HRCA Holiday Hustle 2026
December 05, 2026
Hampton Roads Chess Association
A 501c3 nonprofit community organization
2026 Holiday Hustle
December 5, 2026
Christopher Farms Elementary School
2828 Pleasant Acres Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23453
Youth and adults, join us for a tournament suitable for all ages and abilities in Virginia Beach!
US Chess membership is required for Open, U800, and U400 sections. Open and U800 are open to all ages.
The Novice and Rookie sections are Scholastic (PK-12) only --
no US Chess membership required for Rookie sections.
Check your US Chess membership here. Click here if you need to join/renew.
This is an HRCA Scholastic Cup Event!
HRCA membership is not required for the tournament but IS required to participate in the Scholastic Cup awards.
New Memberships must be purchased within one week of event for points to qualify.
For more information visit https://hrchessclub.org/scholastic-cup/
EVENT EXTRAS
- Chess store will be open for holiday shopping! Cash, card, and tap to pay available.
- Concessions will be available. Snacks and water available all day.
- Pizza lunch pre-orders only, delivered to the venue. Pre-order here.
SCHEDULE
- 8:30-9:30 - Arrival. No onsite registration.
- 9:30 AM - New Player Orientation
- 10:00 AM -- Round 1 begins for all sections
- Subsequent rounds will be "ASAP", meaning they will begin as soon as the previous round is complete. Awards immediately following the completion of the final round. We cannot give an exact finish time -- likely around 5 PM.
- Lunch: There will be NO set lunch break. Concessions will be available on site. Lunch pre-orders will be delivered at a specific time for pick-up. Enjoy snacks and lunch between your rounds.
Very limited pizza sales onsite. Please pre-order! click here to order lunch by December 2 at 9am
- HRCA Annual Member Meeting - Time TBD. Members, it's time to review the past year's highlights and elect some new board members to govern HRCA! HRCA membership is required to vote. Ages 18+. Click here if you need to join/renew.
PARTICIPANTS
- Open and Amateur (U800) are available for all ages, youth and adults.
- Novice (U400) and all Rookie sections are K-12 scholastic sections only -- no adults.
MEMBERSHIPS
US Chess membership is required for Open, Amateur and Novice. No US Chess membership required for Rookie sections. Click here if you need to join/renew.
HRCA membership is only required if you want your points counted for the HRCA Scholastic Cup. We still highly encourage membership as a way to support HRCA's nonprofit mission and operations. The early bird discount can help it pay for itself!
- support HRCA’s nonprofit mission
- help provide more chess opportunities
- support TD Development
- support Coach Development
- receive exclusive early bird discounts for weekend tournaments
- access to our scholarship program
- access to chess library
- access to members-only benefits
- Scholastic Cup points
FORMAT
A Swiss System (like a bracket system -- not an elimination event!) tournament of four or five rounds based on entries. Time control is G/40; d5, meaning each side has 40 minutes to complete all their moves, and the clock will not start counting down for the first 5 seconds of each move. Select a bye during registration ONLY if you know you will be missing a round due to a conflict with another event. One half-point bye allowed if requested prior to the start of Round 3.
Section choices are:
- K-4 Rookie: For youth in grades Pre-K through 4th with little to no tournament experience. No rated players allowed. US Chess membership is not required.
- K-8 Rookie: For youth up to 8th grade with little to no tournament experience. No rated players allowed. US Chess membership is not required.
- Novice (U400): Youth in grades K-12 (no adults) who are US Chess members with a Regular over-the-board (OTB) rating Under 400. The December supplement will be used. Unrated players are allowed in the Novice section and are eligible for place prizes or Top Unrated prizes only.
- Amateur (U800): Any players, youth or adult, who are US Chess members with a Regular over-the-board (OTB) rating Under 800. The December supplement will be used. Unrated players are allowed in the Amateur section and are eligible for place prizes or Top Unrated prizes only.
- Open: Any players, youth or adult, who are US Chess members -- unrated or of any rating -- but designed for ADVANCED players rated over 800. Playing up is allowed. Unrated players are allowed in the Open section and are eligible for place prizes or Top Unrated prizes only.
AWARDS
- Individual:
- TROPHIES to the Top 5 finishers in each section. Trophy to Top U1000 in Open. Trophy to Top U600 in Amateur. Trophy to Top U200 in Novice. Trophy to Top Unrated in Novice section. Trophy to Top K-1 in K-4 Rookie.
- Team: A team is comprised of two or more players from the same school, with the top four scores counting toward the team score. Team awards for this tournament include:
- Top 3 Elementary School teams combined (Top 4 individual scores)
- Top 3 Middle School teams combined (Top 4 individual scores)
- Top High School will be added if more than one team enters by November 23rd
ENTRY FEES
HRCA Members -- watch your email for early bird discount notifications!
$40 Standard Entry Fee through 11:59 PM Sunday, November 15th
$45 Late Entry Fee through 11:59 PM on Sunday, November 29th
$50 Week-of Entry Fee through 11:59 PM on Thursday, December 3rd
PLEASE REGISTER IN ADVANCE. NO WALK-UP / ON SITE REGISTRATION. Please note that entry fees are required to participate and are NOT tax-deductible.
REFUNDS
If you need to withdraw, please contact the Tournament Organizer (tournaments@hrchessclub.org or 757-472-5909) as early as possible. There are NO refunds or substitutions permitted after registration closes.
Registrations are assigned to the participant named at registration and may not be transferred informally. Anyone requesting a substitution must contact HRCA before registration closes. All substitutions require approval and consent forms for the replacement participant.
Participants who do not attend will be treated as no-shows under the applicable refund and credit policy.
Refunds will be given as a tournament credit towards future HRCA events, less a $5 admin fee. Credit will be valid for 1 calendar year.
- Eligible withdrawals will receive a $35 credit towards a future HRCA tournament, regardless of the entry fee amount paid. This is the standard entry rate less a $5 administrative fee.
- Eligible Title I students using approved discount code will receive a credit towards a future HRCA tournament for the amount of coupon, less a $5 administrative fee.
DUPLICATE ENTRIES: Please check the ENTRY LIST before registering to make sure you do not register multiple times. Duplicate entries will be refunded less a $10 administrative fee.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Volunteers help ensure our events run smoothly! Please sign up for a spot to help us at Hampton Roads Chess Association: HRCA Holiday Hustle
Set up, Clean Up, chess store workers, hall monitors, concessions, scorekeepers, CERTIFIED Tournament Directors (TDs), and assistant TDs (not certified) are needed.
Questions?
Please contact the Tournament Organizer at tournaments@hrchessclub.org or text 757-472-5909.
Email is the fastest way to reach us.
Policies and other Important Information
It is our goal to provide a fun, safe, and supportive environment. Community partnerships are vital to HRCA, and we want to ensure we remain good stewards to our partners and their facilities. There is a lot of downtime during tournaments -- parents/guardians/designated adults are responsible for supervising their children and guests.
- Only designated areas of the facility are open to players and guests -No one is allowed in undesignated areas at any time.
- Touching of school property, such as artwork or displays, will be grounds for removal from the venue.
- No drop-offs for youth under age 14.
By registering and attending in this event (as participant or guest), you acknowledge and agree to abide by the US Chess Federation's Safe Play Policy, and HRCA's Code of Conduct and General Liability Waiver and Release. For more information on Safe Play or HRCA's Code of Conduct and General Liability Waiver and Release, please click the BLUE links above. Violations of these policies may result in warnings, or ultimately, disqualification or dismissal from the event without refund.
Privacy Policy: HRCA's participant and contact lists areorganizational assets. They may NOT be accessed, copied, shared, or used by current or former staff, volunteers, board, other individuals or outside organizations for unauthorized purposes, including private business promotion.
Photo/Published Results Policy: Please be advised that photos and/or videos may be taken at HRCA events for use in HRCA's marketing, grant reporting, educational, news, or other promotional materials, whether in print, electronic, or other forms of media, including on our website and social channels. HRCA will not identify images using the full names of those photographed without express written permission. Though publicly available, HRCA will only use the winner's first name/last initial (if necessary) when publishing tournament results on our website or social media platforms.
By attending an HRCA event, you consent to have your image/name recorded for distribution and agree to release, defend, hold harmless, and indemnify HRCA from any and all claims, including compensation, involving using your picture or likeness. If you wish to opt-out, you can make your wishes known to the photographer, and/or the event organizers, and/or contact HRCA at hrca@hrchessclub.org.