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2023 Spring NYOS Scholastic Chess Tournament

April 1st Scholastic chess tournament in multiple sections. G/30, d5. Trophies and medals awarded.
Online registration closed at noon  on Wednesday, 3/29/23.  NO late scholastic entries. No exceptions. Please email if you need to withdraw.  Refunds are no longer available.
Review the PreRegistration List

Please review the parent/player reminder email!

Link to the Final Standings

Link to the rated results on USCF’s site.

We will be having a chess puzzle contest (on paper) from 12-12:30pm (between rounds 2 & 3) in the gym. Register onsite at Chess Control before 11:50 am. ($5 cash or Venmo). Prizes to the top finishers in 4 different grade groupings:  K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and 6-12.

The NYOS Chess Club will offer concessions (cash or venmo) in Building A in the Cafeteria. Breakfast items and coffee will be available when you arrive. Snacks and drinks are available all day long. Cyclo will be offering Sesame chicken and veggie bowls for lunch, and Culver’s frozen treats are available in the afternoon. The concession stand will be benefiting the NYOS chess club as well as the school itself.

Basics

USCF rated chess tournament on April 1st in multiple RATED scholastic sections: K-3 U300, K-3 U500, K-3 U800, K-5 U300, K-5 U500,  K-5 U800, K-5 U1000,  6-12 U600, 6-12 U1000, and K-12 Elite (for players rated 950-1400). Please note: all scholastic players rated 1400 and over must play in the Open section. View the preregistration list online. Please note, at the event pairings will be posted only online.  

This is a Swiss-system tournament, so everyone plays all day—there is no “elimination.” Players must know how to play the game of chess! We follow USCF rules including: touch-move, mandatory clocks if available, and notation. K-3 and younger sections are excused from taking notation. Please review the Parent/Coach Responsibilities before registering

Location

NYOS Charter School
12333 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753

Eligibility

This is a rated tournament. You must have a USCF ID and your membership (can be purchased/renewed at check out or online with the USCF in advance of registration) . You can verify your USCF membership ID and expiration by visiting the USCF’s Member Services Area. Anyone can become a USCF member. Players new to tournament chess are welcome to play. Your USCF membership cannot expire before April 30, 2023. USCF memberships can be renewed/purchased at check-out. (New players in 3rd grade and below may request a non-member ID as a part of USCF’s Junior Tournament Player program during registration. JTPs ok in K-3 sections only.)

“Under” sections are only for students meeting the rating criteria. All players who are new to tournaments are eligible for their age appropriate ‘under’ section. (Look up your player’s rating here. Please email the registrar or ask your chess coach for placement information.
If your 6th grader attends an Elementary School, please contact the registrar for options. With enough registrations, any section may be divided into two sections. Sections with fewer than 20 entries may be merged into a similar section.

Please note: MARCH 2023 ‘Regular’ OTB ratings will be used for pairing purposes. If no regular rating is available, then other USCF ratings (quick, blitz, online) can and will be considered for section placement.  Requests to play down will not be honored. FYI: The 2023 Region VI Championship rating results will NOT make it into the March Supplement, as that event takes place after March ratings are calculated.

All players in this event must be in 12th grade (or lower).

Schedule

No check-in necessary for preregistrations. We will make every attempt to contact you in advance if we see a problem with your registration. Verify your entry ONLINE!
8:30 a.m Announcements begin in all scholastic playing rooms.
Players and coaches should be present.
9:00 a.m. Rd 1 begins. Scholastic sections have 5 rds, G/30, d5.
9:00 a.m. Open section (different event allowing adults) begins.
 Open has 4 rounds, all rounds are are G/45, d5.
9:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Problem desk open. No changes for round 1 (bye or section) allowed after online registration closes. Requests for byes, withdrawals, and player or school information edits go in effect immediately if made via email before the close of online registration. Changes requested onsite go into effect as of round 2. NO Onsite registrations.

Approximate Round Times

Scholastic Sections:
round 1 – 9:00am, rd 2 – 11:00am, rd 3 – 12:45 pm, rd 4 – 2:30 pm
rd 5 – 4:00 pm

Notes

There will be some “down time” between rounds since many games will finish early. We will provide an area (outside the tournament room) for casual “skittles” chess and/or other indoor activities. Parents and/or coaches, please provide age-appropriate activities during the time between rounds. The organizers cannot baby-sit. No child should be left unattended!

Concessions TBA.  Only water bottles allowed at the chess board.

Proper handwashing and adherence to COVID 19 exposure guidelines mandatory!

Awards

Trophies & Medals to Top Contenders! Ribbons to all participants! Trophies to the top individuals in each scholastic section. Trophies to the top teams in all sections. Number of individual and team trophies will depend on number of entries. Chess medals will go to all players (excluding Open section) that finish the tournament with a positive score (3.0 & 3.5 points). Trophies to players scoring 4.0 and above. No teams in Open section, but special trophies will be awarded to the highest scoring Family & Child teams (Uncles, Aunts, Adult siblings, Parents, or Grandparents paired with at least one scholastic aged player.)

Registration Information

Entry fee pricing is staggered and based on date of entry/payment. Online registration is now closed.  NO onsite registrations accepted.

*Super Early entry $35 thru Saturday 2/11/2023.
*Early entry $40 thru Saturday 2/25/2023.
* Regular entry $45 thru Saturday, 3/18/2023.
*Late entry $50 begins Sunday, 3/19/2023 and ENDS at NOON on Wednesday 03/29/2023, at which time online entry closes.
*No onsite entries allowed. No entries accepted after online registration closes.

Withdrawals requested via email before NOON on Wednesday 3/29/23 are eligible for a refund (minus a $5 service fee). No refunds for USCF memberships after purchased from the USCF. NO email/phone entries.

Please request byes when you register if possible. First bye receives 1/2-point. Further byes receive 0-points. Email the registrar to make changes to your requested byes. Deadline to add or remove a 1st round requested bye is 9am Friday 03/31/2023. All 1/2-point byes must be requested/removed before the end of round 2.

Email Lori Balkum, registrar (registrar@AustinChessTournaments.com) with other questions. No phone calls, please. Emails will be returned promptly.

Organized by Rocks & Rooks. Gary Gaiffe, tournament organizer (ggaiffe@att.net).