Roosevelt Winter Chess Challenge 2010

Roosevelt Winter Chess Challenge

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Roosevelt Elementary School, Bellingham

A chess tournament and playday for chessplayers of all abilities, from beginner to experienced tournament competitor, from Kindergarten through 8th grade.
Four playing sections: Kindergarten-1st grades, 2nd-3rd grades, 4th-5th grades, 6th-8th grades.
State Qualifier Tournament! Kindergarten-6th grade players with winning scores (3/5) qualify to participate in the 2010 Washington State Elementary Chess Championships, being held this year in Tacoma on April 24, 2010.
Location: Roosevelt Elementary School, 2900 Yew St, Bellingham. (Full driving directions and map here). The school has a covered play area and new playground out back. There will also be a movie room. Tournament capacity: 196 players.
Format: Five round Swiss (no elimination). Game/30 (maximum 60 minutes for each game.) Tournament rated by the Northwest Scholastic Rating System. Pairings by computer.
Schedule: Check-in 8:15 - 8:45am. Late check-ins receive a half-point bye for Round 1. Opening ceremonies at 9:00am. Start times for each round: 9:30, 10:45, 12:00, 1:15, 2:30. Awards ceremony 4:00pm or ASAP.
Awards: Trophies to the top 5 in K-1 and 6-8 sections, top 10 in 2-3 and 4-5 sections. Medals to all players K-6 who qualify for State (score 3.0 or more) not receiving a trophy. Participation award to all others. Ties broken by computer as per WHSCA rules.
Team Awards: Awards to top six elementary schools (determined by adding the points of the top five scorers from a single K-5 or K-6 school).
Bring: Concessions will be available on site. Lunch special can be ordered in advance. It includes a slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza, fruit, pop or water, and a treat. Please bring your own card tables and chairs for the skittles area as quantities are limited. If in sixth grade or higher, bring a pencil (or pen), and a chess clock if you have one.

TO ENTER: Players must pre-register to play. No on-site entries. Entry fee $13. Mail in your entry with entry fee enclosed, postmarked no later than Tuesday, January 19. All players must also check-in the morning of the tourney between 8:15 and 8:45. Late check-ins will receive a half-point bye for Round 1. Make check to Roosevelt PTA. Mail entries to:
.....Roosevelt Chess c/o Wine
.....3012 St. Clair St.
.....Bellingham, WA 98226
You can use the form below, or just include the following: Student's Full Name, Address, School, Grade, Phone, Email, with entry fee.
ONLINE Registration Option: - Go to Chess4Life - Roosevelt 2010 to register online. No extra fee.
Lunch Special: $5 for pizza, fruit, pop or water, and a treat. Include funds with entry.
Get the T-shirt: If you would like the tournament T-shirt, include an extra $12 and indicate youth or adult size desired: XS, S, M, L, XL. They'll be purple and will have the logo at top (king riding sled) in white on left chest.
Further information: Email Vaughn Wine at vwine@yahoo.com. (Cel 360-201-8087).

Get the One Page Tournament Flyer in .pdf format

ROOSEVELT WINTER CHESS CHALLENGE ENTRY FORM

Name_________________________________________  Grade_________

Address______________________________________________________

School_______________________________________________________

Phone___________  Email______________________________________ 

Lunch Special?_______________________  T-shirt?______________

Roosevelt Winter Chess Challenge FAQ

I don't know how to play chess. Should I come?
Sure! Before tournament day, you can have a friend show you how to play, or you can learn the rules of chess online here or here. Or if you wish, we can teach you chess at the tournament! If you choose this last option, say so on your entry, and we'll teach you during the first round. You would then receive a free half-point bye for Round One, and play in the tournament for the remaining four rounds. Only three things you need to know to play: 1.The starting position. 2.How the six different pieces move. 3.How the game ends. (Get the King!)
I'm not a good chessplayer. Should I play?
Sure! Come play with the rest of us patzers. We're all learning, and you don't have to be a Grandmaster to have fun at chess. Besides, the Swiss pairings system will match you with opponents of equal ability (after a few rounds). And just think of how much better you'll be after a day of chess playing.
I've never played in a tournament. I'm nervous! What do I do?
Have fun and enjoy the competition! You might have your parents read Considerations Before Competing, an article by a Whatcom County mom published in Neighborhood-Kids.com. Then you'll know a bit more about what to expect. (Also helpful is Tournaments - How They Work.)
How many games will I play?
All players will play five rounds, win or lose. With Swiss pairings, there's no elimination, and you'll always play someone with the same score as yourself (with a few exceptions). So for example, if in the first three rounds you have one win and two losses, you'll play someone else with one win and two losses in the 4th round.
I can't play in all five rounds. Can I still play?
Yes, you can still play! If you'll be arriving late, or must leave early, or have a football game in the middle, just check the schedule (above) and indicate on your entry which rounds you will be missing.
If I haven't taken my hands off of the chess piece yet, can I change my mind?
In a rated tournament like this one, if you even touch a chess piece, you must move it! And if you touch an opponent's piece, you must capture it! So sit on your hands until you know what you want to do. If a piece needs to be centered or adjusted, you may do so by first saying "I adjust".
Do I have to write down the moves?
Scorekeeping is required for the 6th-8th grade section, and recommended (but not required) for the other sections. To learn how, have a teacher or friend show you, or go here. Hey, it's good for you! One of the best ways to improve is to review your games after a tournament. (Besides being able to show your friends the awesome move you made that clinched the game.) Also, learning chess notation opens you to the whole wide world of chess literature.
Will we use chess clocks? How do they work?
We'll use clocks in the 6th-8th grade section on all boards, and perhaps the top boards in the 4th-5th grade section. And if a game looks like it may go long, we may place a clock on your game after about 40 minutes. Chess clocks are a great invention. They keep slow players from slowing and losing players from stalling. Here's how it works: After your move, you hit the button nearest you on the chess clock. Your timer stops, and your opponent's timer begins. In this tournament each middle school player will get 25 minutes, thus ensuring that no game goes over fifty minutes. If a player uses up all of their clock time, it's a loss just like checkmate. So bring a chess clock if you have one, but if you don't, that's okay.
How do school team awards work?
The team scoring used will be similar to cross-country meet scoring. That is, the best five results from a single school will be tallied and compared with other schools. Efforts will be made not to pair players from the same school. We'll use the eligibility rules used at Elementary State.
Can I turn in the entry form and fee to my teacher?
Sorry, all entries must be 1) entered online via Chess4Life, or 2) mailed in, postmarked on or before Tuesday, January 19.
Is this tourney an Elementary State Qualifier tournament? Tell me about State.
The largest chess tournament in the state every year is not the Washington Open, the Seafair Open or the State High School Team Championships, it's the State Elementary Championships. For example, two years ago 1,422 players pre-registered to compete in Redmond. And consider this: to attend, players had to first qualify by posting a winning record in a qualifying tournament!
To qualify for Elementary State, a Washington student in grades 1-6 must post a winning record (score over 50 percent) in a NWSRS-rated Scholastic Chess Tournament in Washington State with at least 4 rounds, at least 6 players in their section, and at least 3 different school codes represented. Players in Kindergarten need to score 2/5 in a divison which includes K-2 players. A list of qualifying players for the current school year can be found at the WHSCA website.

Parents, check out the Parents FAQ on the NW Wa. Elementary School Chess page