DATE – The tournament will be played on Saturday, February 28, 2009.
PLACE – The tournament will be played at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, 415 West McCarty, Jefferson City, Missouri, 65101.
REGISTRATION – Tournament registration will be from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Advanced registration is recommended. For advanced registration go to www.gatewaychess.org and follow the instructions. The deadline for advanced registration is 6:00 p.m., Friday, February 27.
ELIGIBILITY – All students in kindergarten through grade twelve are eligible. Schools may not enter teams in sections that include grades higher than the highest grade in the school that the team represents.
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION FORMAT – The tournament will be played in four rounds at 10:30, 1:00, 3:30 and 6:00. Students in grades nine through twelve are eligible. Each school may enter any number of four player teams and a partial team. The best player on each team should be assigned to board one, the second best player should be assigned to board two, and so forth. A school that enters only a partial team must assign the players to the highest boards, and a school that enters a partial team in addition to one or more full teams must assign the players to the lowest boards. The school score is the sum of the best scores on each board. Eight school plaques and eight individual trophies per board will be awarded. The time control is game in sixty minutes.
NINTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION FORMAT – The tournament will be played in six rounds at 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00. Students in kindergarten through grade nine are eligible. Each school may enter any number of players. The school score is the sum of the four highest player scores. Four school plaques and eight individual trophies will be awarded. The time control is game in thirty minutes. Players may be paired with players in other sections.
EIGHTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION FORMAT – The tournament will be played in six rounds at 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00. Students in kindergarten through grade eight are eligible. Each school may enter any number of players. The school score is the sum of the four highest player scores. Four school plaques and eight individual trophies will be awarded. The time control is game in thirty minutes. Players may be paired with players in other sections.
SIXTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION FORMAT – The tournament will be played in six rounds at 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00. Students in kindergarten through grade six are eligible. Each school may enter any number of players. The school score is the sum of the four highest player scores. Four school plaques and eight individual trophies will be awarded. The time control is game in thirty minutes. Players may be paired with players in other sections.
FIFTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION FORMAT – The tournament will be played in six rounds at 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00. Students in kindergarten through grade five are eligible. Each school may enter any number of players. The school score is the sum of the four highest player scores. Four school plaques and eight individual trophies will be awarded. The time control is game in thirty minutes. Players may be paired with players in other sections.
THIRD GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION FORMAT – The tournament will be played in six rounds at 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00. Students in kindergarten through grade three are eligible. Each school may enter any number of players. The school score is the sum of the four highest player scores. Four school plaques and eight individual trophies will be awarded. The time control is game in thirty minutes. Players may be paired with players in other sections.
RATINGS – United States Chess Federation ratings will be used if possible. Grade twelve students without ratings will be assigned a rating of 800, grade eleven students without ratings will be assigned a rating of 750, and so forth.
AWARDS PRESENTATIONS – Awards will be presented for the NINTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION, the EIGHTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION, the SIXTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION, the FIFTH GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION and the THIRD GRADE AND UNDER DIVISION at either 7:30 or 8:30. Awards will be presented to the HIGH SCHOOL DIVISON AT 8:30. No awards will be presented before these times.
ENTRY FEE – The entry fee is $20.00 per player. The entry fee for players who begin registration after 9:30 or who pay the cashier after 10:00 is $30.00. Players who begin registration after 10:00 will not be paired in round one.
TIE BREAKERS – Ties will be broken using the SOLKOFF SYSTEM, the SONNEBOERN-BERGER SYSTEM, the MEDIAN SYSTEM and the CUMULATIVE SYSTEM.
EQUIPMENT – Players are responsible for providing sets, boards, clocks and either pen or pencil for writing game notation. Limited numbers of sets, boards and clocks will be available for those without necessary equipment. Equipment may be on sale during the tournament.
SPONSORS – Each school must have either a sponsor or parent present. There will be a sponsors and parents meeting during round one.
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR – The tournament director is Edward Baur.
FURTHER INFORMATION – Please call Edward Baur at 314-645-2897.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS – For hotel room reservations call the Capitol Plaza Hotel at 573-635-1234 and request the Gateway Chess League rate, $89.00 per night.
TEAM ROOM RESERVATIONS – For team room reservations call Edward Baur, 314-645-2897. The cost for a team room from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. is between $200.00 and $400.00 depending on the room size.