Frequently Asked Questions – 2010 Scholastic Team Regionals
Click here for Registration Form
Please note in all cases here that "we", "us", or "our" refers to the Georgia Chess Association.
1. How will I know that the GCA has received my registration and payment?
We will post a registration list on our website. This will be updated daily starting sometime in
January. If you have any questions, you can email to NMAR2010@georgiachess.org and someone will answer your question as soon as possible.
2. Why do you need my personal information? What are you going to do with it?
We need your phone number and email address so that we can contact you in case of an emergency, or in case there is a problem with your registration. We will not release this information
to any outside person or agency for any reason whatsoever.
3. Is this a knock-out tournament? Do I go home if I lose a game?
No! This is not an elimination tournament, like the NFL play-offs. All players can and should
play in all five rounds, if possible. It is still possible to help your team even if you lose one or more games.
4. The Elementary section is listed as “K-5”, but I am in sixth grade at a K-6 school. What
section should I play?
If you are in sixth grade and attend a school having no grade higher than sixth, then you may play in the Elementary section. Sixth grade students in K-8 or K-12 programs must play in the Middle School section.
5. My school doesn’t have a chess club, so I go to a chess club at a different school. May I represent them at this tournament?
No. You may only represent the school at which you study your core academic subjects. This rule holds even if your school has no chess club, and there aren’t enough players from that school to win a team award.
6. How are the scores determined?
A player gets one point for every game won, half a point for every game drawn, and zero points for every game lost. In addition a player gets zero points for a requested bye and one point for an unrequested bye. A player’s point total for the tournament is found by summing that player’s total points from the five rounds. Thus a player who wins one game, draws two games, loses one game, and asks for a bye in one round will end up with two points for the tournament.
7. Requested bye? Unrequested bye? What is a “bye”? Do I need one?
A bye is a round in which a player entered in the tournament does not get paired and does not
have a game. There are two kinds of byes: requested byes and unrequested byes. A requested
bye is where the player voluntarily asks not to be paired because of a conflict with another
scheduled event, such as a basketball game or a piano recital. A requested bye counts as zero points toward the player’s individual point total, and, if applicable, toward the team total. A maximum of two such byes are allowed in the tournament. We strongly recommend not to request any byes unless absolutely necessary. The zero point given for such a bye will hurt the player’s individual score, and may also hurt the team score.
An unrequested bye happens if there are an odd number of players in a section for a particular round. In that case, one of them will be assigned not to play that round. Since this bye was
forced upon the player, and not taken voluntarily, the player so chosen will be given a full point
for that round. No player will receive more than one unrequested bye in the tournament.
Any player who cannot commit to play at least three rounds should not enter the tournament. The score of any player not completing at least three rounds will not be counted toward the team total.
8. How are the team awards calculated?
A team score is calculated by summing the top five individual scores from players in the same
section attending the same school. A player’s score counts only in the section that player has
entered. Thus the score of a third grader who has entered the K-5 section will count only in the K-5 section, and the score of a third grader who has entered the K-3 section will count only in the
K-3 section. That sum is the team score for that section. All teams with plus scores (13 or more points out of the 25 possible points) will receive trophies. Note that winning a trophy does NOTguarantee that that team will necessarily advance to the State Team Finals.
All public and private schools are eligible for the team awards. Home schooled students will
also be eligible for team awards if they meet our criteria for a home school team, which can be found on our website, www.georgiachess.org. The primary one that must be met is that in order for home schooled students to constitute a team the students in question must have a practice of studying core academic subjects together. An all-star aggregation of chess players will not be allowed to constitute a team.
9. What about individual awards?
This is strictly a team event, and no individual awards will be given out.
10. When will all the awards be announced and handed out?
The awards ceremony will begin as soon as possible after the last game of the fifth round is
complete, which should be around 5:00pm. It usually takes about 15 minutes to get the lists together and get set up for the ceremony, and another 30 minutes or so to distribute the awards, take pictures, etc. Everyone should be on their way home before 6:00pm.
11. How do you pair players? What is meant by “Swiss System pairings”?
The Swiss System is the pairing system used almost exclusively to pair large chess tournaments
where the number of players per section is much greater than the number of rounds. In general it attempts to pair players with equal scores when possible, and also to equalize color allocations. The precise rules are complicated, but those interested can consult the “US Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess, Fifth Edition,” starting on page 104.
12. Is there a chance that I may have to play someone from my own school?
No. For the scholastic team regionals we guarantee that you will not have to play anyone from your own school. If by chance you do get paired against someone from your own school, then that is an error on our part, probably because we have one of you listed as attending the wrong school. Inform us immediately if this happens so that we can revise the pairings before play begins.
13. This is not a USCF rated tournament. Will you be enforcing USCF rules?
In general, yes, we will be. Exceptions to that are that scorekeeping is not going to be required, and all rules pertaining to scorekeeping will therefore be null and void, and that players will not be required to begin the game with a clock. One rule in particular that we will be enforcing is the “touch move/touch capture” rule. This means that if a player touches one of that player’s own pieces in a manner that can reasonably be interpreted as the beginning of a move, then the player will be required to move that piece, if that piece has a legal move. If a player touches an opponent’s piece in a like manner, then the player will be required to capture that piece, if there is a legal way to do so. Note that an accidental touching of a piece, such as brushing it with yourshirtsleeve when reaching for another piece, does not constitute a violation of this rule.
While by and large we will be going by USCF rules, we will try to avoid becoming too technical with these rules, and enforcement of other USCF rules will be on a case-by-case basis.
14. What if my opponent does not show up for the game?
This happens occasionally, as some people fail to notify the tournament directors that their
child won’t be participating, or will be leaving early. In the event that an opponent has not shown up 15 minutes after the start of the round, the game will declared a win by forfeit for
the child who showed up. The player who did not appear is then withdrawn from the rest of
the tournament.
15. What if I fall ill before the tournament and cannot attend?
In the event that you become ill after registering and cannot attend, you should notify us as
soon as possible by phone (770-939-5030) or email (NMAR2010@georgiachess.org). If we
are notified in advance that you won’t be participating, we will refund your entry fee. No refunds will be given in cases where we are not notified in advance that you will not be coming.
16. What if I need to leave the tournament early and unexpectedly?
In the event that you decide to leave the tournament early, please notify a tournament director
before leaving. That way we will make sure not to pair you for subsequent rounds. This will help prevent forfeits as outlined in part 14. Not only is this courteous both to the directors and
other players, but not to do so is a violation of the USCF Player Code of Conduct, and penalties
are possible for this infraction. These penalties include, but are not limited to, deletion of the offending player’s score from the team total, and loss of the privilege of playing in future GCA sponsored tournaments.
17. What fundamental rules of chess should I know before participating?
You should know how the pieces move, including the details associated with castling, checking the King, promoting a pawn, and capturing “en passant.” You should be able to recognize an illegal move, as well as checkmate and stalemate. GCA reserves the right to disqualify from further participation any student who clearly does not know the most basic rules of the game. This does not mean that we will disqualify a player who is a bit hazy on exactly how to perform an “en passant” capture. It does mean that we will disqualify someone who clearly doesn’t know how a Knight moves, or what is meant by “checkmate.” No refunds of any kind will be given to any player so disqualified.
18. Am I going to be required to keep score?
Scorekeeping will not be required, and we will not be furnishing scoresheets, pens or pencils. Players may elect to keep score if they so choose, but they will need to bring their own scorekeeping equipment. No time adjustment will be made if one player is keeping score, and the other is not.
19. Will I have to use a clock for my game?
If either player has a clock, then that clock will be used even if the opponent would prefer not to. If neither player has a clock, then the game will begin without one. Players may not request to borrow a GCA clock to start the game, however, the GCA reserves the right to place a clock on any game that is proceeding too slowly, or in which one player is using an inordinate amount of the time. In such a case the directors will attempt to leave each player with at least 10 minutes for the remainder of the game.
20. Should I bring food? Will any be sold there?
There will be a concession stand, which will probably have the usual chess food supplies (pizza, nachos, etc.) If you wish to have anything else, it would be a good idea to bring it from home. Healthy snacks are never a bad idea.
21. What should I do if I have a problem, or I don’t understand something?
If you have a problem or a question about anything during the game, you should raise your hand to summon a tournament director. This cannot be stressed too strongly. Do not take your opponent’s word for anything. Your opponent does not necessarily know the rules any more than do you, and your opponent does not necessarily have your best interests at heart. The tournament directors are here to answer questions and to solve problems, so please don’t hesitate to get them involved. Once a game is over then the result is going to stand, and it is too late for the tournament directors to do anything.
|
