Hampton Roads Chess Association
presents the
3rd Annual
Seven Cities School Chess Championship
May 4, 2024
Kempsville Recreation Center
800 Monmouth Lane
Virginia Beach, VA 23464
Join us for the 3rd annual Seven Cities School Chess Championship! The first running of this event was originally scheduled for April 2020. Of course, due to COVID, the in-person event was cancelled, but we quickly flexed to an online format that drew well over 200 players from across our region. After working hard to rebuild in-person chess in our region, we held our first in-person championship on April 29, 2023, drawing 178 players. With school chess programs continuing to grow and thrive, we have a goal of 200 kids to participate in this special event to compete for individual and school team honors as Seven Cities Chess Champions!!!
FORMAT
This is a 5-round Swiss system tournament, which is akin to a bracket system in sports. It is not an elimination event. You will play all rounds (unless assigned a full-point bye for an uneven number of players). It is an individual-team event, meaning individuals will play their own games, and team scores will be added as described below for awards. Teammate pairings are avoided as much as possible under the rules.
To maintain the FUN nature of this event that CELEBRATES scholastic chess in our region, we are running the tournament with a "Quick only" time control of G/25; d3 -- this means each player has 25 minutes to complete all their moves, and no time is deducted from the clock for the first 3 seconds of each move (a "delay"). Chess notation is NOT required for ANY section in the tournament due to the quick time controls. Experienced players may opt to take notation.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
This event is open to youth in grades Pre-K through 12th attending any public, private, or homeschool in Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, or Newport News. Players in "outlying areas" of Hampton Roads, please contact us at hrca@hrchessclub.org to inquire about potential participation. You do not need to be a member of a school chess team to participate. Individuals welcome!
We encourage players of ALL abilities, from the youngest beginner to the highest rated teenager, to come out and play in this event! Rated players need not worry about their regular rating being affected, as the time control is "Quick only" (see above).
EVENT SCHEDULE
We will be open for check-in and onsite registration from 8-9:30 AM. If you are registered and paid in advance, there is no need to check in. The first round starts at 9:45 AM. Round 2 starts at 11:00 AM, after which there will be a short lunch break. Rounds 3, 4, and 5 will start at 12:30 PM, 1:45 PM, and 3:00 PM. Awards will immediately follow the completion of all sections. If you need to request or cancel a half point or zero-point bye (meaning you will miss a round) and have not already done so on this registration form, you MUST do so by Noon the day of the event.
SECTIONS
Players will register for one of the following sections:
Junior Rookie: Players in Pre-K through 3rd grade who are not US Chess members / do not have a US Chess rating. Designed for beginners with little to no tournament experience.
Intermediate Rookie: Players in 4th and 5th grade who are not US Chess members / do not have a US Chess rating. Designed for beginners with little to no tournament experience.
Senior Rookie: Players in 6th-12th grade who are not US Chess members / do not have a US Chess rating. Designed for beginners with little to no tournament experience.
Novice (U600): Players in Pre-K through 12th grade who are US Chess members, unrated (first rated event) or rated Under 600 on the May 2024 rating supplement (we will use Regular ratings for section eligibility).
Open: Players in Pre-K through 12th grade who are US Chess members, unrated (first rated event) or rated 600 and up (no playing up) on the May 2024 rating supplement (we will use Regular ratings for section eligibility).
AWARDS
MINIMUM awards will be presented as follows. As we see how registration pans out, we may add awards, but we will NOT subtract awards from this list.
Individual Awards:
Junior Rookie: TROPHIES to 1st - 5th place overall individual players (1st place finisher is Seven Cities Junior Rookie Chess Champion), additional TROPHIES to top 3 players in grades PK-1st. Trophy for TOP GIRL.
Intermediate Rookie: TROPHIES to 1st - 5th place individual players (1st place finisher is Seven Cities Intermediate Rookie Chess Champion). Trophy for TOP GIRL.
Senior Rookie: TROPHIES to 1st - 5th place MIDDLE SCHOOL (6th-8th grade) individual players and 1st - 5th place HIGH SCHOOL (9th-12th grade) individual players (1st place in each age group is Seven Cities Middle School or High School Rookie Chess Champion). Trophy for TOP GIRL.
Novice (U600): TROPHIES to 1st - 5th place overall individual players (1st place finisher is Seven Cities Novice Chess Champion). TROPHIES will be added for top players in certain rating ranges based on entries. Trophy for TOP GIRL.
Open: TROPHIES to 1st - 5th overall individual players (1st place finisher is Seven Cities Open Chess Champion). TROPHIES will be added for top players in certain rating ranges based on entries. Trophy for TOP GIRL.
Team awards will differ this year - all team awards will be combined across sections. This recognizes that all students from the same school are one team, and schools may have team depth from beginners to advanced players. Team awards will be:
TOP 5 ELEMENTARY (grades K-5)
TOP 3 MIDDLE (grades 6-8)
TOP 3 HIGH SCHOOL (grades 9-12)
Schools with more than one grade level will be split into sub-teams by Elementary, Middle, and High School -- this primarily applies to private schools but may also apply to a few public magnet schools. Some exceptions may be made for special school formats such as 9th graders attending a Junior High or 6th graders attending an Elementary school. In those cases where a single grade is grouped with the younger students, those individual players will play in the appropriate grade section as individuals but may have their scores counted toward the younger school team. Based on the standard format of schools in our region, these exceptions are expected to be minimal and will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Definition of "school" for team awards: Schools may occupy more than one campus and still be one team as long as there is a single student body under a single head of school. Homeschooled and virtual schooled students can contact us for information on forming teams if eligible. Teams require a minimum of two players from the same school in the tournament to be eligible for team awards.
Based on entries, we will count the top 4-6 overall individual scores to form the team score.
MEDALS will be presented to all players below trophy standings who earn at least an "even" score of 2.5 out of 5 points. RIBBONS will be presented to ALL remaining players.
Award Ceremony: EVERY player will be recognized at the award ceremony, unless an unexpectedly large turnout or shortness of time prevents it. In that case only medals and trophies will be publicly awarded, and all other players will collect ribbons before departure.
NEW PLAYER ORIENTATION
There will be a Zoom New Player Orientation on Thursday, May 2nd at 6:30 PM. The link will be sent out to all registered participants. The Zoom meeting will be recorded for viewing on Friday for those who miss the live meeting. We will also provide a PDF of the content covered in the orientation a couple of weeks prior to the event. All players who are new to tournaments are encouraged to attend the Zoom or view the recording and review the pdf document, as we will discuss tournament rules and procedures. There will be tournament directors available for further questions on site, but there will not be a formal new player orientation at the event itself, in the interest of time. We recognize that there will be many new players at the event. Our staff is very experienced in working with Rookies -- you will find a very supportive environment at this event!
ENTRY FEES & REFUNDS
The ENTRY FEE for this event is $35 per player through midnight on Saturday, April 27th. LATE entries in the final week prior to the event and on site will be $40. Please contact us at the email below to inquire about needs-based scholarships or fee waivers if you are unable to pay. Withdrawals prior to the start of Round 1 are eligible for a refund minus a $5 non-refundable fee to cover transaction costs. No refunds after the start of Round 1. No account credits will be issued for withdrawals at this event, as all payments for the school year will be completed by this time. You may also elect to donate your refund to HRCA (Tax receipts will be provided for entry fee donations!).
QUESTIONS?
For questions, email cschweiss2@hrchessclub.org, or call / text 757-472-5909.