Tournaments

You DO NOT have to bring anything. We provide notation sheets, pencils, chess boards, and clocks. It is recommended that you bring water bottles. We have snacks and drinks for sell onsite.

Inform us as soon as possible if you cannot play a round. Half-point byes are available if requested before the start of the preceding round. If not requested in time, the bye will be worth zero points. 

If there’s an odd number of players, then someone has to sit out. You’ll still get a win in the tournament, but no ratings change. Byes are given to the lowest-scoring player in the section, with the exception of players for whom it’s their first tournament or players who have a scheduled zero or half-point bye coming up. Refunds are not given or expected for byes.

You may request to compete in a higher section for an additional fee if you meet the criteria below.

A): Your monthly USCF rating is within 150 points of the section’s cutoff. Example: If the cutoff is 1600, a monthly rating of 1450 qualifies (150 points below 1600), but 1449 does not.
B): Live Rating Fee Waiver: If your live rating is above the cutoff (even on the event day), the playing-up fee is waived or refunded.
C): Provisional Players (<25 games): If your monthly rating is below the 150-point range, but your live rating is above it, we average the two ratings. If this average is still below the cutoff, you cannot play up.
D): FIDE Rating Conversion: Players can play up to the next section if their US Chess Rating is within 150 points of the next section. Players may also use their FIDE rating after converting it into a USCF using the following formula. US Chess rating = ( 180 + 0.94 × FIDE if FIDE ≤ 2000) OR (20 + 1.02 × FIDE if FIDE > 2000)

If you're familiar with the rules and have an active US Chess ID, you're eligible to participate! Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome, with participants ranging from 5 to 99 years old.

Initial Registration must be done on our website. The registration deadline for the tournament is 30 minutes before the scheduled start time. Players who register after this cutoff may receive a bye for the first round. Refunds are available 1 hour before the tournaments; no refunds for no-shows.

In the first round, players are ranked by their monthly rating. The top half competes against the bottom half. In subsequent rounds, winners face off against each other, as do the losers. This pattern continues throughout the tournament. There is no elimination in swiss style tournaments.

Refunds are available up to 1 hour before the tournament begins. Late withdrawal requests will not be refunded. To withdraw from a tournament, please send an email at least one hour before the event's start time.

Missing a tournament without notice results in a warning for the first offense and a subscription suspension for the second. No refunds for missed tournaments.

Among median tiebreak methods, this approach is widely used. It evaluates a player's competition strength by summing the scores of their opponents. Players with an even number of wins and losses discard both the highest and lowest opponent scores. Those with more wins discard the lowest score, while those with more losses discard the highest. In tournaments with nine or more rounds, the top two, bottom two, or all four scores are omitted, depending on the player's win/loss ratio. Unplayed games are counted as half a point each. If a tied player has unplayed games, those are treated as games against opponents with a score of zero.

In the United States, a player obtains a chess rating through the United States Chess Federation (USCF) by participating in rated tournaments. After playing and completing 4 games against other rated opponents in a sanctioned event, the USCF uses the results to calculate an initial rating for the player called a “Preliminary Rating”. This rating fluctuates as one continues to play in rated events, reflecting their performance relative to other players. In addition to the rating, players are assigned a unique US Chess ID, which helps in tracking their progress, tournament history, and rating adjustments over time. After 25 total rated games, they will receive their “Established Rating” which fluctuates less often.

FIDE-rated tournaments differ from US Chess-rated events in their rating systems and international scope. FIDE uses the Elo system globally, while US Chess focuses on American players. To get a FIDE ID, play in a FIDE tournament and complete the registration form. We’ll handle the rest.

Alternatively, you can request from USCF directly. To be officially FIDE-rated, you must play five games against rated FIDE players, score at least half a point, and achieve a performance rating of at least 1400.