K-12 Grade Championships
Posted in News on November 11th, 2021 by Tom BrownscombeNevada chess is posting the following on behalf of the USCF:
NEW INFO! The National K-12 Grades Chess Championships are coming!
Yes, it’s true! US Chess will be holding the 2021 National K-12 Grades Championships as originally scheduled! This event will take place at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, from December 3 to December 5. Players will be competing for 26 National Championship individual and team titles, along with lots of individual and team trophies, in 13 different sections. In addition to the main event which starts on Friday, we will have the always fun and exciting Blitz and Bughouse tournaments on Thursday.
The early entry fee ($70) deadline for the 2021 National K-12 Grades Championships is at midnight Central Time on Monday, November 22. Don’t delay – enter now for the lower rate!
The hotel reservation policies have been revised for this year! Although the official reservation deadline has passed, Rosen Shingle Creek WILL take reservation requests at the tournament rate until they are out of rooms! Also, you can now cancel your reservation without penalty until just five days before your reservation starts! So, for example, if you want to come in on December 2 to play the Blitz tournament that evening, you can cancel your reservation up until November 27! US Chess thanks Rosen Hotels for that generous accommodation to help our members with travel adjustments.
We will also have TWO town halls prior to the event! These town halls will feature NTD Jon Haskel, the chief tournament director for the 2021 National K-12 Grades, and Pete Karagianis, Assistant Director of Events for US Chess. They will be available on Zoom to answer any questions you have about the tournament. Please join us for these informative sessions!
· The first town hall will be on Thursday, November 18, at 5:00pm Eastern time. The Zoom link for the November 18 town hall is here. This link is also posted on the tournament website.
· The second town hall will be on Monday, November 29, at 8:30pm Eastern time. We will publish the second Zoom link after the first has concluded. It will be included in another email notification and posted on the tournament website.
US Chess is instituting some special measures this year to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Many of these measures are already in place in your schools. US Chess used many of these at this year’s U.S. Open as well, with great success.
· Face coverings, properly worn, will be required in all public spaces for this event. You are encouraged to bring your own face covering; be sure that it covers your nose and mouth. Chess Control will have complimentary face masks available. US Chess will be disinfecting the boards and pieces used for the event between every round. In addition, players will be provided a free personal bottle of hand sanitizer at their boards before the first round.
· Pairings and standings will be published online, and all attendees are encouraged to check standings there. US Chess has always put that information online before printing it at an event. For this year, we will post pairing information and current standings on the tournament website only. This will help limit crowding.
· We also ask that parents waiting for their players outside the playing halls avoid crowding close to the doors where players exit. With masks on, it can be a little confusing, especially for younger players. Please keep a clear line of sight from the exit doors and be sure your child knows what you’re wearing so you are more easily recognizable. Another tip: establish a specific place to meet up after the game (this works better with the older players).
Our Guest GM this year will be Maxim Dlugy, founder of Chess Max Academy. GM Dlugy will conduct a simultaneous exhibition on Friday morning, December 3. There are only three spots left for the 30-board exhibition, and the entry is $25. However, it costs nothing to watch the action!
But that’s not all! GM Dlugy will also give a lecture on Saturday, and play “Take-on-all-comers” Blitz sessions in the skittles area on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! The lecture and the Blitz games are free!
If this is your very first tournament, NTD Korey Kormick (Ratings & Technical Manager, US Chess) will be on hand early Friday morning to give advice, tips, and encouragement! Even if you’re a veteran of these events, Korey’s breadth and depth of knowledge in all areas of tournament organization are still likely to provide you good and new information! We also have a New to National Events Guide.
US Chess will also provide an excellent lecture on the benefits of chess as an educational tool! Please check the tournament schedule for the dates and times of these two lectures! The tournament schedule is linked on the tournament website!
Electronic devices are NOT permitted to be used or accessed in the playing hall AT ALL. This includes any electronic scoresheet. US Chess will provide official scoresheets for players to use. Only those scoresheets will be permitted. Please review the Electronic Device Policy for details.
All playing floors for this event are restricted essentially to players, tournament officials, and others with printed, pre-approved badges while games are in progress. Click here to read the revised US Chess spectator policy for more information.
For Grades 2-12, the playing hall (Gatlin B/C/D) will have color-coded exits. Each grade level in that room will be assigned a colored exit that its players will use exclusively throughout the tournament. Players will be reminded which exit to use every round. Grades 9-12 will use the red exit. Grades 5-8 will use the white exit. Grades 2-4 will use the blue exit.
Grades K-1 will be located in Panzacola F. This will allow greater security for our youngest competitors and will make it easier for parents/coaches to keep track of them.
We will be broadcasting 21 top games! This is an increase from the 12 we have broadcast in recent years. You can go to www.uschess.live to follow all the action!
Finally, as always, we want everyone at our events to have a good time – without getting hurt or causing others to be harmed. PLEASE be sure to look at our video on safety tips – and make sure everyone coming with you sees it too!
For more information, registration, list of pre-registrations, prizes and side events, please see http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2021/k12/. If you have additional questions, please email nationalevents@uschess.org.
Sign up today and take advantage of the current entry fee deadline! We hope to see you in Orlando for the 2021 National K-12 Grades Championships!
