Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

June 30, 2010

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.


Hampton Roads Metro Youth Tournament (Grades K-8)

Registration is now open for the Hampton Roads Metro Youth tournament, to be held Saturday, July 17, 2010 at the Hampton Family YMCA, 1322 LaSalle Avenue, Hampton, Virginia. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday morning, July 15.

Please note that due to YMCA regulations, the accompanying adult (parent or coach) for each tournament participant will be required to sign a consent/liability form stating that children and adults will not enter or use any YMCA facilities except those designated for the tournament.

This tournament is open to students who have JUST COMPLETED kindergarten through 8th grade. (Preschoolers may compete as kindergartners.) Players are divided into 3 sections based on their grade in school for the PAST SCHOOL YEAR (2009-2010): Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 finishers in each grade level. Younger players who play up in the K-5 section will compete for 4th grade trophies. Younger players who play up in the K-8 section will compete for 6th grade trophies. There is no team competition at our summer tournaments, and players from the same school may be paired against each other.

Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is required for all players.

Please visit the VSCA website at www.vschess.org for more tournament information and to register online.


Other Upcoming Events

The Richmond Metro Youth tournament for grades K-8 will be held Saturday, August 14 at Colonial Trail Elementary School in Henrico County. Players are divided into K-3, K-5, and K-8 sections, based on their grade in the just-completed 2009-2010 school year. Preschoolers may compete as kindergartners. There is no team competition at our summer tournaments, and players from the same school may be paired against each other.

A complete scholastic chess calendar of Virginia and national events is available at www.vschess.org/chess-calendar.


New Mailing Address

The VSCA has a new mailing address:

VSCA, PO Box 29901, Richmond, VA 23242

This address should be used for tournament payments and any other correspondence.


Grafton Tournament Results

103 scholastic players participated in the Grafton Spring Chess Festival, held at Grafton Middle School in York County on May 29, 2010.

In the K-5 section of the tournament, Caleb Currier won the first-place trophy by tiebreaks over Duncan Guthrie. Caleb and Duncan each finished with a perfect score of 5.0 points. Colonial Trail Elementary School (Henrico County) won the K-5 first-place team trophy by tiebreaks over Hampton Roads Academy (Newport News) and Oakwood Elementary School (Norfolk). In the K-12 section, Cameron Currier won the first-place trophy with a score of 4.5 points. Twin Hickory Elementary School (Henrico County), with two players playing up, won the K-12 first-place team trophy.

Congratulations to all of these players and schools, and to all of our tournament participants. Complete tournament results are available at www.vschess.org/results.


Tournament Registration and Entry Fees

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 later than 8:30 am on Saturday may or 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.