2026 Mark W Bills Middle School Winter Chess Classic

Saturday, January 24th

6001 Frostwood Pkwy, Peoria, IL 61615

 

It will be cold outside, but the chess will be hot inside. Even if schools cancel on Friday, we WILL have this meet on Saturday.

• Swiss System, 5 rounds, G/30;d5:
  • Kindergarten-2nd Grade - Primary
  • 3rd-5th Grade - Elementary
  • 6th Grade
  • 7th Grade
  • 8th Grade
  • High School Open
  • K-12 Grand Prix
    • Click here for more information regarding the K-12 Grand Prix. 
• The organizer reserves the right to alter the format/sections based on attendance.

Playing Schedule

• Check-in/Registration: 8:00-8:45
• Round 1 will begin no later than 9:30 with subsequent rounds ASAP 

Prizes

• 1st-10th Place in each section (K-12). 
• 1st-5th Place in the Grand Prix
• Biggest upset in K-5. 6-12 (must be over 100 pts to qualify)
• Best Unrated performance in the K-5, 6-12.
• Top 3 teams overall, K-5 & 6-12: scores will be added together from across the regular sections (excluding Grand Prix).
  The top 5 scores count towards the team total. 

Tournament Entry Fees

• $5 if registered online by 1/23/2026 (max. $100 per school), $10 if registering at the Door. 
• A $10 fee is charged to play up into older grade-level sections. The Grand Prix is only open to those with a rating of 1000 or higher.
• ALL Payments will be collected at the door. 
• Players registering at the door might not be paired in the first round.
• No Online Entries will be accepted after 8 PM on January 23rd.
• USCF membership required
  • Memberships (1 year) will be available from the Greater Peoria Chess Foundation for $9 at the tournament, a maximum of $99 per school. GPCF will cover the cost of anyone over the 11 players. GPCF will cover the cost of any Peoria Public Schools students. Make membership checks payable to GPCF. Players registering without a membership should use 99999999 as their ID# when registering. 

Questions