You may include payment when you register for a tournament by mail. If you register online, the fee may be added to your charges. The Future Masters section is for accomplished young chess players, grades 12 or under, who have achieved a USCF rating of or higher. This is a very competitive section. If you are rated below and want to play in this section, you must meet one of the criteria listed at " May I play in a higher or lower section than my rating allows?

The Championship section is for improving young chess players, grades 12 or under, who have achieved a USCF rating of up to Most of the players in this section will be improving students in grades , but older and younger players who are in the ratings bracket may also compete here. This USCF rated section is intended to provide more reasonable competition for students in grades 4 and up who are unrated or have USCF ratings under The Primary section is for experienced players in grades 3 or under.

There is no ratings ceiling or floor for this section. It is open to all levels, rated or unrated, who are in this grade group. However, if you are unrated or rated under , we recommend the Primary Novice section. The Primary Novice section is for players in grades 3 or under who are not rated or have not achieved a USCF rating higher than A reduced-rate membership is available - see below. K-1 beginners should always register for this section - do not be intimidated by seemingly high K-1 ratings, as those ratings were primarily obtained in competition against other K-1 beginners.

As noted above, if you are registered in a rated section you must have an up-to-date USCF membership. When a large number of players play four rounds of chess, a single player can only face a small fraction of the field. Tournament pairings are used to match up players in a way that allows a fair and balanced competition. The system used to do this is called the Swiss System.

It determines whom you play and what color you get in each round. In the first round, the field is arranged by ratings, top to bottom, and the top half is paired against the bottom half. If there is an odd number of players in a section, the player at the bottom will be asked to sit out the round, and will be given a full point "bye. This continues in the subsequent rounds, with players of like scores paired against each other sometimes scores may differ slightly.

If you lose to a more experienced player in an early round, you should meet someone closer to your playing strength in the later rounds. To see a description of various tiebreak methods, see this Wikipedia article. If two players are tied on the first tiebreak Median , then the next tiebreak is applied Solkoff. If still tied, move on to the third, and so on.

The column titles should be self-explanatory. Some important notes follow:.

When pairing players, the computer program that does the pairings must balance various considerations. For example, equal scores are considered before equalization of colors. For this reason, a player will often find that he has been allocated more of one color than another. This is normal and should balance out over a number of tournaments. Please do not complain to the tournament director about this. What the computer IS instructed to avoid, however, is three whites or blacks in a row for the same player.

You should alert us of this if it happens and we will see if it can be remedied. As with the color imbalances, this is sometimes unavaoidable. In small sections or sections with many players on the same team, it may be necessary. To find your published USCF rating and expiration date: This is the rating that appears in the Rating field of your entry form after you enter your ID.

The NSCF allows the use of the weekly rating only to qualify for another higher or lower section. See Moving Up for the criteria and procedures. To find the weekly rating, click on the tab. This shows your post-tournament ratings for all of your tournaments.

Your latest result is listed at the top. The NSCF often receives requests from players who want to play in a section that requires a higher rating than the player has achieved. The following describes our policy in this regard. For the purpose of qualifying for a higher section, an official published rating current month will normally be used.

You may instead use your weekly rating to move either up a section or down. In addition, if you win the First Place trophy in the Championship section, you may play in the Future Masters section, one time only, without a qualifying rating. After the one-time shot, you can play there again only if your rating qualifies. If there are an odd number of players in the Future Masters section, the TD retains the option to move the highest rated player in the Championship section to the Future Masters.

If you meet any of the required criteria listed above and you wish to play up or down, please make a request in the comment section of your registration form. Do not call or email the NSCF office. These options apply only at registration time.

You can not switch your section once a tournament has started, whether you had prior knowledge of these regulations or not. It rewards highly active and high-scoring tournament players by awarding "Grand Prix points" to the top finishers in NSCF-conducted tournaments. How are Grand Prix points awarded?

Players in all rated sections are eligible for Grand Prix points. Players in the unrated Novice sections will not earn points until they switch to a rated section. The number of points awarded to a given score is based on the strength of the section a player competes in. Regardless of how many different sections a player competes in throughout the tournament season, a single cumulative point score is tabulated for that player, and compared to others in the same grade category.

The tables currently in use to calculate Grand Prix points are temporary and may change by mid-January, due to the need to further evaluate the effect of this season's changes in the tournament conditions. These table changes, if needed, may result in retroactive upward adjustments to the points earned in some of the sections. For Quad sections, combined sections and for the Greenwich City and Westchester County Championships , see the Addendum at the end of this article. To find your cumulative Grand Prix point score,.

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Ashley, a second grader, enthusiastically plays in the first three tournaments of the school year. If qualified, Ashley may also choose to play in higher-rated sections throughout the season. All Grand Prix points earned in those sections will be added to her final score, but being a second grader she only competes for the Second Grade Grand Prix awards. How many awards are there? All awards are based on a minimum of five events played by the end of the season. This represents about a third of the events available at the start of the season.

How will players and parents be informed of the standings after each tournament? As soon as possible after each tournament, GP points will be calculated and the leader's total point scores posted at Grand Prix Standings. In addition, the bulletin boards at selected Grand Prix tournaments will be posted. The standings will list the top 40 or so of the players in each grade category.

What if a dispute arises regarding the rules and how they affect the standings? As a general guideline, rule changes will not be made in mid-season, but helpful suggestions will be considered for the future. How do I sign up? The tournament schedule and registration procedure can be found on the Tournaments Listing page.

Starting with the season, 3-round Quad sections will be formed in some events. The strength of these events may vary. The tables used to award Grand Prix points will be listed here after each such event. Sometimes two rated sections are combined, and the resulting section requires a table entry of its own.

Such situations are documented here. These tables are based on the actual turnout for each event, as the fields may differ considerably from the historic record. Once these events are completed, the relevant tables will be posted here. Recommended books for beginning players.

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Blasts from the Past Archive: Frequently Asked Questions About Tournaments. Why should I play tournament chess? Tournament competition has several things to recommend it over casual play: It offers the thrill of winning individual trophies. There are plenty of prizes for all levels.

Special prizes are awarded in a Grand Prix competition that spans the entire year. It offers all the thrills of a sporting event, with extras. In this sport, everyone gets to play. No one is sitting on the bench.