Blitz Tournament

REGISTRATION:  Advanced registration is strongly encouraged and available online at www.gatewaychess.org.  The deadline for advanced registration is 7:00 pm, Thursday, December 11.  On-site registration will be available from 8:00 am to 8:30 am on the day of the tournament for an additional fee.

ELIGIBILITY:  All students in Kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) are eligible.  Players may not complete in sections other than their current grade level.

FORMAT:  The tournament will be played in 5 DOUBLE ROUNDS.  Players will play once as white and once as black against each opponent.  Each school may enter any number of players.

• SECTIONS:  High School (Grades 9-12), Middle School (Grades 6-8), and Elementary (Grades K-5).

• ROUND TIMES:  9:30, 10:15, 11:00, 11:45, and 12:30.

• TIME CONTROL:  Game in 5m + 2s time delay

AWARDS:  The awards ceremony will begin at 1:30 pm.  No awards will be presented prior to the ceremony.

• Two (2) school trophies will be awarded in all sections.  (Minimum of two players constitutes a team.)

  • School score is the sum of the three (3) highest player scores.

• Five (5) individual trophies will be awarded per section.

ENTRY FEE:  The entry fee is $15.00 per player if pre-registered online.  The entry fee is $20.00 per player if registering on-site.  Players who begin registration after 9:00 am may not be paired in round one.  Payment may be made through PayPal during online registration or by cash, check, or credit card on site.

MEMBERSHIP:  United States Chess Federation membership is required for tournament participation.  Players must either show proof of current membership or purchase at the tournament.  Discounted rate (on-site only) starts at $12.00, while supplies last.

RATINGS:  The tournament will be United States Chess Federation Blitz Rated, but will use Gateway Chess League Blitz rules.  As many players do not have a published US Chess Blitz rating, the current month Regular rating supplement will be used for pairing purposes.  The Tournament Director reserves the right to use a published Blitz rating if available and significantly different than a player’s Regular rating.  Players without any rating will be paired as unrated. (Local ratings no longer assigned.)

TIE BREAKERS:  Ties will be broken using Modified Median, Solkoff, Cumulative, and Cumulative Opp. for individual trophies and using Solkoff, Cumulative, and Cumulative Opp. for team trophies.

EQUIPMENT:  Players are responsible for providing sets, boards, and clocks.  A limited number of clocks will be available for checkout.  Chess 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 approximately fifteen minutes after the start of round one.

TOURNAMENT COORDINATORS:  The tournament director is Thomas Rehmeier.  The tournament organizer is Sam Kassis.  For further information please call Sam Kassis at 314-496-2266 or visit www.gatewaychess.org.