Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

June 17, 2014

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.



Maggie L. Walker Summer Scholastic (Rising Grades K-12)

Registration is now open for the Maggie L. Walker Summer Scholastic tournament, to be held Saturday, July 12, 2014 at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School in Richmond. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday MORNING, July 10.

This tournament is open to students who will be entering kindergarten through 12th grade this coming fall, and includes both rated and non-rated sections.

The K-5 Not-rated and K-12 Not-rated (grades 6-12) sections are designed for beginning tournament players (first, second or third chess tournament, with exceptions on a case-by-case basis). Games in these sections are NOT RATED by the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) and players do NOT need to be USCF members.

The K-5 Open and K-12 Open (grades 6-12) sections are USCF-rated sections. All players in these sections must be current USCF members.

The entry fee is $7 for advance (online) registrations, or $14 for onsite registrations.

Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 individuals in grades K-3 and to the top 3 individuals in grades 4-5 in the K-5 Not-rated section and the K-5 Open section. Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 individuals in grades K-8 and to the top 3 individuals in grades 9-12 in the K-12 Not-rated section and the K-12 Open section. There are no team awards at our summer tournaments.

Please visit the VSCA website at www.vschess.org for more tournament information and to register online.



Other Upcoming Tournaments

Two more VSCA tournaments are scheduled this summer. On Saturday, July 26, the Eastern Shore Summer Scholastic and Quads tournament will be held at Kiptopeke Elementary School in Northampton County. The Grafton Summer Scholastic and Quads tournament will be held on Saturday, August 9 at Grafton Middle School in York County. The first tournament of the new school year will be Saturday, September 20 at Meadowdale Public Library in Chesterfield County. Each of these three tournaments will have K-5 and K-12 Not-rated and Open (rated) sections, and Open Quads for adults and advanced scholastic players. For more information, visit the VSCA website at www.vschess.org.



Chess Camps and Classes

Championship Chess RVA is hosting summer chess camps and classes in June, July and August at several locations in the Richmond area. For more information, visit the Championship Chess RVA website at championshipchessrva.net/upcoming-events/camps/.



Monticello Tournament Results

51 scholastic and adult players participated in the Monticello Scholastic and Quads Tournament, held at Monticello High School in Albemarle County on May 3, 2014.

The K-5 Not-rated section and the K-5 Open section had awards for the top players in grades K-3 and grades 4-5. The K-12 Not-rated section and the K-12 Open section had awards for the top players in grades K-8 and grades 9-12. The K-5 Not-rated and K-12 Not-rated sections were combined, with separate awards.

In the K-5 Not-rated section, Ryan Xie won first place for grades K-3 by tiebreaks over Elliot Rothman. Ryan and Elliot each finished with 2.0 points in 4 rounds. There were no Not-rated players in grades 4-5. Woodbrook Elementary School from Albemarle County won the first-place team award in the K-5 Not-rated section.

In the K-12 Not-rated section, William Lee won first place for grades K-8 with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. Vishnu Pulavarthi won the first-place trophy for grades 9-12, with a score of 2.5 points in 4 rounds. Burley Middle School from Albemarle County won the first-place team award in the K-12 Not-rated section.

In the K-5 Open section, Ritvika Palani won first place for grades K-3 by tiebreaks over Simon Bustillos. Ritvika and Simon each finished with 3.0 points in 4 rounds. Senthil Meyyappan won the first-place trophy for grades 4-5 with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. Twin Hickory Elementary School from Henrico County won the first-place team award in the K-5 Open section.

In the K-12 Open section, Aaron Osborne won the first-place trophy for grades K-8 by tiebreaks over Matthew Bustillos, a fourth grader playing up. Aaron and Matthew each finished with 3.0 points in 4 rounds. Maciek Kowalski won the first-place trophy for grades 9-12 with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. Lake Braddock Secondary School from Fairfax County won the first-place team award in the K-12 Open section, narrowly defeating Norview High School from Norfolk.

The winners in the three Open Quad sections were Mr. Thomas Laaman; Ryan Balser and Matthew Normansell (tie); and Jenny Baranker and Nitin Kanuri (tie).

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



Old Donation Center Tournament Results

97 scholastic and adult players participated in the Old Donation Center Scholastic and Quads Tournament, held at Old Donation Center in Virginia Beach on May 17, 2014.

The K-5 Not-rated section and the K-5 Open section had awards for the top players in grades K-3 and grades 4-5. The K-12 Not-rated section and the K-12 Open section had awards for the top players in grades K-8 and grades 9-12.

In the K-5 Not-rated section, Henry Sol won first place for grades K-3 with a score of 4.5 points in 5 rounds. Rohan Nagabhirava won the first-place trophy for grades 4-5 by tiebreaks over Logan Carolino. Rohan and Logan each finished with 4.0 points in 5 rounds. The Williams School from Norfolk won the first-place team award in the K-5 Not-rated section.

In the K-12 Not-rated section, Malik Harrison won first place for grades K-8 by tiebreaks over Caedmon Sixbey. Malik and Caedmon each finished with 4.0 points in 5 rounds. Allen Shen won the first-place trophy for grades 9-12, with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. Nandua Middle School from Accomack County on the Eastern Shore won the first-place team award in the K-12 Not-rated section.

In the K-5 Open section, Kyle Phillips won first place for grades K-3 with a score of 4.5 points in 5 rounds. Alexander Clunan won the first-place trophy for grades 4-5 by tiebreaks over Shakthi Ramasamy. Alexander and Shakthi each finished with 4.0 points in 5 rounds. The host team from Old Donation Center won the first-place team award in the K-5 Open section.

In the K-12 Open section, Aaron Osborne won the first-place trophy for grades K-8 by tiebreaks over Heidi Bentrup. Aaron and Heidi each finished with 3.0 points in 5 rounds. Maciek Kowalski won the first-place trophy for grades 9-12 with a perfect score of 5.0 points in 5 rounds. Lake Braddock Secondary School from Fairfax County won the first-place team award in the K-12 Open section.

The winner in the Open Quads (Small Swiss) section was Mr. Ben Bentrup.

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



It's Your Move!

VSCA secretary and Class A player Mike Callaham has generously offered to analyze and comment on VSCA tournament games which players send him. If you have a game that you're proud of, or a game where you feel you could have played better, and would like Mr. Callaham to take a look at it, all you need to do is send him a copy of your complete and legible scoresheet (game notation). He will respond by email, and games which are especially interesting or instructive will be published on the VSCA website. For complete details, visit the VSCA website at www.vschess.org/chess-resources/games

Mr. Callaham currently coaches chess clubs at Thompson Middle School in Richmond and Tuckahoe Elementary School in Henrico County, and he has visited many other Virginia schools. He would like to visit as many other school chess clubs as possible on behalf of the VSCA. Parents and coaches, if you would like to have Mr. Callaham visit your school club for a free simul, chess clinic or lecture, please contact him at waterman2010kir@aol.com. Be sure to provide contact information for the school chess sponsor/coach. This is a wonderful opportunity for your school to benefit from the help of an experienced chess player and teacher.



Visit Us on Facebook

Check out the VSCA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vascholasticchess, managed by parent and board member Christina Schweiss.



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 scholastic advance registration entry fee of $7 may be paid online through PayPal (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 9:00 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.

The entry fee for Open Quads sections is $20 for both advance registrations and on-site registrations.

Please note that the above information applies only to Virginia Scholastic Chess Association tournaments, and does NOT apply to the Virginia Scholastic and Collegiate Championships or other Virginia Chess Federation events.



Tournament Check-in

In order to help us complete registration and start our tournaments on time, please check in at the registration desk by 9:00 am, even if you have payed online. 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 9:00 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 as soon as possible 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 email or 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 rated sections of a tournament must be current USCF members.



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