Online registration is now closed. If you want to play, you can register on-site for the late entry fee of $40. (On-site registration begins at 7:45 a.m. on tournament day.) This entry fee does not include the mandatory membership in USCF, which can also be purchased on-site.
NOTE: We do not anticipate that any Covid restriction will be in place for this tournament. Fair play rules mentioned on the registration page apply only to online events, not to this tournament.
PLEASE READ ALL INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE REGISTERING.
Texas Chess Association Region IX
Scholastic Chess Championship
and Open Tournaments
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Bunche Elementary School
700 S. Jackson, Midland, TX 79701
https://www.kingregistration.com/event/Region9-2023
On-site Registration will be offered if there is room left in the event: 7:45 - 8:15 AM. Some or all on-site Registrants may receive a first-round half-point bye and start playing in round 2, at the discretion of the Tournament Directors. See below for advance online registration, which is preferred. Advance entries can be viewed online and will be physically posted on-site. Everyone on that list will be paired for round 1. No check-in is needed unless errors need to be corrected.
Opening announcements at 8:45 AM. First round starts at: 9:00 AM
Lunch: Short lunch period after Round 3.
Format: 5 Round Swiss, non-elimination. Everyone plays all day. Rounds for all sections will start ASAP.
Equipment: Chess sets provided for tournament. Scoresheets provided. Players should bring pencils or pens to take notation. Please bring a delay-capable digital chess clock if you have one. (LABEL it with your name!)
Time Controls: G/30; d5. If a game starts with no clock, you can expect a clock to be placed on the game if it goes long. Players arriving more than 30 minutes late for any Round will forfeit the game and risk being removed from the tournament entirely.
Five Sections: Four sections for TCA Region 9 students and one section for out-of-TCA-Region students and any adults.
(If any PreK-12 section does not have enough entries, it may be merged with another scholastic section for pairing purposes, but awards will be given as advertised.) List of TCA Region 9 counties is found below.*
USChess Memberships: All players in all sections must have a USChess membership. Obtain this BEFORE registering for the tournament. It must be paid for and valid (non-expired) for the month of May 2023. Tournament Directors will verify the membership on the USChess website. Purchase or renew a USChess membership online at www.uschess.org. Please do NOT select the option to “Pay Later” since that will not give you a valid expiration date. Membership fees are $20 per year for players under age 19. Family Memberships are also available and may be more economical for some families.
Tournament Registration: Please use the online registration site: https://www.kingregistration.com/event/Region9-2023 Fees: Super-Early Discount $20 before 11 pm on 4/16/2023; Regular Entry $22 before 11 pm 4/29/2023; Late Entry $32 by 11 pm 5/10/2023; No online entries after 11 pm on 5/10/2023. On-site Entry $40 on day of event, cash only. Please register online as early as possible. (Early entries help ensure a smooth event.) Withdrawals by 5/10/2023 may request a refund, minus $2.50 processing fee. No refunds after 5/10/2023. No player substitutions allowed.
Scorekeeping: Except in Primary Section, players must keep a record of all moves until either player has less than five minutes on the clock. See: https://www.chesskid.com/learn/videos/how-to-keep-score-algebraic-notation
Byes: If player needs to miss a round, a bye can be requested for that round. One ½-point bye available for Rounds 1-4, if requested during registration ONLY. Additional byes will receive 0 points. No ½-point byes will be given for Round 5. Organizers cannot guarantee when any specific round will start. Consider this when requesting any byes.
Awards: Presented on-site at the conclusion of the event. If you cannot be present for the awards ceremony, you may designate IN WRITING a coach, friend or teammate to pick up your award for you. No awards will be mailed.
SECTION ELIGIBILITY
All players in the scholastic sections must live in or attend school in TCA Region 9. Such students must register for a Scholastic Section, not for the Open Section. Primary-eligible players can choose to register in Primary (to play others that are around their age) or in Elementary (to play with the rest of their school team). Elementary sections are restricted to Elementary students. If an Elementary School includes 5th and/or 6th Grade, those students must play in Elementary. Middle School sections are restricted to students who attend a Middle School or Junior High School, including 5th and 6th graders in those schools. Private Schools sometimes include different combinations of grades. For these schools, please contact Brenda Hardesty to be sure you are registering for the appropriate section. Homeschoolers should follow traditional age guidelines, with 6th-grade-age players registering in Middle School. These section guidelines are from the Texas Chess Association Bylaws. If you are unclear in which section you should register, contact Brenda Hardesty by email before registering.
TEAMS
A scholastic team will consist of students who attend the same school and play in the same section. The team score will be determined at the conclusion of the tournament to include the top four scores from that team. A school must have a minimum of two players in the same section in order to compete for a team award. A team may have any number of members, but only the top four scorers will count toward team competition.
Homeschool students may play as a team if they are members of (1) the same nuclear family or (2) a support group or co-op that provides academic learning (not just chess). Homeschool students who want to play as a team must contact Brenda Hardesty in advance of the tournament to get a team code (if their organization meets the TCA definition of a homeschool team). Homeschooled student may not play for their local public school. Although this is allowed in some national tournaments, it is not permitted in TCA events.
*COUNTIES IN TEXAS CHESS ASSOCIATION’s REGION 9
Andrews, Borden, Brown, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Crane, Crockett, Dawson, Eastland, Ector, Fisher, Gaines, Glasscock, Howard, Irion, Jones, Kimble, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Midland, Mitchell, Nolan, Reagan, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Sutton, Taylor, Tom Green, Upton.
For Questions (email preferred): Brenda Hardesty, sanangelochess@gmail.com (325-853-2324, cell 325-716-0096)