Chicago Chess Foundation Citywide Chess Tournament at Gwendolyn Brooks 

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19TH 2026

GWENDOLYN BROOKS HIGH SCHOOL

250 E 111th St.

Chicago, IL 60628

The Chicago Chess Foundation (CCF) invites K–8 students from across Chicagoland to join us for a free Citywide Chess Tournament at GWENDOLYN BROOKS HIGH SCHOOL.

Whether this is your first tournament or you’ve competed before, CCF Citywide Tournaments bring students together from across the city for a full day of chess, competition, and community.

Tournament Format

This is a 5-round Swiss-system tournament with six sections:

  • K–1
  • 2–3
  • 4–5
  • 6–8
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced

The tournament is open to all students in grades K–8. Players should register for the section that best matches their grade and experience level.

Chess sets and clocks are provided by CCF.

Time Controls

Advanced: G/30 d5

Intermediate: G/20 d5

K–8 Sections: G/20

In the K–8 sections, clocks may be introduced if a game exceeds 30 minutes.

Schedule

Check-in: 8:30 AM–9:30 AM

Round 1: 10:00 AM

Rounds 2–5: Begin as soon as possible following the completion of the previous round

Awards Ceremony: Approximately 3:00 PM

Event Ends: Approximately 4:00 PM

Round times after Round 1 are approximate and may vary depending on the length of games.

Awards

K–1, 2–3, 4–5 & 6–8 Sections

Each grade-level section will recognize: