Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

November 24, 2018

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.


Hopkins Scholastic at Hopewell (Grades K-12)

Registration is now open for the Hopkins Scholastic at Hopewell tournament, to be held Saturday, December 8, 2018 at Hopewell High School in Hopewell. The tournament is named in memory of VSCA founder and longtime president Peter Hopkins. This will be the 26th consecutive year of scholastic chess tournaments at Hopewell High School, beginning in 1993. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday MORNING, December 6.

Players are divided into four sections based on their grade in school: Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (US Chess) is required for all players. All sections are US Chess-rated. There will be no Open Quads at this event.

Coach Mike Callaham will be on hand to offer free game analysis and notation training, as well as moderately-priced chess books for all skill levels.

Food and drinks will not be sold at this event. Please bring your own lunch and snacks, or plan to visit one of the fast food restaurants in the area. We will have a lunch break during the tournament.

The entry fee is $10 for advance (online) registrations, or $15 for onsite registrations. Please read our Tournament Check-in Policy.

Trophies will be awarded to the the top 5 individuals and to the top 3 school teams in each section.

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


Other Upcoming VSCA Tournaments

The first VSCA event of 2019 is tentatively scheduled for Maggie L. Walker Governor's School in Richmond in January. When a date is confirmed it will be announced on our website. The Maggie Walker tournament will be open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and includes rated and non-rated scholastic sections.

A calendar of VSCA events as well as other scholastic events in Virginia is available at vschess.org/chess-calendar.


Virginia Scholastic & College Championships

Registration is now open for the 2019 Virginia Scholastic & College Championships, to be held Friday–Sunday, March 8–10, 2019 at Monticello High School in Charlottesville. The Main Event, this year featuring additional sections and 5 rounds rather than 6, will be held on Saturday (3 rounds) and Sunday (2 rounds). The Blitz tournament will be held Friday Evening, and the Parents & Friends tournament will be held on Saturday (2 rounds) and Sunday (2 rounds). For complete information, and to register online, please visit the Event Website.


National K-12 Grade Championships

Monday, November 26, is the early entry fee deadline for the 2018 National K-12 Grade Championships, to be held December 14–16, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. For complete tournament information, visit the US Chess Federation website at www.uschess.org/tournaments/2018/k12/.


Championship Chess Richmond Cross-round Tournament

Championship Chess Richmond, headed by VSCA Board Member Brian Garbera, is hosting a "cross-round" tournament for grades K-8 on Sunday, December 16, 2:00-5:00 pm at Stuffy's Subs at Gayton, 9780 Gayton Road, Richmond. The tournament features Quick-rated play for U.S. Chess Federation members and Non-rated games for non-members. Quick-rated Quads for adults and advanced scholastic players are also available. For more information, visit the Championship Chess Richmond website at richmond.championshipchess.net/richmondtournamentsupcoming/.


Richmond Chess Initiative Last Saturday Tournaments

Richmond Chess Initiative (RCI), headed by VSCA Secretary and Board Member Mike Callaham, is hosting monthly Last Saturday Swiss tournaments for all ages at Create Space, 607 Wickham Street, Richmond, featuring free parking and many nearby restaurants. All games are US Chess-rated. Upcoming tournament dates are Saturday, December 22 and Saturday, January 26. For more information, visit the RCI website at richmondchessinitiative.wordpress.com/last-saturday-swiss-schedule-and-details/.


Grafton Tournament Results

40 scholastic and 4 adult players participated in the Grafton Fall Chess Festival, held at Grafton Middle School in York County on September 22, 2018.

There were four scholastic sections: K-5 Not-rated, K-12 Not-rated, K-5 Open and K-12 Open. The K-5 Not-rated and K-12 Not-rated sections were combined with separate awards. There was also a Small Swiss section for adults and advanced scholastic players.

In the K-5 Not-rated section, Kaushik Dhamotharan won the first place trophy with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-5 Not-rated was NKA Homeschool Collective from Norfolk.

In the K-12 Not-rated section, Philip Badley won the first place trophy by tiebreaks over Robert Badley. Philip and Robert each finished with a score of 3.0 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-12 Not-rated was Veritas Preparatory School from Williamsburg.

In the K-5 Open section, Ishaan Potnuri won the first place trophy with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-5 Open was Colonial Trail Elementary School from Henrico County.

In the K-12 Open section, Ky-Quan Pham won the first place trophy by tiebreaks over Bao-Quan Pham. Ky-Quan and Bao-Quan each finished with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-12 Open was Old Donation School from Virginia Beach.

The first-place winner in the Small Swiss section was Tyson Brady (seventh grade) with a perfect score of 3.0 points in 3 rounds.

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


Meadowdale Tournament Results

38 scholastic and 5 adult players participated in the Meadowdale Fall Scholastic & Quads Tournament, held at Meadowdale Library in Chesterfield County on October 6, 2018.

There were three scholastic sections: K-5 Not-rated, K-5 Open and K-12 Open. There were no K-12 Not-rated players. There was also a Small Swiss section for adults and advanced scholastic players.

In the K-5 Not-rated section, Kaushik Dhamotharan won the first place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-5 Not-rated was Rivers Edge Elementary School from Henrico County.

In the K-5 Open section, Aarush Rudraraju won the first place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-5 Open was Colonial Trail Elementary School from Henrico County.

In the K-12 Open section, Saket Sambaraju, a fifth grader playing up, won the first place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. The first-place team in K-12 Open was Colonial Trail Elementary School from Henrico County, with two players playing up.

In the Small Swiss section there was a three-way tie for first place between Mr. Michael Burrus, Mr. Everett Kalafatis and Mr. Kenneth Pestka.

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


Hampton Roads Chess Association

The Hampton Roads Chess Association, organized by VSCA Board Member Christina Schweiss, meets on Tuesday evenings at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach. Scholastic players meet from 5:00 to 7:30 pm, and adults and advanced scholastic players meet from 7:00 to 10:30 pm. Meetings include training as well as rated tournaments. For more information, visit the chess club's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HRScholasticChessClub.


Richmond Chess Initiative Workshops

The Richmond Chess Initiative (RCI), headed by VSCA Secretary and Board Member Mike Callaham, meets for chess every weeknight, Monday-Friday, 6:00-9:00 pm, at Createspace, 607 Wickham Street, Richmond. Chess lessons are 6:30-7:00 pm daily, followed by free play from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Sets and clocks are provided, and there is free onsite parking. For more information, visit the RCI website at richmondchessinitiative.wordpress.com/clubs-and-places-people-meet. If you plan to arrive later than 7:30 pm, please call 804-426-6058 to let Mr. Callaham know.


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 vschess.org/chess-resources/games.

Mr. Callaham is the CEO and founder of the Richmond Chess Initiative, the coordinator and head coach of the Richmond Middle School Chess League, and currently coaches chess clubs at Boushall, Lucille Brown, Thomas Henderson and Thompson Middle Schools in Richmond; Armstrong High School in Richmond; J. B. Fisher Elementary School in Richmond; and Tuckahoe Elementary School in Henrico County. Coach Callaham has also met with chess clubs at many other Virginia schools, and 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 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. Entry fees 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; entry fees may be higher for late entries. 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 the above information applies to most Virginia Scholastic Chess Association tournaments. Some tournaments may have different registration schedules and/or entry fees.


Tournament Check-in

To help start our tournaments on time, we have implemented the following check-in policies:

Players who pay online do not need to check in at the tournament, but they must let us know if they are not coming. Please read the following brief instructions:

All Players: If you are registering and/or paying at the tournament: If you are paying online:

US Chess Membership

Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (US Chess) is REQUIRED in order to play in VSCA tournaments, except for sections specifically designated as not-rated. In order to avoid delays on Saturday, please join or renew directly with US Chess at www.uschess.org/webstore. Please do not mail a paper application form or check to US Chess, 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 US Chess members.


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