Tag: Hill Country

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Joust 2024: A Casual Chess Event

The Santa Rita Knights Chess Club in Liberty Hill is organizing JOUST 2024! 
A casual chess event for players of all ages and levels to connect, compete for prizes and celebrate the game of chess! 
On Saturday, April 6, from 2 pm until 5 pm, there will be a continuous pyramid ladder tournament going on and lots of opportunity to hang out and play chess, together.
See our flyer and share it with your friends!
Location: 
Freestyle Community Center
75 Seward Junction Loop 
Liberty Hill, TX 78642
Free parking on the property 
Sections: 
It will be a casual, continuous pyramid ladder tournament. 
When registered, you’ll be placed in the pyramid. Throughout the event, you get to challenge a person from a rung above you. If you win that game, you switch places in the pyramid. 
Win your way to the top of the pyramid and compete for prizes! 
Time Control: 
We’ll play 10 minute games with a 5 second increment. 
No notation required. 
Schedule: 
The ladder tournament is continuous, you can play any time between 2 pm and 5 pm. 
If you leave early and get challenged, you’ll forfeit your position in the pyramid to the challenger. 
The event is set up as a casual event, we have fun and we are good sports. 
Entry fees:
$15 to register for the event. 
http://freestylesportstexas.as.me/registerforjoust2024

Prizes:
There will be trophies! Organizer is trying to work with local business to get fun prizes sponsored. 

Cancellation/withdrawal/no-show: 
No refunds. We insist on being great stewards of the game and create a safe, inviting environment for everyone. 

Questions:
Jasper Eden, jasper@freestylesportstexas.com
Santa Rita Knights on Facebook

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C.J. presents Chess in the Hill Country – Llano 2023 Scholastic Chess Tournament

Basics

An hour west of Austin the asphalt turns to lush hills and sparkling waters.  Llano is located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country – only 72 miles northwest of Austin and 90 miles northwest of San Antonio!

The Llano Chess Club was started November 2022 by C.J. Ares, a 5th grader at Llano Elementary.  Currently the club teaches chess at the Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday from 4-5:30 at the First Presbyterian Church,

CJ Ares is sponsoring the club’s inaugural Llano Scholastic Chess Tournament! The event will be organized by Rocks & Rooks. This is a USCF rated chess tournament on November 11, 2023 in three RATED scholastic sections: K-3, K-5, and K-12. 5SS; G/25, +5. 

View the Advance Entry List!

Thank you for playing! Visit our final standings page. The event has been rated by the USCF.

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

First Baptist Church of Llano
Fellowship Hall
907 Berry St
Llano, TX 78643

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 November 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.)

Each sections is named based on it’s grade level criteria – and is for students meeting that age range. Players do not need to have any previous tournament experience. (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. Organizer reserves the right to add or combine sections based on entries.

Please note: NOVEMBER 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.  FYI: Any event that takes place after October 18th will not affect your November supplement rating, as those events takes place after November ratings are calculated.

All players in this event must be in 12th grade (or lower). Adults, please register for the open event.

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!
Onsite Registration 8-8:30am only IF space is available.
8:30 a.m Announcements begin in the scholastic playing room. Players and coaches/parents should be present.
9:00 a.m. Rd 1 begins. Scholastic sections have 5 rds, G/25, +5.
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 section changes, byes, withdrawals, etc. go in effect immediately if made via email before the close of online registration. Changes requested onsite go into effect as of round 2. Onsite registrations may receive a 1st round bye if arriving too close to the start of the tournament. Please arrive to register onsite no later than 8:15am!

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. Number of trophies will depend on number of entries. Chess medals will go to all players that finish the tournament with a positive score (3.0 & 3.5 points). Trophies to players scoring 4.0 and above.

Registration Information

Entry fees are staggered and we’d like for you to register early! Online registration is now closed, so please register onsite!

  • $15 if received by Saturday, 10/28/2023, 11:59 p.m. CST.
  • $25 thru Thursday,11/9/2023, 12:00 noon CST.
  • $30 On-site

Withdrawals requested via email before online registration closes are eligible for a refund (minus a $5 service fee to cover CC processing fees).

No refunds for USCF memberships after purchased from the USCF. NO email/phone entries.

Byes

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 11/10/2023. All 1/2-point byes must be requested/removed before the end of round 2.

Questions?

For registration questions – contact  Lori Balkum, registrar (registrar@AustinChessTournaments.com).  No phone calls, please. Emails will be returned promptly.

For questions about Llano and the chess venue – contact JoLeigh Ares, sponsor (joleighares@yahoo.com)

View our ONLINE TLA!