1. This is the first of 3 “Chess Parent 101” Slideshows “USCF Tournaments - Format & Rules” 7 minutes “You Should Know This!” 11 minutes “The Good Chess Parent” 4 minutes Hi! I’m Coach Jay and I have 3 slide shows to welcome you to the world of scholastic chess!

2.  K-12 National Grade Level Overview  Understanding tournament formats  Tournament Rules 1) Touch move 2) Chess clocks 3) Notation (recording moves) 4) Spectator Policies  How award winners (trophies) are determined This slide show is designed to give you a basic understanding of tournament formats, rules, and procedures. Topics covered include:

3.  Jr. Chess Congress (allows CLUB teams)  National K-12 Grade Championships (Dec)  National Elementary  National Jr. High  National High School  Barber Tournament of K-8 State Champions  Denker Tournament of K-12 State Champs  U.S. Junior Closed Championship

4.  SS (Swiss System) tournaments (as opposed to Round-Robins) are events in which a player is generally paired against someone with approximately the same score (game points) each round.  G/90 Refers to how much time a player has to make their moves. In this example it is 90 minutes PER PLAYER.

5.  7SS, G/90.  7 rounds using the Swiss System Pairing Software  Time Control of G/90 – Each player has 90 minutes. Here is a sample tournament listing:

6.  Time delay means that before any time is deducted from a player’s clock, 5 seconds count down each move.  So after a clock is pushed, with most clock models, you will see the time delay counter tick down: 5-4-3-2-1 then it switches to the main clock which starts to count down.  One of the main purposes of this feature is so that quality games of chess aren’t reduced to a contest of who has faster hands as both players’ clocks tick down towards a time forfeit.

7.  Players, not spectators or tournament directors must make claims regarding most rules. Spectators should NEVER talk to anyone who is playing a game.  Touch Move – If you touch it and you can legally move it or capture it, you must do so.  If a player wishes to adjust a piece on a square, he must say “Adjust” or “j’adoube” (loud enough for the players on the adjacent board to hear)  If a player knocks a piece while obviously reaching for another, she is not required to move that piece.

8.  If a player brings a clock and wishes to use it, the opponent cannot insist that they play without it.  Digital clocks are officially preferred over analog clocks, and clocks using delay are preferred over non-delay clocks.  All things being equal, Black gets to choose which clock (and chess set) are used.

9.  A player cannot push the clock until after a move is determined (hand is released from the piece).  The clock should be paused if there is a dispute at the board or if a player wants to make a claim, but not for purposes such as using the restroom or attempting to catch up on notation.  If a player knocks over a piece during his move, he must reset it before pressing the clock.

10.  Notation is generally required in all sections in which the players are deemed to be able to record moves (for most tournaments, Grades 4- 12 are required to notate their moves.).  Any player who is not notating will usually be penalized a certain amount of time.  Notating is recommended so players can review their game, prove the position, or claim a draw in certain situations.  Electronic scorekeeping has special rules. “As you can see by my notation, it is MY move, not his.”

11.  USCF has recognized only the following systems as acceptable for electronic scorekeeping: 1) Monroi (device) 2) eNotate (software for PDAs) 3) Ply Counter  No other systems are accepted at this time.

12.  Spectators have ZERO rights! In other words, if a tournament official or a player asks that a spectator move away from the board (or out of the room), the spectator must do so or risk being ejected from the tournament.  IF the Tournament Director (TD) allows spectators in the playing hall, they must observe these simple rules: 1) No talking at all. 2) Cell phones Off or on Silent 3) Always stand behind the player who you are supporting 4) Spectators should not do anything that might give a player any indication that an interesting situation has arisen on their board.

13.  At the three Spring Nationals (K-6, K-9, K-12), players who finish in the Top 25 in their section (or tied for 25 th ) will receive a trophy. It extends to the top 30 in the some sections.  Additionally, in the Championship sections, there are some “category trophies” for players who had the best scores among players of the same rating level in their section (for example Best Under 800 in the K-3 Open).  When two or more players finish with the same score, USCF uses a standard set of tie-break rules to determine who earns the higher place in the standings.  In general, tie-break points add up the scores of your opponent during that event. In longer events, the best and worst scores are discarded.

14. This slide show was created by “Coach Jay” Stallings. Please share it with your chess club! Free download! After 100 free puzzles, a $4.99 In-App-Purchase gives access to the full version. $4.99 Instant access to all 5 Levels! 150 Mini-lessons 1300 Puzzles!