Summer Knights stands as school year’s first chess tourney

MADISON – For the first time, youth will vie for bragging rights in an online format with the 2020 Summer Knights Scholastic Chess Tournament.

Sponsored by CB&S Bank, Summer Knights will be played on ChessKid on Sept. 26. The Non-Rated section will start at 10 a.m. for games with 15 minutes per side. The Rated section will begin at 1 p.m. for games with 20 minutes per side.

All sections will play four rounds, except Rated K-12 Open with five rounds. Madison City Chess League added two sections for Rated Under 500: K-12 and K-5. “And we changed the Non-Rated sections to better align with our school grade configurations,” league executive director Ranae Bartlett said.

MCCL will not issue a tournament report to U.S. Chess Federation. “Summer Knights 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.

Deadline to register online is Sept. 24. For all sections, registration fee is $10 for MCCL members or $20 for players who aren’t MCCL members.

“If you have not joined MCCL or renewed your MCCL membership for 2020, do that in a separate order first at madisonchess.com/join. Then, register for Summer Knights in a separate order,” Bartlett said. “This year, the registration fee is half of last year’s because we are online.”

With online registration, the player is added to a Summer Knights Tournament Group on ChessKid for the registered section. As a result, players can see who has registered to compete. For questions about the best section for a player, contact Bartlett.

Chess.com, parent company of ChessKid, uses detection systems to help detect online cheating. “We need parents and coaches to talk to our kids about the importance of fair play,” Bartlett said.

To start the year, chess clubs at elementary, middle and high school are meeting virtually. “Because many tournaments will be online this year, virtual practices make sense,” Bartlett said. “Madison City Chess League offers kids additional opportunities to practice for online tournaments every Saturday and during Monday night chess events on ChessKid.com.”

In other activity, Bartlett will host a question-and-answer section with Zoom on Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. for parents who want information about chess programs and upcoming tournaments. MCCL members will receive a meeting link in the weekly newsletter.

Families can join MCCL for $20 at madisonchess.com/join and save on upcoming tournament registrations and gain access to numerous online events to prepare for tournament play.

For more information, visit madisonchess.com.