Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter
April 26, 2011
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.
Hanover Scholastic Tournament (Grades K-12)
Wednesday is the last day to register for the fourth annual Hanover Scholastic tournament, to be held
Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Hanover High School in Mechanicsville.
Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday morning, April 28.
Players are divided into four sections based on their grade in school:
- K-3 section (kindergarten - 3rd grade)
- K-5 section (4th - 5th grade)
- K-8 section (6th - 8th grade)
- K-12 section (9th - 12th grade)
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.
Brett Colbert, a junior at Atlee High School and a member of the Atlee chess team, will be coordinating
a canned food drive at the tournament, and we ask that each participant bring a can of
food to donate. Personal hygiene items are also needed and appreciated.
The donations will be distributed to families in need through the Mechanicsville
Churches Emergency Functions (MCEF).
We also welcome student volunteers to help with the collection process.
Please contact
Brett Colbert for more information.
Other Upcoming Events
The Virginia Chess Federation (VCF) will host a scholastic tournament for grades K-8 on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at the Spratley Gifted Center in Hampton.
Advance registration will open soon. Check the
VCF website for complete information.
The fourth annual Grafton Spring Chess Festival will be held
on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at Grafton Middle School in Yorktown, Virginia. This
event includes K-5 and K-12 sections for U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) members, and a K-8 Not-rated section for newer players.
USCF membership is not required for the K-8 Not-rated section.
In addition to the VSCA scholastic tournament, the Grafton Festival will also include a USCF-rated quads event for adults and advanced scholastic players, hosted by the Virginia Chess Federation (VCF).
Online registration for the VSCA scholastic sections will be available beginning May 11.
A complete scholastic chess calendar of Virginia and national events is available at
www.vschess.org/chess-calendar.
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.