Maryland Elementary School Chess Championships 2017
Saturday 18 March 2017, 09:30am - 05:00pm
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Contact tournaments@mdchess.com

ONLY FOR PLAYERS IN GRADES K-5 WHO ARE MD RESIDENTS or out-of-state residents enrolled in MD schools.

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly High School) & Western High School
1400 W. Cold Spring Lane (off I-83)
or
4600 Falls Road (for local commuters east of Falls Rd.)
Baltimore, MD 21209
Skittles Rooms: Western HS's Cafeteria & Auditorium
Tournament Room: Poly HS's Cafeteria (adjoining)

Recent History of the Tournament, Site, and/or Date

Section

US-Chess Rating

Grades

Rounds

1 Time Control

(Sudden-Death)

Individual
Prizes

Team
Prizes

Championship K-5

1000+

K-5

4-SS

G/45 d5

*

1st & tied for 1st :

free Early entry to
Maryland Open
&
Washington
International

**

1st team: top 4

Championship K-3

700+

K-3

4-SS

G/45 d5

*

1st & tied for 1st :

free Early entry to
Maryland Open
&
Washington
International

**

1st team: top 4

600-999 K-5

600-999

K-5

5-SS

G/30 d5

*

**

Under 600 K-5

100-599 or unrated

K-5

6-SS

G/30 d5

*

**

Under 600 K-3

100-599 or unrated

K-3

6-SS

G/30 d5

*

**

 

Rounds Schedule (Round 1 for all sections: 9:30 AM)

 

9:30

10:45

11

11:15

11:30

12

12:30

1

1:15

1:30

2

2:30

2:45

3:30

3:45

4:30

5

5:30

Championship K-5

1

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

AC

Championship K-3

1

 

 

2

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

AC

 

 

600-999 K-5

1

 

2

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

4

 

 

5

 

 

AC

 

Under 600 K-5

Under 600 K-3

1

2

 

 

 

3

 

 

4

 

 

5

 

 

6

 

AC

 

 

#-SS

# of rounds in which a player plays 1 game against an opponent determined by Swiss-system pairings (SS)

G/#

base time: # of minutes per game (G) each player has to complete all of the player's moves

d#

delay time: # of seconds of delay (d) that elapse before a player's base time begins to elapse, when the player is on move

AC

Awards Ceremony (sooner, if possible)

*

Trophies: top ≈ 25% of players or players with ≈ 70% of available points (4.2+/6, 3.5+/5, 2.8+/4)

**

Trophies: top ≈ 40% of teams or teams with ≈ 50% of available points (12+/24, 10+/20, 8+/16)—b/o top 4 players

                                                 

The individual & team winners (or co-winners) of each Championship section will be the 2017 Maryland Scholastic Chess Champion for that grade range. The individual winner (or co-winners) of each Championship section will receive free Early entry to the 63rd Annual (2017) Maryland Open & 6th Annual (2017) Washington International.

Tournament-Registration Fee (+ extra fee for 1-year US-Chess membership, if not current)

              • Register Now! at the bottom of this page, starting 1 month before the tournament
              • $5 discount for each player attending a current Title-1 school & not using another discount code (such as the Baltimore Kids Chess League's). Enter the discount code Title1 during online registration.
              • $20—Tuesday, 2017.03.14, if completed by 11:59 PM (Early)
              • $40—Thursday, 2017.03.16, if completed by 11:59 PM (Regular)
              • $60—Saturday, 2017.03.18, if completed by 5 AM (Last-Minute: ½-point bye possible in Round 1)
              • $80—Saturday, 2017.03.18, 8 - 9 AM (At-the-Door: if space is available; ½-point bye likely in Round 1)

This tournament is supported generously by the Baltimore Kids Chess League.

Registered Players & Wallcharts

              • Individuals (Attendees)includes players registered currently (updated automatically)
                After clicking on the link above, click on Attendees beneath a specific scholastic tournament. At the top of the page, enter into the Search bar the player's first or last name (but not both), or the purchaser's first or last name (but not both). Or, at the bottom of the page, change the # of players displayed to All ; sort by clicking on Player's Name, Purchaser's Name, etc.
              • Individuals (alphabetically)includes players registered by 2017.03.17 16:06—256 players
              • Individuals (by section)includes players registered by the date & time above
              • Teams (by section)includes players registered by the date & time above

US-Chess Membership

              • A player must have a current US-Chess membership to compete in today's US-Chess-rated tournament.
              • A player's US-Chess membership remains current for 1 year after purchase. The expiration date is the last day of the month, 12 months after purchase.
              • To purchase a US-Chess membership during tournament registration, select the 2nd type of Registration Type: Tournament Registration & US-Chess Membership (new or renewal). When renewing a player's expired US-Chess membership, include the player's permanent US-Chess ID #.
              • During a tournament a player without a current US-Chess membership is ineligible to play, will not be paired in any round, & will receive a 0-point bye in all rounds, until the player purchases a new US-Chess membership or renews an expired one, by filling out MCA's US-Chess-membership form in the Tournament Directors' room. A 0-point bye reduces a player's ability to win an individual trophy and a school's ability to win a team trophy.

Which Section is Right for Your Player?

              • Sections are listed primarily in order of rating strength & secondarily in order of grade range.
              • Players who have never competed in a US-Chess-rated tournament (the vast majority of unrated players) are not eligible for the strongest sections.
              • A player's eligibility by rating for a section is determined primarily by the player's official/published US-Chess rating during the month in which a tournament will be held. A player's official rating remains the same number throughout a month, because US-Chess calculates a player's official rating only once per month. That is, a player's official rating does not change during a month, because a player's official rating throughout a month is what the player’s unofficial/unpublished rating was on the 3rd Wednesday of the previous month. Conversely, a player's unofficial rating can change an unlimited number of times per month, because US Chess calculates a player's unofficial rating a few hours after the conclusion of every US-Chess-rated tournament in which a player competes. When registering a player for a tournament in month X, apply the player's official rating in month X. When registering a player for a tournament in month X+1, apply the player's unofficial rating on the 3rd Wednesday of month X. Click here for a player's official & unofficial US-Chess ratings.
              • Sections have a marginally flexible floor (at MCA scholastic tournaments), but an inflexible/hard ceiling (at all US-Chess-rated tournaments). If a player's official rating is below a section's floor, but the player's official rating is only ≤ 50 points below the floor and/or the player's unofficial rating is ≤ 50 points below, equal to, or any number of points above the floor, then the player may play up in that higher section—unless MCA's Scholastic Director and/or the Chief Tournament Director decide it's not in the tournament's best interests. (If a player uses the player's unofficial rating to qualify to play up in a section, then the player might be assigned that unofficial rating for pairing purposes.) However, if a player's unofficial rating is below a section's ceiling, but the player's official rating is above that ceiling, then the player may NOT play down in that section.
              • If a player is registered for a section for which the player is ineligible by rating, then (without notification) MCA will move the player to the lowest section for which the player is eligible.
              • If a player is registered for a section for which the player is ineligible by grade, then MCA will take 1 of 2 steps. If MCA thinks a player has been registered intentionally so as to play up or down in a grade-inappropriate section (in the hope of either stronger or weaker competition), then (without notification) MCA will move the player to a grade-appropriate section. (MCA might also impose punitive measures.) Conversely, if MCA thinks a player has been registered accidentally with a discrepancy that, given the player's designated grade, renders the player ineligible for the player's selected section, then (without notification) MCA will pair the player in a section according to whichever is higher: the designated grade or the selected section. For example, a player designated as a 3rd grader but registered in a 4th-grade section, will remain in the 4th-grade section; conversely, a player designated as a 4th grader but registered in a 3rd-grade section, will be moved to the 4th-grade section. Why? Because MCA considers it wiser to err on the side of accidentally letting a player in a low grade play against players in a higher grade, than of accidentally letting a player in a high grade play against players in a lower grade. To prevent your player from being paired in an incorrect section because of a registration error, please review both the registration-confirmation email MCA sent you & the Wallcharts below. Send corrections to MCA at tournaments@mdchess.com.

Which Players Are Required to Record Their Games?

              • Players are NOT REQUIRED to record (notate) their games. Recording is OPTIONAL.
              • Nonetheless, MCA recommends that players record their games because recording affords several benefits:
                    • it helps to resolve disputes;
                    • it discourages cheating;
                    • it enables players to improve their skills through post-game analysis.

Do Players Need to Bring Anything?

              • Players do NOT need to bring any equipment. MCA will provide all necessary supplies: boards, pieces, scoresheets (for recording), and pencils. (MCA’s pencils might be dull and do not have erasers. If you want a sharp pencil with a good eraser, then bring your own.)
              • Players do NOT need to bring a clock; however, we encourage them to bring one. A game may be started without a clock, if neither player brings a clock to the board. Clocks might be available for purchase at the tournament.
              • Food (pizza, candy, soda, etc.) can be purchased at the tournament.

MCA's PROVISIONAL Scholastic-Tournament Calendar 2016-2017

              • The tournament-announcement page of a tournament listed in MCA's PROVISIONAL Scholastic-Tournament Calendar 2016-2017 might not yet appear at the top of MCA's home page, because that tournament is so many months in the future.
              • Nonetheless, one can access that tournament-announcement page by alternate means:
                    • On the lower, left side of MCA's home page, click on MCA's calendar.
                    • Click on By Month (at the top of the page) to display all tournaments within a month.
                    • Click on All Categories (at the bottom of the page) to display all types of tournaments (major & local scholastic tournaments, major & local open tournaments)—as well as chess camps.
                    • Locate & click on the desired tournament.

Registering for the Tournament

Playing at the Tournament

Results of the Tournament

MCA's Social-Media Profiles

If the tournament were to be rescheduled or cancelled, then MCA would contact you (by email and/or text) and post an announcement at the top of this tournament-announcement page. The tournament will proceed as planned, if MCA neither contacts you, nor posts an announcement about a rescheduling or cancellation. Please do not contact MCA about a site's hypothetical closing because of bad weather, etc. A site closing would be announced separately by the public school's city or county administration, the private school, etc. If the tournament were to be rescheduled, then MCA would issue a refund, if a player were to withdraw from the rescheduled tournament. If the tournament were to be cancelled, then MCA would automatically issue a refund to all players within 1-2 weeks; there would be no need to inform MCA of a player's withdrawal from a cancelled tournament.

For more tournament information, contact the Maryland Chess Association at tournaments@mdchess.com.

Location Poly & Western HSs