Chess Tournament

Description/ Regulations

The L.E.S.T. Chess Tournament is a competition conducted using the United States Chess Federation (USCF) National Scholastic Chess Tournament Regulations as a guide. There are four divisions to the tournament (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Grades), with a limit of one student from each school for each division. The registration form will allow you to also supply the name of an alternate for each grade in case the first person is unable to participate at the L.E.S.T. Chess Tournament. There will be team awards for the three teams that score the highest number of cumulative points among their school’s chess participants. To facilitate team scoring, an alternate will be allowed to play a match if the original player cannot attend a subsequent match due to conflicting events. Any points that the alternate earns will not go toward the individual player for whom they are filling in, but points they earn will go toward the team award. A player missing a match because of a conflicting L.E.S.T. event will be at a significant disadvantage as far as earning an individual chess award. Allowing alternates to fill in for a player who has a time conflict will give the opportunity for more students to participate and give more of a “team” feeling for all team members from each school. 

The following General Regulations apply: 

  1. All games will be played with standard tournament chess sets which will be supplied by L.E.S.T. 
  2. Clocks will not be used, except at the referee’s discretion. 
  3. A referee will be present who will adjudicate or clock games when necessary or at the referee’s discretion. The referee’s decisions will be final. 
  4. Each school must have an advisor present at the start of round one to ensure that players understand and follow all instructions. 
  5. Coaches/parents will not be allowed in the competition room.
  6. After each game finishes, players will immediately leave the tournament room to review their game with coaches, parents, and/or teammates outside of the competition room. 
  7. Standard Chess Etiquette (behavior) is expected from all players, including:
    • Don’t talk except to say “check,” “adjust,” “resign” and other necessary chess statements. 
    • If you have questions about moves or feel a mistake has been made, call the referee IMMEDIATELY. It is impossible to make corrections once other moves are made. 
    • If you touch a piece, except by accident, you must move it, assuming the piece can move legally. 
    • Be sure your board is set up correctly: with a black square on your LEFT corner, the white queen on her white square, the black queen on her black square. 
  8. Winners are to notify the chess tournament director after their match has concluded to have their victory registered on the tournament bracket. 

Schedule

Refer to the Master Schedule for the time/date/location of the Chess Tournament.  All participants must be present at the check-in time (indicated on the official schedule published in January), so that play may begin on time. All participants will be scheduled to play five games. The tournament should finish before the Closing Awards ceremony. The Chess tournament will follow the Swiss System, using computer software to make the pairings, keep the scores, and calculate any necessary tie breaking. The official time of the chess tournament will be found on the L.E.S.T. Master Schedule when available.

How to Participate

All teams and participants must be pre-registered by the deadline. Registration details and deadlines are found on the Registration Page.

Alternates are permitted and may fill in for a participant who has a time conflict due to another L.E.S.T. event, but they must also be pre-registered.

If participant changes are known before L.E.S.T. begins, those changes may be emailed to the L.E.S.T. Tournament Director at lestnorthwest@gmail.com so that they may be updated before being posted.