Virginia Scholastic Chess Association Newsletter

October 22, 2015

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.


Richmond Fall Classic (Grades K-12 and Adult)

Registration is now open for the Richmond Fall Classic tournament, to be held Saturday, November 7, 2015 at the Richmond Main Public Library, 101 East Franklin Street, Richmond. This event is co-sponsored by the VSCA, the Richmond Chess Initiative (RCI) and the Richmond Public Library. Proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Richmond Public Library Chess Program and the Richmond Middle School Chess League. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday MORNING, November 5.

This tournament is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and also adult players. All sections are US Chess-rated and a current US Chess membership is required to play in the tournament.

There are 3 scholastic sections: K-5 (elementary school, grades K-5); K-8 (middle school, grades 6-8); and K-12 (high school, grades 9-12). Each section will play 4 rounds with a time control of G/40;d5.

The Open Quads sections are open to advanced scholastic players (US Chess rating 1000+) and adult players. Quad entries will be divided into groups of 4 (quads) by rating. Each quad will play a 3-round round robin with a time control of G/45;d5.

Please note that the schedule and entry fees are different from our standard tournaments. Onsite registration will be available at the tournament from 8:45 to 9:15 am. Orientation for new players will be at 9:15 am, and the first round will begin at 9:30 am. The entry fee is $15 for all players. Please read our Check-in Policy for this tournament.

Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 individuals and the top 3 teams in each scholastic section. There are cash prizes for the quad sections, $25 for 1st and $15 for 2nd in each quad, with no team competition.

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


Kemps Landing/Old Donation Fall Scholastic and Quads (Grades K-12 and Adults)

There is only one more week to register for the Kemps Landing/Old Donation Fall Scholastic and Quads tournament, to be held Saturday, October 31, 2015 at Kemps Landing/Old Donation School in Virginia Beach. Advance registration is online only, and closes at 7:00 AM Thursday MORNING, October 29.

This tournament is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and also adult players, and includes both rated and non-rated sections.

The K-5 Not-rated section and K-12 Not-rated section (grades 6-12) are designed for beginning tournament players (first, second or third chess tournament, with exceptions on a case-by-case basis). Games in these sections are NOT RATED by the U.S. Chess Federation (US Chess) and players do NOT need to be US Chess members.

The K-5 Open section and K-12 Open section (grades 6-12) are US Chess-rated sections. All players in these sections must be current US Chess members.

The Open Quads sections are US Chess-rated sections open to advanced scholastic players (US Chess rating 1000+) and adult players. Quad entries will be divided into groups of 4 (quads) by rating. Each quad will play a 3-round round robin with a time control of G/60.

The entry fee for the scholastic sections is $10 for advance (online) registrations, or $15 for onsite registrations. The entry fee for the Open Quads is $20 for all players, whether registered online or onsite. Please read our Tournament Check-in Policy.

Trophies will be awarded to the top 5 individuals and the top 3 school teams in each of the scholastic sections. There are cash prizes for the Open Quads, with no trophies or team competition.

Food and drinks will be sold at the tournament, including pizza orders for lunch.

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


Other Upcoming VSCA Tournaments

The Hopkins Scholastic at Hopewell tournament is scheduled for Saturday, December 12 at Hopewell High School in Hopewell. The tournament is named in memory of VSCA founder and longtime president Peter Hopkins. This will be the 23rd consecutive year of scholastic chess tournaments at Hopewell High School, beginning in 1993. The Hopkins Scholastic will have 4 sections: K-3, K-5, K-8, K-12, all US Chess-rated.

A calendar of VSCA events as well as other scholastic events in Virginia is available at www.vschess.org/chess-calendar.


Maggie L. Walker Tournament Results

49 scholastic players participated in the Maggie L. Walker Fall Scholastic Tournament, held at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School in Richmond on October 17, 2015.

The K-5 Not-rated section and the K-12 Not-rated section were combined with separate awards.

In the K-5 Not-rated section, Lucas Chuidian won the first place trophy with a score of 3.5 points in 4 rounds. Veritas School from Richmond won the team trophy in K-5 Not-rated.

In the K-12 Not-rated section, Oscar Shen won the first-place trophy with a score of 3.0 points in 4 rounds. Veritas School from Richmond won the team trophy in K-12 Not-rated.

In the K-5 Under 1200 section, Henry Stevens won the first-place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. Veritas School from Richmond won the the K-5 Under 1200 first-place team trophy.

In the K-12 Under 1200 section, Trey Johnson won the first-place trophy with a perfect score of 4.0 points in 4 rounds. Moody Middle School from Henrico County won the K-12 Under 1200 first-place team trophy by tiebreaks over the host team from Maggie L. Walker Governor's School.

In the K-12 Championship section (rating 1200 and over), Ryan Balser and Sudarshan Sriniaiyer tied for first place. Ryan and Sudarshan each finished with 3.5 points and played to a draw in the final round.

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


Richmond Metropolitan Grand Prix Tournaments

The Richmond Chess Initiative (RCI) and the Richmond Public Library are hosting a series of Saturday tournaments for scholastic and adult players. The next tournaments are October 24 at the North Avenue Library branch, November 14 at the Belmont Library branch and November 21 at the Westover Hills Library branch. Weekly training sessions, free and open to the public, are also scheduled every Monday evening 6:00-7:30 pm at the North Avenue branch and the Westover Hills branch, and every Wednesday evening 6:00-7:30 pm at the Main branch and the Belmont branch. The CEO and founder of RCI is VSCA secretary Mike Callaham. For more information, visit the RCI website at richmondchessinitiative.wordpress.com/busline-grand-prix-schedule/.

Our November 7 Richmond Fall Classic tournament, hosted in conjunction with RCI and the Richmond Public Library, will be held at the Main Library. Online registration is now open at www.vschess.org. See the article at the top of this newsletter for more information.


Hampton Roads Scholastic Chess Club

The Hampton Roads Scholastic Chess Club, organized by VSCA Board Member Christina Schweiss, has merged with the Hampton Roads Chess Club and the Virginia Beach Chess Club, and meets on Tuesday evenings at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach. Scholastic players meet from 5:00 to 7:30 pm, and adults and advanced scholastic players meet from 7:00 to 10:30 pm. Meetings include training as well as rated tournaments. For more information, visit the chess club's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HRScholasticChessClub.


Maggie L. Walker Free Chess Clinics

The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School Chess Club in Richmond holds chess clinics at the school on one Monday evening each month from 5 to 7 pm. The clinics are free to scholastic players of all experience levels, from beginner to advanced. The next clinic is scheduled for Monday, November 16. For further information, visit the chess club's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MLWGSChess.


It's Your Move!

VSCA secretary and Class A player Mike Callaham has generously offered to analyze and comment on VSCA tournament games which players send him. If you have a game that you're proud of, or a game where you feel you could have played better, and would like Mr. Callaham to take a look at it, all you need to do is send him a copy of your complete and legible scoresheet (game notation). He will respond by email, and games which are especially interesting or instructive will be published on the VSCA website. For complete details, visit the VSCA website at www.vschess.org/chess-resources/games. Mr. Callaham has recently posted his analysis of three outstanding games from the Virginia Scholastic Championships in Charlottesville, and a very interesting game from the April 18 Fork Union Spring Scholastic.

Mr. Callaham is the CEO and founder of the Richmond Chess Initiative, the coordinator and head coach of the Richmond Middle School Chess League, and currently coaches chess clubs at Binford, Boushall, Lucille Brown, Thomas Henderson, Albert Hill, and Thompson Middle Schools in Richmond, J. B. Fisher Elementary School in Richmond, and Tuckahoe Elementary School in Henrico County. Coach Callaham has also met with chess clubs at many other Virginia schools, and he would like to visit as many other school chess clubs as possible on behalf of the VSCA. Parents and coaches, if you would like to have Mr. Callaham visit your school club for a free simul, chess clinic or lecture, please contact him at waterman2010kir@aol.com. Be sure to provide contact information for the school chess sponsor/coach. This is a wonderful opportunity for your school to benefit from the help of an experienced chess player and teacher.


Support Isaac Steincamp on the Road to New Orleans

Isaac Steincamp is a longtime VSCA player, volunteer, tournament organizer and recent board member. As president of the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School Chess Club, he revitalized the chess team, organized free monthly chess clinics for the community, and coordinated the Dragon Chess Camp the past 3 summers. His current US Chess rating is 2078. Now a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh, his goal is to win the 2016 U.S. Junior Open in New Orleans.

Isaac needs your support for his training and travel. For more information, and to find out how you can support Isaac's quest, visit https://www.gofundme.com/chesssummit.


Visit Us on Facebook

Check out the VSCA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vascholasticchess, managed by parent and board member Christina Schweiss.


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 scholastic advance registration entry fee of $10 may be paid online through PayPal (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 9:00 am on Saturday, but they will need to pay the late entry fee of $15. 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.

The entry fee for Open Quads sections is $20 for both advance registrations and on-site registrations.

Please note that the above information applies to most Virginia Scholastic Chess Association tournaments, but does NOT apply to the Richmond Fall Classic, the Virginia Scholastic and Collegiate Championships or to any non-VSCA events.


Tournament Check-in

To help start our tournaments on time, we recently implemented a new check-in policy. Players who pay online do not need to check in at the tournament, but must let us know if they are not coming. Please read the following brief instructions:

All Players: If you are registering and/or paying at the tournament: If you are paying online:

US Chess Membership

Current membership in the U.S. Chess Federation (US Chess) is REQUIRED in order to play in VSCA tournaments, except for sections specifically designated as not-rated. In order to avoid delays on Saturday, please join or renew directly with US Chess at www.uschess.org/webstore. Please do not mail a paper application form or check to US Chess, 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 rated sections of a tournament must be current US Chess members.


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