Chess Tournament FAQ

Our chess tournaments are non-elimination chess tournaments.  Meaning that all students participate all day.  Parents should count on their child staying until after the prizes are awarded.

If a player must arrive late, or leave early, we can grant them a bye for a round or two that they will be missing.

Occasionally a player does not feel well and asks to leave before the end of the tournament.  We do our best to encourage the student to stay until the end but understand there are other circumstances.

If a player decides they would like to leave early, we would check them out of the tournament and give them a medal based on their current score.

If you are leaving early, we request that you make sure to alert a tournament director so we can adjust the pairings for future rounds.

We often grant a bye for a player leaving early.  The USCF recommends making such byes as zero point byes (0.0), so players aren't encouraged to leave early and get a higher score.

We try to keep as close to the schedule as possible, but please understand that all times are approximations.  Rounds may last longer dependent on the pace of all students' play.  One game may last forty-five minutes longer than another (BEWARE THE FOUR MOVE CHECKMATE!).

A typical schedule is (NOTE: All times are approximations.):

• 8:30-9am: Check-in
• 9-:915am: Announcements.
• 9:15am-10:05am: Round 1
• 10:05-10:50am: Round 2
• 10:50-11:35am: Round 3
• 11:35am-12:05pm: Lunch Break - Pizza, snacks and beverages are provided for all paid attendees.
• 12:05-12:50pm: Round 4
• 12:50-1:35pm: Round 5
• 1:35-2:45pm: Round 6
• 2:45-3pm: Award presentation

• We feel that chess tournaments are like piano recitals in that they sharpen a player's focus in class and leading up to the tournament.
• We also fee l it is a great way to increase a player's level of play more quickly.  Students learn a lot in six rounds of tournament chess.
• It also helps build camaraderie between school mates, between chess players from different schools and can serve as a bonding experience between a child and their parent.
• Players get an opportunity to play with students from other schools.  They rarely, if ever,  play against students from their school.  NOTE: The Grade 6+ division is usually a smaller division, so it is harder to avoid playing someone from your school in that division.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, they are fun! We often see players playing chess between rounds, asking their parents to play chess with them when they get home, and just enjoying the whole experience.

We typically add clocks to the top eight boards in the 2-3 grades division and the 4-5 grades division.  We do not add clocks to the K-1 grades division because we feel it will serve as a distraction.

The clocks are set to 30 minutes for each player to complete a game.  So, a game could potentially last 60 minutes.  This is rare, so we set our rounds to start approximately every 45-50 minutes, with built-in breaks for lunch, dodgeball, and prizes.

Clocks may be added to other boards, including K-1 Grades, to keep the tournament moving.  When clocks are added to a game, the clocks are set at 10 minutes per player.

As mentioned above, in the time control question, the top eight boards in grades 2-3 grades, 4-5 grades, and 6+ grades (when we have a 6+ section), start with clocks set to 30 minutes per player.

We add clocks to other boards, even K-1 grades, to stay on schedule.

We have found that 90-95% of YEL chess tournament games are finished within the first 25 minutes.  We usually add a clock to the remaining games at the 25-30 minute mark.  Each student receives between 10 minutes per player.

Sometimes we may not add a clock.  Some factors in our determination are:

• What is the position on the board?
  • If one student is markedly ahead of the other (i.e. two rooks versus one king), we would not add a clock.  We figure if the student can't checkmate in the remaining 20 minutes of that round, they won't be able to do it with or without a clock.
  • If there are no pawns left and we are starting a draw by 50 moves rule.
    • The fifty-move rule in chess states that a player can claim a draw if no capture has been made and no pawn has been moved in the last fifty moves (for this purpose, a "move" consists of a player completing a turn followed by the opponent completing a turn).
  • We will assess each game individually.  We like to avoid using clocks if we feel the game is near the end.

We would also like to note that we understand that clocks can change the way a player plays.  Often times they focus entirely on the clock and not on the board and make blunders that wouldn't otherwise occur.  We take time to educate the players on how to use the clock and give them plenty of time to complete their game, no matter the position.

Anecdotally speaking, no more than 2% of games at {YEL!} tournaments end due to a player running out of time.

1. Be courteous to your opponents.
   1. Shake hands at the beginning of each game and say, “Have a good game.”
   2. Shake hands at the completion of each game and say, “Good Game.”
   3. Talking should be kept to an absolute minimum.
   4. Fidgeting should be kept to a minimum.  Avoid:
      1. Tapping your pencil.
      2. Humming
      3. Tapping your finger
2. Always use “Touch Move”
   1. If you touch a piece, you have to move that piece unless it is an illegal move.
   2. If you need to rearrange a piece (it isn’t in the middle of it’s square, for instance), you should say “Rearranging.” before moving the piece to avoid confusion.
3. We also use “Touch, Take”, meaning that if you touch an opponents piece, you have to take that piece, unless it is an illegal move.
4. Never argue with an opponent
   1. Raise your hand if you have a question or disagreement and a tournament referee will come and answer your question or resolve the disagreement.
5. Don’t take losses too seriously.  This is only a step in your chess journey.  There is plenty more chess ahead for you.
6. Don’t take too much pride in victory.  There is a lot of chess out there to be played.  And a lot more to learn.
7. Have a lot of fun.
   1. Between games, chat (outside the playing area) with other chess players.  Get to know them.  I’m sure you’ll see them at other chess tournaments.
      1. Maybe start a round of bughouse or other games from our booklets.
8. We may have gym space available between games for competitors to run and burn off some steam.
   1. When you leave the playing area, please be aware that some rounds may start early.
   2. We will have staff watch the gym area (if the space is available) and monitor the students' return for each round.

• Parents and coaches are not allowed in the playing area once a round has started.
• If there is an illegal move or a disagreement, it is up to the players to report it to a referee.  So, parents should encourage their children to advocate for themselves. Although our referees are diligent, they can't monitor 40-60 games at the same time, so the players have to advocate for themselves if their opponent makes an illegal move or is a distraction.
• If an illegal move goes unreported until after the game or later on during an ongoing game, referees have no recourse but to let the game stand as it is.
• Parents and coaches may approach the referees and tournament directors about issues. However, the primary responsibility of the referees is to monitor the games being played.  The primary responsibility of the tournament director is to keep the tournament running, set up pairings, post results, etc.

When there is an odd number of participants in a division, one person each round is assigned a “Bye.” The pairing sheet marks this as “Please Wait.”

If a player receives a bye, that player gets 1 point and takes a break for that round.  Players may only receive one bye at a tournament.  If a player has previously requested a bye for arriving late or leaving early, then that player should not receive a bye.  The software accounts for this.

Byes are usually assigned to students with lower point totals.  In earlier rounds, the software takes into account a player's rating.  A bye in round 1 may go to a player with less experience or a lower rating.  A bye in round 2 will go to a player who did not win in round 1, and has a lower rating.  In subsequent rounds, it follows a similar calculation.

It should also be noted that the computer software tries to avoid assigning byes to players from the same school in the same division throughout that tournament.

Scoring follows the United States Chess Federation and the World Chess Federation (FIDE) guidelines.

• Win = 1 point
• Loss = 0 point
• Draw = 1/2 point

If a player sees a scoring error on the standings sheet between rounds, that player should approach the tournament director's table as soon as possible and make the director aware of the issue.

The sooner the director is aware, the sooner the problem may be resolved.

To resolve this issue, the director may ask for the referee's input, the input of the opponent for the game in question, may refer to score sheets,  and more.

To avoid scoring errors, our referees write down the result, show it to the players, and ask the players to confirm the result is written correctly.  Then, the director posts the results of all rounds after each round.  Players and parents should check scores after each round to make sure they have been tabulated correctly.

It's important to note that the sooner the error is resolved, the better.  Pairings are based on score totals and if there is a scoring error, there are likely pairings errors as well.

We use tiebreakers when the score is tied.  The tournament software (WinTD) is designed to determine a true champion.  The final results may contain a number of students with the same score.  For instance, 12 students may end up with 3.0 points.  To rank these students, a tiebreak method is used.

• Tbrk2 (or Solkoff) - We are listing tiebreak 2 first because it will be easier to understand tiebreak 1 better after understanding tiebreak 2.
  • This tiebreaker is a direct measure of the strength of your opponents throughout the tournament.  This tiebreaker adds up the scores of the listed player's OPPONENTS.  The higher the score, the stronger the competition you have played.
  • For instance, #4 Ryker Huseby competed against numbers 14 (2.0), 13 (2.0), 8(3.0), 2 (5.0), 3 (5.0), 1 (5.0).  Add up the opponent's points (in parentheses above), and you get the TBrk1 Score of 22.
• Tbrk1 (Median) - Exactly the same as Solkoff above, except the Median discards the least meaningful win and the most meaningful win.  
  • In the example above, the Median would discard one of the 2.0 wins and one of the 5.0 wins, bringing the Median tiebreak to 15 points instead of 22.
• Tbrk 3 (Sonneborn-Berger) - The Sonneborn-Berger is the sum of 1 x (scores of opponents defeated) + .5 x (scores of opponents drawn). Compared with the Solkoff, this rewards scores against high-scoring opponents but does not penalize as severely failures to win against low-scoring opponents. 
• Tbrk4 (Cumulative) - This tiebreaker indirectly measures the strength of your opponents.  The calculation is based on the logic that if you win in early rounds, you face stronger competition in those rounds and so it gives more weight to having points in the earlier rounds.  It adds up your cumulative scores for each round.  So if you have 1 point (a win) after round one, 2 points after round 2 (a second win) and still have 2 points after round 3 (2 wins and a loss), your cumulative score would be 1 + 2 + 2 or 5 points.
  • Using Tommy Clobes and Bennett Kerfeld as examples from the chart, their Tbrk2 scores would be:
    • Round 1: Tommy = 1; Bennett = 1
    • Round 2: Tommy = 3 (1+2); Bennett = 3 (same)
    • Round 3: Tommy = 5 (1+2+2)- Tommy lost in round 3 to Bennett; Bennett = 6 (1+2+3)
    • Round 4: Tommy = 8  (1+2+2+3); Bennett = 9 (1+2+3+3)- Bennett lost to Ryker Huseby in Round 4
    • Round 5: Tommy =  12 (1+2+2+3+4); Bennett = 13 (1+2+3+3+4)
    • Round 6: Tommy = 17 (1+2+2+3+4+5); Bennett = 18 (1+2+3+3+4+5)
    • So by winning in an earlier round and losing in a later round, Bennett’s Tbrk2 is a bit higher.
  • There are two other tiebreakers we use, but in 5 years we have never had to go to them, so we leave them off of the chart.

At all {YEL!} chess tournaments, we don't know the level of play of all chess players.  So, the software we use (WinTD) is designed to put all students into one bracket, separated by grade level.  This is called Swiss-style bracketing or pairing.

In early rounds, players are paired at random with preference given to pairing the most experienced players against the least experienced.  So, if you have an established LOCAL rating of 800 or more, you will likely play another player with no rating or an assigned rating of 200-400.

As the rounds progress, the determining factors are:

• Score - In the fourth round, for instance, a student with 3 points will likely play another player with 3 points.  A player with 0 points will likely play another player with 0 points.  Etc.
• Color—If you are due to play black, the software tries to pair you with someone with the same point total who is due to play white.
• Team - The software will avoid pairing students from the same school.  Usually, only the Grade 6+ division might play players from the same school, but the K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 divisions will not unless an announcement is made to the contrary at the tournament.
  • PLEASE LET US KNOW IF A STUDENT IS PAIRED WITH SOMEONE FROM THE SAME SCHOOL!

NOTE: When a division has 7 or fewer players, we may decide to use a round-robin or double round-robin format.  In this format, each player plays every other player in their division once or twice.

• Team standings incorporate all divisions between kindergarten and 5th grade (6th and up don’t count for the team trophy).
• The software adds up the top four scores from each school based on the computer-calculated individual player scores.
• Team standings will be posted for the first time after the third round (the first two rounds don't have enough information for an accurate team standing) and then after each round for the rest of the tournament.
• The software is designed to avoid pairing students from the same school.  However, if there are fewer participants in a division or if the top players are from the same school, it is unavoidable to pair students from the same school.
  • We will make an announcement if a division must include pairings from the same school.
• TIEBREAKERS are used in the same fashion for the team score as they are for the individual scores.

• Trophies are given out to 1st-5th in each section
• Medals are given out to the rest of the participants based on their score at the end of the tournament.  Typically, it works like this:
  • 3.5 points or more without a trophy = Gold
  • 2.5-3.0 points = Silver
  • 2 or fewer points = Bronze
  • These may be adjusted if more or fewer games are played.
  • NOTE: The Anoka tournament does not include medals.

Curious students may ask how they know if they get a trophy. We don't know until the entire tournament is finished, but typically, you need 4.5 or more points to get a trophy. Sometimes, you need 5.0 or more if there are a number of students tied at the top of a division.

***IMPORTANT***

We reserve the right to change the award structure if the tournament has fewer players or if a division has fewer players.  This usually comes into play for a tournament with less than 60 players.

• A lot of parents ask if they need to stay the entire day.  Some bullet points:
  • We ask that parents stay through the opening announcements which start at 9am.
  • We encourage them to stay through the first round which should end around 10:05am.
  • We suggest that parents return by 2:30pm in case the tournament is over quicker than expected.  The awards presentation usually starts between 2:45-3pm, but may start as early as 2:30pm if the event is finished faster than expected.
  • K-1 students: Parents usually stay with their child in the k-1 division.
  • 2-3, 4-5 and 6+: It's really dependent on the child.  Some 3rd graders are completely independent.  Others need more nurturing.  We suggest you ask your child.
    • Often a parent will leave for an hour or two and come back.
  • Cell phone numbers - If you leave the event, please make sure that we have your contact number on the sign in sheet and make sure you take our contact number at the event.

YES!  Chess tournaments are fun and a great way for students to accelerate their chess skills.  Some determining factors for whether your child should attend:

• K-1 grades: Students in this division should understand piece movement and capturing, can identify checks, and have a basic understanding of the Rook Ladder.
  • NOTE: Students who finish at the top of this division usually have a solid grasp of the Rook Ladder.
• 2-3 grades: Same as k-1 grades, but they should understand solid openings (e4, Knights before Bishops, castling, etc.), should have a grounding in how to block the four move checkmate and should have a firm grasp of the Rook Ladder.
• 4-5 grades: As above.
• 6+: As above.

Also, please visit our blog titled, What chess level is my child?

Chess tournaments are unusual in that some games may end in 5-10 minutes, whereas others may take 45 minutes.  To help players with this free time, we often have access to:

• Gym time with some organized games.
• Snacks and beverages.
• Pizza at the end of round three.
• Parents versus kids dodge ball.

In addition, some kids like to play chess with friends or family between rounds, do sudoku, read, joke around with friends, etc.

Prepare for the tournament:

• Play some practice games and positions in the week leading up to the tournament.
• Help your players get enough sleep the night before. There will be a lot of thinking, and lots of sleep helps a lot of thinking.
• Eat a good breakfast, but not too much.
• We have crackers, cookies, beverages for snacks, and pizza coming as well. If you want something else, please provide it.
• Bring some extras for your child. We will have access to a gym to burn off steam between games, but you can also send Sudoku, reading material, or other things to keep kids engaged.

The day of the tournament

• Focus on fun!  Ask questions like:
  • How was the pizza?
  • Did you get anybody in the dodgeball game?
  • Are the cookies tasty?
  • Isn't chess fun?
• The game - Some students want to race to their parents and tell them the result.  Others prefer to move on with their day and dive into a book or gym time.  Parental encouragement can serve as a life lesson for your child.  Properly phrased questions can help the student get ready for the next game.
  • Did you capture any pieces?
  • Did you get out of check or put your opponent in check?
  • What did you do right in that last game?  (castling, knights out in opening, captured opponents queen, etc.)
  • What do you think might work in the next game?
  • Let's go play in the gym!
  • Remember, every chess player will lose at some point.  Even the world's greatest players lose occasionally.

At {YEL!}, we believe the determining factors are:

• Did your child have fun?
• Are they interested in future chess classes, chess games at home, or chess tournaments?
• Did they think through their moves or make rapid moves without finding multiple options before each move?
• Did they learn from their games?

As far as the score goes, Swiss-style tournaments are designed with a few people at the top, a few people at the bottom, and a bunch of people in the middle. Most players leave with a score of 2.0 to 3.5.

In chess jargon:

• A plus player is a player with a final score greater than the number of rounds divided by 2.
  • 3.5 or more at a YEL six-round tournament.
• A minus player is a player with a final score less than the number of rounds divided by 2.
  • 2.5 or less at a YEL six-round tournament.
• An even player is a player with a final score equal to the number of rounds divided by 2.
  • 3.0 score at a YEL six-round tournament.

We have enough staff in place at each event to observe the chess games (although the players need to monitor for illegal moves and opponent distractions) and monitor the food and gym. However, we can't monitor one hundred-plus players spread throughout a venue.  So we ask that participants be mature enough to monitor themselves or have a parent present to watch over their child(ren).

Our gym staff will organize some activities and be present to ensure child safety.