Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

April 26, 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.



Hanover Scholastic Tournament (Grades K-12)

Wednesday is the last day to register for the fourth annual Hanover Scholastic tournament, to be held Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Hanover High School in Mechanicsville. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday morning, April 28.

Players are divided into four sections based on their grade in school: Trophies will be awarded to the the top 5 individuals and to the top 3 school teams in each 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.

Brett Colbert, a junior at Atlee High School and a member of the Atlee chess team, will be coordinating a canned food drive at the tournament, and we ask that each participant bring a can of food to donate. Personal hygiene items are also needed and appreciated. The donations will be distributed to families in need through the Mechanicsville Churches Emergency Functions (MCEF). We also welcome student volunteers to help with the collection process. Please contact Brett Colbert for more information.



Other Upcoming Events

The Virginia Chess Federation (VCF) will host a scholastic tournament for grades K-8 on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at the Spratley Gifted Center in Hampton. Advance registration will open soon. Check the VCF website for complete information.

The fourth annual Grafton Spring Chess Festival will be held on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at Grafton Middle School in Yorktown, Virginia. This event includes K-5 and K-12 sections for U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) members, and a K-8 Not-rated section for newer players. USCF membership is not required for the K-8 Not-rated section. In addition to the VSCA scholastic tournament, the Grafton Festival will also include a USCF-rated quads event for adults and advanced scholastic players, hosted by the Virginia Chess Federation (VCF). Online registration for the VSCA scholastic sections will be available beginning May 11.

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



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.



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.