Queen’s Quest, Madison’s largest chess tourney, scheduled for Feb. 13

MADISON – Madison’s largest chess tournament, Queen’s Quest, will move online this year but continue to offer students in grades K-12 the opportunity to compete for both individual and team awards.

Scheduled for Feb. 13 at 1 p.m., the tournament is open to all students with a ChessKid.com account. If the child doesn’t attend Madison City Schools, Madison City Chess League will need the child’s ChessKid Username to enter the tournament.

Queen’s Quest will be a USCF-rated (United States Chess Federation) tournament and great practice for the State Scholastic Chess Championship in late March. “We will utilize a new feature of ‘round breaks,’ adding a five-minute break in between each round. All players will play five rounds and should join the tournament at least 10 minutes before the start time of 1 p.m.,” MCCL Executive Director Ranae Bartlett said.

For Rated Sections only, the tournament includes K-3 Championship; K-5 Championship; 6-8 Junior High; and 9-12 High School. Players will have a five-minute break between rounds. Each round will start five minutes after the previous round’s conclusion.

Queen’s Quest uses 5 round Swiss, USCF rated. All players must have USCF membership, which is required before registering for this tournament. For USCF membership, visit uschess.org.

Registration deadline is Feb. 10. Entry fee is $10 for MCCL members, or $20 for players who are not members.

To register, visit madisonchess.com. In “The Latest News” section, click the Queen’s Quest link. In the new window, click “Register Here.” Onsite registration is not available. A player cannot receive a refund after pairing.

“This is an individual event, with secondary team prizes; a team is the four highest scorers. Teams can represent a school only. Pairings will be ‘team blind,’” Bartlett said.

Individual awards will go to Top 10 individuals in K-3 Championship, K-5 Championship, 6-8 Junior High and 9-12 High School. Trophies go to Top 3 in each section. Fourth- through tenth-place winners will receive medals.

In team awards, trophies will go to Top 4 teams in K-3 Championship and K-5 Championship sections, along with Top 2 teams in 6-8 Junior High and 9-12 High School sections.

In online tournaments that MCCL hosts, players can keep only one tab open on the browser. Players who open more than one tab and toggle to other pages will be disqualified for a technical violation.

Online results will be final after tournament directors conduct a fair play analysis and validate all game results. This validation can require a few days, depending on the number of registrants for each section.

For questions, email mccl.director@gmail.com or visit madisonchess.com.