For Oregon players, you can check here for local or northwest chess tournaments:
For National events, check below:
For Oregon, State Scholastic Championship tournament. Usually happens in April.
Can be found here: https://www.calendarwiz.com/calendars/calendar.php?crd=nwsrsevents&&jsenabled=1&winh=587&winw=1280&inifr=false
For National Scholastic Tournament, below are the most prestigious ones:
National K-12 Grade Championships. Usually happens in Dec.
National Middle School (K-8) Championship. Usually happens in April.
National Elementary (K-6) Championship. Usually happens in May.
All-Girls National Championship. Usually happens in April.
Details can be found here: https://new.uschess.org/national-events-calendar
Above are the open tournaments, which means anyone who qualifies by the age/grade/gender can attend.
You can start here: http://www.uschess.org/component/option,com_top_players/Itemid,371/
Lots of benefits, including:
- Chess teaches you to get creative
- Chess teaches you to never get too comfortable
- On the chess board for every move you make, the opponent has an answer or counter play. Similarly in life for every action there is a consequence, it could go in your favor or not.
- It prepares you for failures in life. Do not get disappointed if things don’t go well in your favor or per your plan. Make a plan B and try to improve on yourself every step of the way.
For a beginner level player – Don’t focus on openings. Focus on improving your tactical skills. It will take you a long way up until at least 1600 levels.
Don’t give up. You will have lots of losses and tons of bad tournaments. You learn from your losses more than your wins. Focus on the game rather than the outcome.
Don’t be afraid of the opponent’s rating. You might be scared of a higher rated player and try to play solidly, that will only help your opponent beat you, remember that your opponent is also afraid of losing to you so just keep that in mind.
Get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy and good breakfast. Don’t get too excited in between rounds and stay relaxed
Two ways:
- Play in lots of tournaments and analyze your games after and learn from your mistakes
- Practice chess puzzles daily.
School work is always the No1 priority. Finish the homework first before you dive into chess. Try to have an uninterrupted period for chess.
Be there and be supportive, try not be result oriented. If you have time, learn together and play with them. Chess provides a very good bonding opportunity for parent-child relationships.
We highly recommend you read this article: A parents guide to scholastic chess tournaments
National State Invitational
- National State Elementary Championship (Rockefeller)
The John D. Rockefeller III National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Rockefeller National Champion.
US Chess has added the Rockefeller Champion to its list of qualifiers for the World Youth or the World Cadet Championship and the U.S. Cadet Championship.
Austin Tang was Rockefeller Champion of 2021. Hayul Lim was the 2022 Oregon representative (https://new.uschess.org/rockefeller-champions-list).
- National Tournament of Middle School State Champions (Barber)
The Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Barber National Champion.
US Chess has added the Barber Champion to its list of qualifiers for the World Youth or the World Cadet Championship and the US Cadet Championship.
WIM Zoey Tang and Ishaan Kodarapu were the 2021/2022 Oregon representatives.
- National Tournament of High School State Champions (Denker)
The GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Denker National Champion.
US Chess has added the GM Denker Champion to its list of qualifiers for the World Youth Championship and the U.S. Junior Closed Championship.
FM Shunkai Peng won 2nd place in 2021 Denker and Calvin Chang was the 2022 Oregon representative.
- National Tournament of Girls State Champions (Haring)
The WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Haring National Champion.
The winner (or tiebreak winner if co-champions exist) will qualify for the World Youth or World Cadet Championship, if the player is eligible to join the US Chess delegation. She will also be seeded into the U.S. Girls Closed Championship, if she qualifies, and will also receive a scholarship and prizes, to be determined by the US Chess Women’s Committee, commensurate with available resources.
WIM Zoey Tang won 2nd place in 2022 Haring and Neha Narendran was the 2021 Oregon representative.
- National Tournament of Senior State Champions (Irwin)
The John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Irwin National Champion.
GM Jim Tarjan tied for 3rd in 2022 Irwin and NM Wilson Gibbins was the 2021 Oregon representative.
International Youth Events
World Cadet Championship (players younger than 12) and World Youth championship (players younger than 18). Players qualified by rating to be qualified to the US Delegation.
WIM Zoey Tang has been Qualifying for the US Delegation of World Cadet Championship and World Youth Championship from 2017 to 2022.
For more information about international youth events, please see below:
https://new.uschess.org/international-youth-events/international-youth-event-faq
U.S. Junior Championship and U.S. Junior Girls Championship
The US Junior/Junior Girls Championship has a maximum of 10 players—the top players Under 20 (as of Jan. 1) in the nation.
WIM Zoey Tang was invited to the 2022 US Junior Girls Championship and placed 7th out of 10 players.
2022-July-06 Oregonian features Zoey
Chess titles are titles awarded to players based on their skill, performance, and rank. A player who has earned a chess title is often referred to as a “titled player” or by their actual title (e.g., grandmaster). Chess titles are awarded by governing chess bodies and federations. The most prestigious titles are conferred by FIDE, while national federations (like US Chess) also have their own titles. If a player has a title, they are extremely strong players and are likely a master.
Fide Requirement for title players:
GM (Grandmaster): Fide rating> 2500 and earn three grandmaster norms in international competition
IM (International Master): Fide rating>2400 and achieve three international master norms in international competition.
WGM(Women Grandmaster): Exclusive to women. FIDE rating>2300 as well as three WGM norms in international competition.
FM(Fide Master): FIDE rating>2300. No norm requirement
WIM(Women International Master): Exclusive to women Fide rating>2200. Three norms are required for the WIM title
CM (Candidate Master): Fide rating>2200. No norm requirement
WFM (Women Fide Master): Fide rating>2100. No norm requirement
WCM (Women Candidate Master): Fide rating>2000. No norm requirement
Details can be found here: https://www.chess.com/terms/chess-titles#differenttitles
US Chess Rating Classes
To get the FIDE rating one has to play the FIDE rated chess tournaments. One has to play against at least five FIDE-rated chess players and score at least half points against them over a period of not more than 26 months. Also, the initial rating is published only if it is 1000 or more.
Yes, of course! Although team tournaments are not as frequently held in Oregon and across the world, they are a lot of fun and enable young players to represent their schools alongside the best of the best from their schools. In these team tournaments, usually 5 players (plus 1 or 2 standby players) represent their schools in teams. CFS allows only one school per team, but OSCF allows as many teams as a school can send to the statement tournament.
Oregon conducts two team championships per year:
- Chess for Success Team Tournament: This is the largest and most elaborate tournament that happens over several months. Schools across the state participate in regional tournaments first at elementary, middle and high school level first. At the regionals, only the top 1 or 2 teams from each region make it to the state finals. Up to 5 players from each school can compete, along with 2 reserve players. During some years there were as many as 1000 players participating! We are hoping that the participation will go back up to that level or beyond again post pandemic. Keep out an eye for announcements from your school chess team or subscribe to updates from Chess for Success at https://www.chessforsuccess.org/
- OSCF Team Tournament: OSCF has been conducting individual state scholastic tournaments for several years and in 2019 they initiated a highly successful team tournament as well. However due the pandemic the OSCF state team tournament was canceled in 2020 and was online only in 2021. In 2022, they resumed over-the-board (in-person) tournaments again. For more details about the 2023 team tournament and other scholar chess news, follow OSCF at www.oscf.org