Final Standings

Round Times     Team Rooms         Rules

  SW Collegiate      High School    Middle School    Elementary    Primary

2014 Texas Scholastic Chess Championships

February 8-9, 2014 Blitz on February 7th

Hilton Americas map

1600 Lamar Street, Houston TX 77010

 HR: $124-$124-$124-$124, 713-739-8000, Mention Texas Scholastic Chess to get Hotel Chess Rate. Reserve by 1/16/14 Hotel has extended the chess rate to January 31st!! or rate may go up. One night deposit may be required by Hotel. If you have trouble getting the rate, contact hotel person: Corin Hall our Group Coordinator in Reservations.  She can be reached at corin.hall@hilton.com or 713-577-6052

Volunteers and TD's Needed Click Link to find out more

7 round Swiss System (No Elimination). [Southwest Collegiate is 5 rounds Swiss System.]

Entry Fee is $41 by 1/27 else $69. (Southwest Collegiate is $49 by 1/27, $69 thereafter)

Click here to see the booklet - each player will have a booklet at their round 1 board (notation sheets inside)

 

Side Events

register at the registration center for Blitz and Bughouse


BLitz Friday night 7 pm - 4th Floor Grand Ballroom A-C

 

Dr Alexey Root

Dr. Alexey Root

Seminars: Saturday 12:45pm Room 329

and Sunday 12:45pm Room 329

Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14 is a FREE seminar for teachers, librarians, after-school instructors, chess coaches, counselors, and parents. The seminar requires no prior knowledge of chess. Both novices and veteran chess players can use its innovative lesson plans for teaching groups of children. In the Thinking with Chess seminar, 1989 U.S. Women's Chess Champion Alexey Root, Ph.D., connects chess with skills important to academic success, such as classifying, pattern recognition, decoding, creating, and predicting. At the seminar, you participate in two of the lesson plans from her book Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14 (Mongoose Press, 2012). You leave the seminar able to teach those two lesson plans and with chess knowledge too. There will be a book signing right after the talk. Texas Chess Association is sponsoring a giveaway of 10 books at each seminar. Attend the one-hour seminar to be entered in a drawing to win a free copy of Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14 (Mongoose Press, 2012). All seminar participants receive free magazines about chess and math and about women's chess.

Bughouse Saturday night 8:30 pm 4th Floor Grand Ballroom A-C

register at the registration center

TCA - Texas Chess Association meeting Saturday night 8:35 pm Room 329

Sections

College:

The Collegiate Section is open to anyone in College from any state.

High School:

Player must reside in Texas or go to a school in Texas.
 9th grade players in High School Schools must play in High School sections.

Private School and Home school 9th graders must play in high school sections.
 9th grade players in Middle School may play in Middle School sections or
in High School sections and can play on the H S team that the junior high
school feeds into 10th grade.

An exception for private school 9th graders that are in a k-9 school has not yet been rendered by the Texas Chess Association; therefore, these 9th graders must play in the High School Section. The TCA Scholastic Committee, (Victor Flores is the Chairperson,) can make an exception for very rare cases not covered by earlier rulings.  Most cases have been discussed and ruled upon already.

Schools like Texas Academy of Math Science at UNT and also The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College Mathematics and Science Academy have been defined by the Texas Chess Associations to be High Schools and may not play in the Collegiate.

Middle School:

Player must reside in Texas or go to a school in Texas.
 9th grade players in Middle School may play in Middle School sections or
in High School sections and can play on the H S team that the junior high
school feeds into 10th grade.

Private School and Home school 9th graders must play in high school sections.
Private school and Home school 6th graders must play in middles school sections.
In general new players in middle school should play in the novice section, provided that they have not gotten too high a rating if they have played in one or two tournaments.

Elementary:

Player must reside in Texas or go to a school in Texas.
6th grade players in Elementary Schools must play in Elementary sections.
6th grade players in Middle School Schools must play in Middle School sections.
Private school and Home school 6th graders must play in middles school sections.
TCA has ruled that K-6 private schools may have their 6th graders play with
the rest of their team in the Elementary sections. If a school has a 5th grade and no 7th grade, then the player should play in elementary. If a school has a 7th grade, then the 6th grader should play in middle school. A 5th-7th school should play in middle school.

Primary:

Player must reside in Texas or go to a school in Texas.
 The primary section was created after the rules were passed. So any player in grades k-3 can play in the primary or can play in the elementary. So a k-4 school may choose to play all their kids in one of the elementary sections.  Note that a 3rd grader that is rated between 700 and 799 may choose to play in the Elementary J V (U800 section) as opposed to playing in the Primary Championship.

 

Some of these are confusing. Just what is the Texas Chess Association trying to do?  They have two goals. The first is that kids play in their sections. TCA wants the High School winner to be in High School, The Middle School winner be in Middle School, etc. etc. The second is that TCA realizes that it would be unfair in general to isolate a grade. For example, it would be unfair to a k-6 school to have the k-5 kids in elementary and the 6th graders in middle school. The k-5 kids could think that their best players are removed from their team, and the 6th grade players could feel that they have no chance to win in the middle school section. Another consideration is that players sometimes play in championships sections so that the school has enough players to form a team.

if you have any questions about what sections to play, please contact Barb Swafford,  214.632.9000

The TCA Scholastic Committee is the next higher body in authority.

This tournament will use the February Supplement.

Registration:

Submitting team entries on a spreadsheet is encouraged.

For Individual Players, go to individual tournaments shown below to find online registration or mail in registration form:

    High School    Middle School    Elementary    Primary

 

Make Checks Payable to Texas Chess Association (TCA). One check can be sent for multiple entries.

Send entries to Barbara Swafford, 2709 Longhorn Trail, Crowley TX 76036. Don't mail after 2/4, entry may not be received.

Entries must include name, USCF ID or new/pending (include a copy of the receipt), rating, USCF expiration date & school. All incomplete registrations will be charged the late EF , additionally there will be a $5 per player surcharge on registration received without payment, these players could possibly not be paired for round 1 and not be paired until payment is received. Refunds will be given only up to 2/4 with a $10 surcharge for withdrawing, after 2/4 there will be no refunds. There will be no substitution of team members. There will be a $10 change fee for changes after 2/4. USCF membership is required. Proof of membership is required or player must join/renew their memberships. No registration/changes/or withdrawals after 2/4. After that date you must make changes at site (Hilton Americas Hotel).

TLA for tournament

8-9 Feb 2014

2014 Texas Scholastic Chess Championships, 7SS, Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar Street, Houston TX 77010. HR: $124-$124-$124-$124, 713-739-8000, Mention Texas Scholastic Chess to get Hotel Chess Rate. Reserve by 1/16/14 or rate may go up. One night deposit may be required by Hotel. Four championships in one great location: TX Primary Scholastic Championships; TX Elementary Scholastic Championships; TX Middle School Scholastic Championships; TX High School Scholastic Championships. EF: $41 by 1/27; $69 after 1/27 or on site. On Site Registration: Friday, 7-9pm, Saturday, 7-7:45am. Saturday registrants may receive a 1st Rd. 1/2-pt. bye. One 1/2-pt. bye (for any round) allowed if requested by the end of Rd. 2. Sections: K-1 Championship, Primary (K-3) Championship, Primary JV (K-3 w/Ratings Under 700), Elementary (K-5/6) Championship, Elementary JV (K-5/6 Under 800), Elementary Novice (K-5/6 Under 500), Middle School (6-8/9) Championship, MS JV (6-8/9 Under 900), MS Novice (6-8/9 Under 600), High School (9-12) Championship, HS JV (9-12 Under 1000). See Article IX, Section 1E, TCA Bylaws for each section's eligibility requirement, www.texaschess.org/2007/03/bylaws.html. Also www.swchess.com also has eligibility rules. Trophies for top 20 individuals and top 15 teams in each section plus participation medals for all, and plus Score Awards for players scoring 4 or more points that do not win an individual trophy. Schedule: Round times vary depending on section; Time Controls: High School and Middle School: Rd 1-4 G/60 d5; Rds 5-7 G/75 d5. Elementary/Primary/K-1: Rds 1-4 G/45 d5; rds 5-7 G/60 d5. For round times and time control, see: www.dallaschess.com. Side Events: See website for side event. Side event registration on site only. All registrations (except Side events) available on line: see www.dallaschess.com where one can also download flyers and entry forms. Checks payable to Texas Chess Association. Mail entries to Texas Chess Association, c/o Barbara Swafford, 2709 Longhorn Trail, Crowley, TX 76036. For tournament info, visit our website or contact Barbara Swafford, info@dallaschess.com or 214-632-9000. Refunds will be given only up to 2/4 with a $10 surcharge for withdrawing, after 2/4 there will be no refunds. There will be no substitution of team members. There will be a $10 change fee for changes after 2/4. There will be a $5 surcharge per player for phone registrations USCF membership is required. Proof of membership is required or player must join/renew their memberships. No registration/changes/or withdrawals after 2/4/14. After that date you must make changes at site (Hilton Americas). NS, NC, W.