DATE : July 24-25, 2021

VENUE: This will be an online Chess Tournament. The game service provider is LiChess.org. You must have an active user account with www.lichess.org to play in the tournament (the accounts are free).


ENTRY FEES & REGISTRATION



Entry Fee -  $30 per person

Registration Deadline:  July 24th at 8AM (EST, USA)


REGISTRATION CATEGORIES 
 
Divisions: The tournament is organized into three (3) Divisions:  Novice, Amateur and Championship. A current membership in the US Chess Federation is required to participate in this tournament (www.uschess.org).

  • The Novice Section is for players who are relatively new to chess or to competitive chess.  It is for players whose US Chess rating is below 1200 or for players who do not yet have a US Chess rating (e.g. an "unrated" player).
  • The Amateur Section is for players accustomed to competitive chess and have a US Chess rating of no more than 1800.  This section also is open to players who do not have a US Chess rating, but who feel they are strong enough to be competitive in this section.
  • The Open Section is intended for the most experienced players regardless of age.  You must have a US Chess rating of at least 1600 to play, preferably above 1800.
  • NOTE: During Registration, you will be asked about ratings you have in other systems. You must disclose this information. If we discover you have a rating in another system that you did not disclose, you may be declared ineligible for the Section or Tournament.
 

COMPETITION FORMAT:  This tournament will consist of 5 rounds of US Chess-rated play using the Swiss System.  This is not an elimination tournament, every player plays 5 games unless there is an odd number of players in a section. Click here to read more about a Swiss System chess tournament.  

RULES: 

  • The Time Control for all games is Game in 60 minutes with a 10-second time increment.  This means each player has as much as 60 minutes to complete all their moves, plus as additional 10 seconds per move for each player.
 
  • Bye Requests: One half point Bye is available in ROUND 1 ONLY.  No other Bye requests are available. If you do not show up for a round, you will be disqualified from the tournament. Other than that, everyone gets to play 5 rounds of chess—this is not an elimination event!!
 
  • Sectioning: For Section purposes, the Chief Tournament Director will place players in sections using the higher of their over-the-board Regular US Chess Rating and their On-line Regular US Chess Rating. Ratings in other rating systems (e.g. FIDE, England, Northwest US, etc.) will be reviewed for sectioning purposes. The Chief TD will make section decisions at the time each player enters the tournament.  If you are unsure of your current US Chess rating, go to www.uschess.org.
 

EVENT SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 24 - Rounds at 10AM, 1PM and 5PM

Sunday, July 25 - Rounds at 10AM and 2PM


REFEREE
Mike Hoffpauir, US Chess Federation National Tournament Director
Email: mhoffpauir@aol.com


MERCHANDISE
2021 VA Commonwealth Games merchandise will be available for purchase during events at various locations and online

AWARDS
The Chief TD will post Preliminary Standings on the event website (www.vachess.org) 1-2 hours after the tournament.  However all Preliminary Results are subject to post-event Fair Play Analysis for a period of up to 2 weeks.

Awards for the event include 2021 VA Commonwealth Games bronze, silver and gold medals for 1st-3rd places in each category/division as well as 4th-6th place ribbons.  

FOR QUESTIONS 

Online Registration & Sport Specific Questions: Contact Sport Director Mike Hoffpauir at mhoffpauir@aol.com or 757-846-4805 .  Also see www.vachess.org

General Questions: Contact the Virginia Amateur Sports office at 540-343-0987 or registration@commonwealthgames.org

 

All dates, times, locations and formats are tentative at this time. Virginia Amateur Sports reserves the right to make changes to the sport information noted on this page. Some dates, locations and times may change due to registration numbers. Participants are encouraged to check sport info often for any changes.


 

Want to volunteer for the 2021 Games? 
Fill out the Volunteer Application online:

Volunteer Form