Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

January 13, 2011

This newsletter is sent to families who participate in Virginia Scholastic Chess Association tournaments. The VSCA is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to promoting scholastic chess in central and southeastern Virginia. Please email news@vschess.org to subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address.



Manchester Scholastic (Grades K-12 and Adult)

Registration is now open for the 4th annual Manchester Scholastic tournament, to be held Saturday, January 29, 2011 at Manchester Middle School in Chesterfield County. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday morning, January 27.

Players are divided into five sections: The Open section will play 4 rounds (time controls G/40, G/40, G/60, G/60) with no team competition; players from the same school may be paired against each other. The number of rounds and time controls may be adjusted based on the number of entries. Scholastic players in the Open section should have a USCF rating of 1000 or above.

Trophies will be awarded to the the top 5 individuals and to the top 3 school teams in the K-3, K-5, K-8 and K-12 sections, and to the top 5 individuals in the Open section. Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is required for all players. Please visit www.vschess.org for information and to register online.

A complete scholastic chess calendar of Virginia and national events is available at www.vschess.org/chess-calendar.



Cape Henry Scholastic (Grades K-12, USCF-rated and Non-rated)

The first annual Cape Henry Scholastic Tournament, organized by the Virginia Chess Federation, will be held on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at the Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This event includes K-5 USCF-rated, K-5 Non-rated, K-12 USCF-rated and K-12 Non-rated sections. U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) membership is not required for the Non-rated sections and the results will not be reported to USCF. USCF members with a rating below 400 (K-5) or 800 (K-12) may play in the Non-rated sections if they wish. Details and online registration will be available soon on the VCF website, www.vachess.org.



Hampton Sports Festival Scholastic (Grades K-12, USCF-rated and Non-rated)

Registration is now open for the Hampton Sports Festival Scholastic, organized by the Virginia Chess Federation, to be held on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia. The scholastic event includes K-5 USCF-rated, K-5 Non-rated, K-12 USCF-rated and K-12 Non-rated sections. U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) membership is not required for the Non-rated sections and the results will not be reported to USCF. USCF members with a rating below 400 (K-5) or 800 (K-12) may play in the Non-rated sections if they wish. Details and online registration are available now on the event web page, www.vachess.org/tournaments/HRSF/HRSF_schol.html.

The Hampton Sports Festival offers two other chess events in addition to the scholastic tournament: A Simultaneous Chess Exhibition by International Master Oladapo Adu on Friday evening, February 18, and the Hampton Sports Festival Chess Championship (USCF-rated, USCF membership required) on Saturday-Sunday, February 19-20. For details on both of these events, visit the Hampton Sports Festival Chess Activities web page at www.vachess.org/tournaments/HRSF/HRSF_main.html.



Virginia State Championships (Grades K-12 and College)

Registration is now open for the Virginia Scholastic & Collegiate Chess Championships, organized by the Virginia Chess Federation, to be held on Friday, March 18 through Sunday, March 20, 2011 at Grafton Middle & High Schools in Yorktown, Virginia. The state tournament will feature two separate events: the blitz championships at 6:00 pm Friday evening, and the main tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The blitz tournament will have five double-blitz rounds and three sections: K-5, K-12 and Collegiate. The main event will have six rounds and five sections: K-3, K-5, K-8, K-12 and Collegiate. Details and online registration are available now on the Virginia Chess Federation website, www.vachess.org/scholastics/10-11 State Ch/Home10-11.html.



What if it Snows?

Snow and other winter weather is always a possibility at this time of year. We make every effort to hold our tournaments as scheduled, but occasionally we do have to cancel an event due to safety concerns and school regulations. If we have to cancel a tournament, we will post a notice on the VSCA website www.vschess.org as soon as a decision is made, and we will also email a notice to everyone who has registered. If you have mailed a check in advance we will refund your payment. Please be sure your email address is correct when you register in case we need to contact you.



Hopewell Scholastic Results

75 scholastic players participated in the December 11 Hopewell Scholastic tournament at Hopewell High School. In the K-3 section, Jacqueline Yu won the first-place trophy with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. The Collegiate School won the K-3 first-place team trophy. In the K-5 section, Ryan Balser won the first-place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points. Three Chopt Elementary School won the K-5 first-place team trophy. In the K-8 section, Will Overman won the first-place trophy with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. Short Pump Middle School won the K-8 first-place team trophy. In the K-12 section, Cameron Currier won the first-place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points. The Currier Home School won the K-12 first-place team trophy.

Congratulations to all of these players and to all of our tournament participants. Complete tournament results are available at www.vschess.org/results.



Help!

The VSCA needs your help. All of our staff are unpaid volunteers, and we desperately need more parents to help with organizing and running our tournaments. You don't need any previous experience. Some of the jobs require a basic knowledge of chess, but many do not. You can volunteer with a friend if you like, and divide the work.

In no particular order, these are some of the things we need help with: If you would like to help, or want more information, please reply to this email. Thank you!



Tournament Registration and Entry Fees

Advance registration for VSCA tournaments is ONLINE ONLY at www.vschess.org, and closes at 7:00 AM on the Thursday before the tournament. In order to accurately process entries, we cannot accept mail, phone or e-mail registrations. The advance registration entry fee of $7 may be paid by mail (preferred) or at the tournament. Players who do not register before the 7:00 AM Thursday deadline can register at the tournament between 8:00 and 8:45 am on Saturday, but they will need to pay the late entry fee of $14. Players who register later than 8:30 am on Saturday may or may not be paired for the first round, depending on the number of late registrations.

Please note that this registration and fee information applies only to Virginia Scholastic Chess Association events. It does NOT apply to the Virginia Scholastic & Collegiate Championships in March, or to other events organized by the Virginia Chess Federation.



Tournament Check-in

In order to help us complete registration and start our tournaments on time, please check in at the registration desk by 8:45 am, even if you have mailed in your payment. This will minimize the number of names that we have to call in order to check attendance, and will also allow our volunteers to close registration and balance the books earlier. Players arriving after 8:45 am (8:30 am if you have not registered in advance) will risk not being paired for the first round.

If you have registered online, but later find that you will not be able to attend, please email results@vschess.org by Friday night so that we can withdraw your name. If you have to change your plans at the last minute and will be absent or late, please try to let someone else know so they can tell us at registration.



USCF Membership

Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is REQUIRED in order to play in VSCA tournaments, except for sections specifically designated as non-rated. In order to avoid delays on Saturday, please join or renew directly with USCF at www.uschess.org/webstore. Please do not mail a paper application form or check to USCF, since this may cause delays in processing your membership. If you are unable to join or renew online, please plan to fill out a membership application at the tournament. You can check membership status at www.uschess.org/msa. The U.S. Chess Federation maintains a national database of ratings (relative playing strengths) for adult and scholastic players. In order to update the ratings following each tournament, all players in the tournament must be current USCF members.



Please visit our website at www.vschess.org for the latest news and information.