Mandarin Immersion Magnet School
Scholastic Chess Tournament
December 5, 2026
5445 W Alabama St, Houston, Texas
A Houston Chess Association Tournament

 5 rounds - Swiss System, Game-25 min; delay 5 sec, USCF-Rated 
         Advanced USCF - No Adults this time - 4 rounds, G/45;d5
         Normally players rated over approximately 1200, and requests
  Multiple sections by rating and age, combined for team trophies
  Section determined December 4 by Organizer, based on ALL entries.
  First Round as close to 9:00 a.m. as possible.  Come EARLY!
  Lunch (for sale) between rounds 2 and 3 about 11:30 am   
  Last Round starts about 3:30 pm. Awards end about 6:00 pm
To Enter:
Individual Entries by Credit Card $32.50 Register from this webpage
You can add $13.00 for New or Renewed US Chess Membership.
(I will wait to submit memberships until December 1, so they will expire at the end of December, 2027,
instead of the end of the month received.  If you need the membership for a tournament sooner,
EMAIL me jim@jliptrap.us which tournament, and when, and I will submit in time for that tournament.)
Until the tournament is FILLED (Last year it filled October 20)
After then, join the Waiting List the same way, until that is filled at 40 players.
(last year 37 individual players withdrew before the tournament.)
The Waiting List will be kept in the order payment was received.
When someone withdraws (Email jim@jliptrap.us or Text 832-492-7154),
I will Telephone the next player on the list.  I will NOT leave a message. 
If no person answers to tell me (in English) that the player accepts the entry,
I will go on to the next person on the list.  Next withdrawal, I will try that player again.
I will stop substituting from the Waiting List at 6:00 pm on December 4.
Players who withdraw before 5:00 pm on December 4, AND players on the Waiting List,
who do not make it into the tournament, may request their entry fee be applied to a later
HCA Tournament, or $30.00 refunded to their credit card through Stripe.
No-Show players Saturday morning will NOT be credited nor refunded.  PLEASE try
to avoid this, since it means that a player on the Waiting List will not get a chance to play.
The $13 payment for US Chess membership cannot be refunded if the membership has
already been obtained.