General Information

  • What's New

    1. The 2020-21 CalChess Grade Level Championship will consist of:
      1. Qualifiers on June 26 played online using lichess.org;
      2. Over-the-board (OTB) championship after schools reopen (around September or October 2021) to allow for summer travel and to derisk COVID-19.
    2. Players with 4 points (out of 5) in the Qualifiers will qualify for the OTB Championship. (We may lower this cutoff to 3 or 3.5 based on fairplay violations or for other reasons.)
    3. Sections are based on grade (K-12) in academic year 2020-21 (and play-ups are impermissible).

  • What's Expected

    1. USCF membership is required;
      • You must renew/signup with your tournament registration so we can process and confirm all memberships.
    2. The OTB championships will award/update the official US Chess Federation (USCF) national OTB rating.
    3. The qualifiers will award/update official USCF national online rating.
    4. Historically, some High School sections are combined but prizes and the State Championship Titles are awarded for each grade.
    5. Please see CalChess's regulations for more details.

Awards

    • Individual Awards

      We will base the individual awards on the standings in the OTB tournament.
      1. The winners of each section (including ties) will earn the title of State Champion.
      2. All players who compete in the OTB championship will earn a trophy.
      3. All players who not earn a trophy will earn a medal.

    • Team Awards

      We will base the teams awards (school and club) on the standings in the online qualifier.
      1. Every school and every club teams in every section of the online qualifier will earn a trophy. (A “team” = 2 or more players.)
      2. There is no limit on a team's size in each section, but only top 3 player's scores count toward a team's score.

  • Award Ceremony

    The award ceremony will be after the OTB championship.
    1. The size and engravings of the trophy will reflect the respective standings (using CalChess approved tiebreaks).
      2. Please let us know if you can't collect your award at the award ceremony (at the OTB Championship), so we can ship your award to designated tournament(s) within four weeks following the OTB Championship.

Registration

  • Registration Information

    1. Registration closes on 6/25 at 12pm!
    2. Entry Fees: 39 until 6/18
      (49 6/19-22 | 59 6/23-6/25 12pm)
    3. Refund/cancel fee:
      10 until 6/18 | 20 after 6/18
    4. Byes must be requested before registration closes.
      1. Rounds 1-4 = Maxiumum of one 1/2 point bye.
      2. Round 5 = 0 point bye.
    5. Registration link, detailed instructions, fairplay rules, and more information coming soon!

  • After Registering

    1. Authenticate your account on lichess.org
    2. Check entries to confirm registration; Contact us to report any errors
    3. Add @bayareachess.com to safe senders to receive orientation emails.
    4. Reconfirm the email address and other information in your profile.
    5. Attend town hall meetings on June 24 (zoom recording Passcode: 5p&D?vNZ).

Sections & Schedule

  • Sections

    1. All sections are based on the grade in the 2020-21 academic year.
    2. Ratings are based on the May 2021 Supplement (and they do not impact sections). We will use online or OTB ratings, as appropriate.

  • Schedule & Time Controls

    Time Control for K-3: G/15+2 (15 mins/game +2 secs/move for both players)
    Time Control for 4-12: G/25+5 (25 mins/game +5 secs/move for both players)
    Grades
    Connect
    Rd 1
    Rd 2
    Rd 3
    Rd 4
    Rd 5
    K 1 10:45 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00
    2 3 10:45 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00
    4 5 10:00 10:15 11:45 1:15 2:45 4:15
    6 7 9:30 9:45 11:15 12:45 2:15 3:45
    8 9 10
    11 12    		 9:00 9:15 10:45 12:15 1:45 3:15
    We may adjust round times (but it is unlikely). Please check this page and orientation emails before planning your day.
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