Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

November 17, 2009

This newsletter is sent to families who participate in Virginia Scholastic Chess Association tournaments. The VSCA is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to promoting scholastic chess in central and southeastern Virginia. Please email news@vschess.org to subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address.



Echo Lake Scholastic (grades K-5)

Registration is now open for the 3rd annual Echo Lake Scholastic tournament, to be held Saturday, December 5, 2009 at Echo Lake Elementary School in Henrico County, Virginia. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday morning, December 3. This tournament is open to students in kindergarten through 5th grade only. Players are divided into two sections: Trophies will be awarded to the the top 5 individuals and to the top 3 school teams in each section. Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is required for all players. Please visit www.vschess.org for information and to register online.



Hopewell Scholastic (grades K-12 and adult)

Registration is also open for the Hopewell Scholastic tournament, to be held Saturday, December 12, 2009 at Hopewell High School in Hopewell, Virginia. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday morning, December 10. Players are divided into five sections: The Open section will play 4 rounds (time controls G/40, G/40, G/60, G/60) with no team competition; players from the same school may be paired against each other. The number of rounds and time controls may be adjusted based on the number of entries. Scholastic players in the Open section should have a USCF rating of 1000 or above.

Trophies will be awarded to the the top 5 individuals and to the top 3 school teams in the K-3, K-5, K-8 and K-12 sections, and to the top 5 individuals in the Open section. Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is required for all players. Please visit www.vschess.org for information and to register online.



Other Upcoming Events

The 2nd annual Cavalier Scholastic tournament is scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2010 at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach. This tournament is open to players in grades K-12 and includes USCF-rated K-5 and K-12 sections as well as unrated (USCF membership not required) K-5 and K-12 sections for new players. More information and a complete VSCA event schedule is available at www.vschess.org/calendar.



Augusta County Chess Club

For families in the Staunton/Waynesboro area, the brand new Augusta Chess Club is now meeting every Saturday from 10 am to noon at Books-A-Million in Waynesboro. Scholastic and adult players, beginning, intermediate and advanced, are all welcome. Club membership is free, but you must register in advance in order to attend the meetings. For more information and to register, please contact Alex Patterson at 540.405.1111 or AugustaChessClub@gmail.com.



Tournament Registration and Entry Fee

Advance registration for VSCA tournaments is ONLINE ONLY at www.vschess.org, and closes at 7:00 AM on the Thursday before the tournament. In order to accurately process entries, we cannot accept mail, phone or e-mail registrations. The advance registration entry fee of $7 may be paid by mail (preferred) or at the tournament. Players who do not register before the 7:00 AM Thursday deadline can register at the tournament between 8:00 and 8:45 am on Saturday, but they will need to pay the late entry fee of $14. Players who register after 8:30 am on Saturday may not be paired for the first round, depending on the number of late registrations.



Tournament Check-in

In order to help us complete registration and start our tournaments on time, please check in at the registration desk by 8:45 am, even if you have mailed in your payment. This will minimize the number of names that we have to call in order to check attendance, and will also allow our volunteers to close registration and balance the books earlier. Players arriving after 8:45 am (8:30 am if you have not registered in advance) will risk not being paired for the first round.

If you have registered online, but later find that you will not be able to attend, please email results@vschess.org by Friday night so that we can withdraw your name. If you have to change your plans at the last minute and will be absent or late, please try to let someone else know so they can tell us at registration.



USCF Membership

Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is REQUIRED in order to play in VSCA tournaments, except for sections specifically designated as non-rated. In order to avoid delays on Saturday, please join or renew directly with USCF at www.uschess.org/webstore. Please do not mail a paper application form or check to USCF, since this may cause delays in processing your membership. If you are unable to join or renew online, please plan to fill out a membership application at the tournament. You can check membership status at www.uschess.org/msa. The U.S. Chess Federation maintains a national database of ratings (relative playing strengths) for adult and scholastic players. In order to update the ratings following each tournament, all players in the tournament must be current USCF members.



Please visit our website at www.vschess.org for the latest news and information.