Summer Knights to open chess season for school year

MADISON – Players can register now for the first tournament of the 2019-2020 school year with the upcoming Summer Knights Scholastic Chess Tournament.  

Rainbow Elementary School, 50 Nance Road will host Summer Knights on Aug. 24. CB&S Bank is sponsoring the contest. 

“Although we are offering both a Rated section (for those with a U.S. Chess Federation rating) and a Non-Rated section for beginning players, we will not issue a tournament report to the USCF,” Ranae Bartlett said. Bartlett serves as Executive Director of Madison City Chess League. 

“The Summer Knights tournament is an opportunity for everyone to relax, not worry about ratings, but play in their first chess tournament early in the school year,” Bartlett said.

The tournament will open at 9 a.m. with a mandatory meeting for players. The approximate times for rounds are 9:15 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 3 p.m. “Non-rated sections are likely to start sooner after the first round,” Bartlett said.

Organizers recommend that pre-kindergarten and kindergarten (rising first-grade) students with a published rating should register in the K-12 Under 500 section, regardless of rating.

For Rated sections, players in the K-12 (Open), K-12 Under 1000 and K-12 Under 500 designations will receive trophies for first through third places, medals for fourth through sixth places, along with an award for Top Female.

For Non-Rated sections, players in the K-12, K-6 and K-3 designations will vie for a trophy for first place. Players will receive medals based on enrollment, along with Top Female.

USCF membership is required only for players in Rated sections.

The game time for Rated sections will be G/30/d5 and for Non-Rated sections will be G/20. Pairing will be set at 5SS.

Registration fee is $20 for league members and $25 for other players who register by Aug. 22.

“Players will need to join or renew your MCCL membership for 2019 in a separate order before registering for Summer Knights to pay the reduced registration fee of $20,” Bartlett said. “If you have renewed your USCF membership, be sure to update your MCCL profile to reflect your new expiration date.”

Registration deadline is Aug. 21.

To register, visit madisonchess.com, click “Register Now for Summer Knights” in the “View” section and then click “Register here” (or visit madisonchess.com/blog/register-now-for-summer-knights).