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4th Austin Chess Tour: Open Qualifier #4

The Austin Grandmaster Chess Academy is hosting an Open USCF Rated Tournament on April 18, 2026 starting at 10:00 AM.  USCF Membership required.  Capacity: 100 players!

LOCATION:
Austin Grandmaster Chess Academy
12466 Los Indios Trail, Ste 100
Austin, TX 78729
Free parking provided!

 

TOURNAMENT STYLE:
4SS, time controls determined by section
SECTION A:  1800 +  USCF rated
SECTION B:  1400 – 1799  USCF rated
SECTION C:  1000-1399 USCF rated
SECTION D:  U1000 USCF rated

*USCF MEMBERSHIP IS REQUIRED*
**Players are not allowed to play up or down**

 

RATING INFORMATION:
● April 2026 official USCF ratings will be used.
● Unofficial USCF ratings will be used if unrated or to play in a
higher section.
● Players must reveal foreign, FIDE, and other over-the-board
ratings. These ratings will be adjusted, if necessary, and may be
used if they are higher than USCF ratings.

 

Sections A & B (all rounds G/60, d5)
●  1st round: 10:00 AM
●  2nd round: 12:15 AM
●  Lunch break: 2:30 PM
●  3rd round: 3:30 PM
●  4th round: 5:45 PM

Sections C & D (all rounds G/45, d5)

●  1st round: 10:00 AM
●  2nd round: 11:45 AM
●  Lunch break: 1:30 PM
●  3rd round: 2:30 PM
●  4th round: 4:15 PM

●  Closing ceremony for any section takes place after the last game finishes for that section.
NOTE: Half-point byes are acceptable for all rounds, limit 1. Must commit before the 1st round.

Players may not posses cell phones during the tournament. Any violators may be subject to disqualification and forfeiture.

 

ENTRY FEES:
●  Early Bird: $50  by March 28th at 11:59 pm.
●  $60 March 29th through 11:59p on April 13th
●  $75 on or after April 13th

For additional questions, please contact us at info@austin-chess.com

Link for registration: https://austin-chess.com/tournaments/act-4-open-qualifier-2/

PRIZES:
●  Section A : $400, $200, $100
●  Section B: $200, $100, $50
●  Section C: $100, $75, $50
●  Section D: Chess books
Medals will be awarded to the top 3 finishers in each section.

Playup fees will be added to prizes so some section prizes may be higher.

NOTE: Players who win prizes must provide us with their Paypal information or wait until the section is completed to receive cash prizes.

 

OPEN QUALIFIER POINTS:
The top 10 places in Section A will earn points according to the following table
1st Place: 25 OQ Points
2nd Place: 18 OQ Points
3rd Place: 15 OQ Points
4th Place: 12 OQ Points
5th Place: 10 OQ Points
6th Place: 8 OQ Points
7th Place: 6 OQ Points
8th Place: 4 OQ Points
9th Place: 2 OQ Points
10th Place: 1 OQ Points

For more information about the point system, visit https://austin-chess.com/tournaments/

 

PLAY UP FEE: Play up fee is $0.50 per rating point below the section, up to 100 points. We use the higher of Live rating or Current Monthly Ratings to calculate the fee. Playup fee is a guarantee you will play up. There are no refunds for playup fee including Withdrawals Your rating becomes above the rating needed to play the section Your rating becomes lower than the 100 points less threshold AGAIN IT IS A GUARANTEE YOU WILL PLAY IN THE SECTION YOU ARE PAYING FOR All sales for playup fee are final!

CANCELLATION POLICY: If you do not wish to participate in our tournament after paying the entry fee, please email us at info@austin-chess.com no later than 24 hours in advance.  We reserve the right to charge a $20 service fee for cancellations.  NO refunds will be issued if we are notified of cancellation within 24 hours of the start of the event.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY: If you would like to withdraw from the tournament after it begins, please alert the tournament director. 
NO refunds will be issued after the tournament begins.

NO-SHOW POLICY: There are NO refunds or credit for players who do not show up for their scheduled tournament matches.

Please contact us at info@austin-chess.com for any additional questions or concerns. 

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Waco March 21 Swiss

Waco March 21 Swiss
4 Round Swiss Tournament (G/45;d5) with 3 sections (Champ, U1601, U1000)
Sections
● Championship- Ratings 1600+ (1400-1599 may play up for $10 fee)
● Under 1601- Ratings 1000-1600 (800-999 may play up for $10 fee)
● Under 1000- Ratings 0-999
 
Rounds & Times
Four Rounds at a time control of G/45;d5
● 9:30 to 9:50 AM – Check-in & Pay
All players must check in by 9:50 am
● 10:00 AM – Round 1
● 11:45 AM – Round 2
● 2:00 PM – Round 3
● 3:45 PM – Round 4
 
Entry Fee & Prizes
● $20 – Cash only. Paid on arrival to the tournament. There is a $10 PLAY-UP FEE for those playing up to a higher section.
● Cash Prizes, based on the number of entries. The prize list will be posted on-site.
 
Registration
● Limited Capacity of 70 players!
● Register online to ensure you get a spot. No payment will be taken online.
**Click Here for More Details and Registration**
● Because we do not accept advance payment, anyone not checked in by 9:50 a.m. will not be paired in Round 1. If you are running late and notify us that you are on the way, we will pair you for Round 1; however, your clock will start when the round begins.
 
Location
● Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, 1624 Wooded Acres Dr. Waco, TX 76710 (Behind Target Shopping Center)
o Enter through the main doors and turn right. The tournament room is at the end of the hallway.
o Free parking on-site
 
Details
● Bring a clock if you have one. The club has limited supplies. We provide sets.
● US Chess Membership is required. Please be responsible for your membership before the event.
● Notation is requiredPlease bring a pen or pencil. Notation sheets will be available if needed.
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Open Section at the 2023 Spring NYOS Scholastic Chess Tournament

Link to the Final Results

Link to the Rated Results on USCF’s site

USCF rated chess tournament on April 1, 2023 for adults and more advanced scholastic players.  Online registration is closed. (Refunds for withdrawals are no longer available.)

Please register onsite ($50 regardless of age. Cash or venmo only. First round play requires registration and payment before 8:45am.)
Verify your entry on the preregistration list.

Please review the player reminder email.

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

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 (bring your own if at all possible), and mandatory notation. If registrations exceed 32, we reserve the right to will split into two sections.

USCF rated chess tournament for adults and more advanced scholastic players.  Online registration is closed. (Refunds for withdrawals are no longer available.)
Please register onsite ($50 regardless of age. Cash or venmo only. First round play requires registration and payment before 8:45am.)

Please review the player reminder email.

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.

Link to the Pairings, Wall Charts, and Standings

Location

NYOS Charter School
12333 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753

Eligibility

All adults
Any youth who have reached 1400 at some point in their ratings’ history.

Ineligible entries will be moved to the appropriate scholastic section of the 2023 Spring NYOS Scholastic Chess TournamentThis 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.

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!
9:00 a.m. Open section begins. Open has 4 rounds, all rounds are are G/45, d5.
No changes for round 1 (bye or section) allowed after online registration closes. Requests for byes, withdrawals, player info edits be made onsite with your chief TD and go into effect as of round 2.

Approximate Round Times

Open Section:
rd 1 – 9:00am, rd2 – 11:00am, rd3 – 1:00pm, rd4 – 3:00pm

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.

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

Proper handwashing and adherence to COVID 19 exposure guidelines mandatory!

Awards

Cash prizes (to winners in both sections, in the case of multiple sections), based on number of entries. 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.

*Super Early entry (youth $35, adult $30) thru Saturday, 2/11/2023.
*Early entry (youth $40, adult $30) thru Saturday, 2/25/2023.
*Regular entry (youth $45, adult $35) thru Saturday, 03/18/2023.
*Late entry (youth $50, adult $40) begins Sunday, 03/19/2023 and ENDS at NOON on Wednesday 03/29/2023, at which time online entry closes.
*If space permits, onsite registration will be permitted, $50 regardless of age. Cash or venmo only. First round play requires registration and payment before 8:45am.

Withdrawals requested via email before noon on Wednesday, 03/29/2023 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.

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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).