National chess championships open to Madison players

MADISON – A chess tournament and a visit to Disneyworld in the same trip? Madison City Chess League players can consider this combination for mid-December.

The National K-12 Grade Chess Championships are accepting contestants for the event at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 15-17. In addition, Bughouse and Blitz tourneys are scheduled on Dec. 14.

Attendance caps for this year’s event will apply for grades K-1 at 600 players and for grades 2-12 at 2,000 players. Trophies Plus will ship awards to winning players.

U.S. Chess is offering two informative Town Halls for parents, coaches and players. The moderators will be Pete Karagianis, Assistant Director of Events, and Jeff Smith, Chief Tournament Director of the 2023 National K-12 Grades.

Town Hall 1 is targeted towards parents or coaches for grades K-5, while Town Hall 2 will focus on grades 6-12. The two town halls will have zoom links.

U.S. Chess has secured additional rooms at Rosen Inn, which is connected by skywalk to Hyatt Regency Orlando (which is sold out). For accommodation requests, email nationalevents@uschess.org.

The tournament will not accept entries onsite. Deadline for online entries is Dec. 14 at 11 a.m. (Eastern).

For team room information, email pete.karagianis@uschess.org. U.S. Chess is not requiring masks, COVID-19 vaccinations or negative COVID-19 tests for any participants.

The tournament will use the December rating supplement.

A team must have at least two players; a maximum will not apply. The top three scores in any section will count for the team score. Team members must attend the same school.

The first-place individual and team in each grade level, including ties, will be National Champion for their grade. Players must have current U.S. Chess membership through December 2023.

Time Control is Game/90 d10. Each player has 90 minutes to complete the game with a 10-second grace period for each move.

Entry fee is $180 until 11 a.m. until Dec. 14. On-site registration will not be available. Online registration will close at 11 a.m. (Eastern) on Dec. 14.

The schedule for grades 2-12 has the opening ceremony on Dec. 15 at 12:45 p.m. Round start times will be Dec. 15, 1 and 6 p.m.; Dec. 16, 9 a.m., 1:30 and 6 p.m.; and Dec. 17, 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Awards Ceremony’s approximate time will be Dec. 17 at 6 p.m.

For grades K-1, rounds will start on Dec. 15 at 1:30 and 5:30 p.m.; Dec. 16, 9:30 a.m., 1:30 and 5:30 p.m.; and Dec. 17, 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Awards Ceremony’s approximate time will be 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 17.

For more information, visit uschess.org/tournaments/2023.