the K-3 Section chess notation is optional, but highly recommended.
• Players also should bring a pencil or pen and their “chess notebook” if they own one. We have a limited supply of pencils/pens. We will provide notation sheets for players who need them.
• We strongly recommend new players should watch a YouTube video on “Chess Notation” and then practice before the tournament so that the tournament is not their first experience with notation. ">This YouTube link provides a reasonably good video explaining Chess Notation.

Notes:

• Membership in the US Chess Federation is required for ALL players in this tournament.
• Membership can be purchased for a one or two-year timeframe. It authorizes a player to participate in any US Chess rated chess tournament in the U.S.A. US Chess membership is not a fee that must be paid for every tournament.
• To join US Chess, or to renew your existing membership, go to https://www.vachess.org/ and select the “Join US Chess” tab on the left side of the web page. A player who is an existing US Chess member, even if the membership has expired, needs to have his/her US Chess 8-digit ID number handy before starting the membership update process. Players do not need to be members of the Virginia Chess Federation to play in the tournament.
• Contact Mike Hoffpauir, National Tournament Director, at 757-846-4805 (cell/text), or email to: Click here to show mail address.

Need More Information?
- Contact Mike Hoffpauir, National Tournament Director, at 757-846-4805 (cell/text), or email to: Click here to show mail address.