Tournament Info
Tournament Primer:
Tournaments are a great way for kids to meet other kids, be exposed to different playing styles and strategies, and maybe even bring home a trophy! Kids and parents alike have made many friends through tournaments. It is an amazing sight to see all these young children playing chess! Once they learn the game, kids as young as Kindergarten can compete, and ALL skill levels are represented. Tournaments are not just for advanced players they are for everybody.
Here is a broad brush on tournaments with some terminology (in bold) explained below. It is by no means comprehensive, but it should get you started:
Chess tournaments can be played as individual or team events. Players are given a pairing. When everyone is ready, the round of games begins. Individual tournament rounds have a time limit. At the end of a game, both players report their scores to the scorekeepers. If a player knows in advance that s/he will be unable to make a round, a bye can be requested. After each round the players get a new pairing, and so forth until all rounds are completed. Most tournaments have 4 rounds. After all the rounds are over, points are tallied, and trophies are awarded to the top players or teams for each section.
If at any point during a game a player has a question or is unsure about a move their opponent made, they should immediately stop playing (stop their clock if they have one) and raise their hand to wait for a Tournament Director (TD) or Official to come to mediate. An official will ask to see the notation of the game. If you have not notated, then the official will listen to both sides and make a judgment call based on the rules of play and the information given. Information on the game may only be provided by the two players in the game in question and/or their notation sheets. No parent information can be accepted.
Individual event - when a player's score is dependent on his/her own games only
Team event - when a player is part of a team, and the team's score is determined by the cumulative total of all the individual scores of all its players. Team events usually mean players from the same school are on the same team.
Pairing - instruction to a player stating which board they will be playing on, who their opponent is, and what color they will be (black or white - white always goes first) in the game
Round - a group of games played by all players simultaneously
Time limit - usually noted as G/30 per round; this means that each player in a game has 30 minutes, thus players have up to 60 minutes (30 minutes per player) to play a game. (At the elementary level, very few games take this long.) G/60 means each player gets 60 minutes, and the game could take up to 2 hours (this is more common for middle and high school play). Some tournaments use clocks to keep track of players time; for G/30 each clock would be set to 30 minutes. When the time is up on the clock the game is over. If there has been no agreement between the players as to who won or lost, a Tournament Official will determine the outcome (based on pieces or "material" left on the board).
Scores - whether a player won or lost. A win is recorded with 1 whole point (1.0), a loss is recorded with no points (0.0) and a stalemate or draw is recorded with a half point (0.5) for that round. Scores accumulate over rounds.
Bye - a player is not penalized for not playing a game. A player is awarded a half point (0.5) for this round if the bye is requested. When a player cannot make a round (has a soccer game or appointment) on the day of a tournament s/he can request a bye at the time of registration. Only one bye may be requested per tournament. If there is an odd number of players in a section, a player may be awarded a bye during the tournament (unrequested). A player is awarded a whole point (1.0) for this round.
Section - usually is noted by grade level (K-3, K-5, K-8, Open). K-3 means anyone in kindergarten through 3rd grade is eligible to play in this section against others in the same age group. K-5 means that anyone in kindergarten through 5th grade can play in this section against others in the same age group, and so on. "Open" means that anyone of any age can play in this section; usually applied to tournaments for adults and children, where adults can and will play against kids. You designate a section to play in when you register for a tournament. Trophies are awarded for each section.
Tournament Director (TD) & Officials - like a referee for chess. This person usually is in charge of the tournament, and also wanders around the tables during the tournament answering any questions or mediating any disagreements that may occur during a game. As with any sport, the final decision of the official or TD stands. There is no arguing with the official.
Clock - a chess clock with two timers on it. Each timer keeps track of how much time each player has left to play his half of the game.
Notation - a shorthand method for writing down every move made in a chess game. Notation is encouraged at all rated tournaments, but is not required. Notating a game is very helpful when a disagreement arises; the official will know where the pieces were and be able to make a ruling.
Some tournaments are rated, and some are unrated. Rated means that a player must be a member of the USCF (United States Chess Federation) and each game played will count toward establishing a player's national rating. (Membership is roughly $18/year and can be obtained at time of registration for most of the rated tournaments.) Unrated tournaments are tournaments that do not effect a players national rating. The Team events are unrated so that any player in the school can play and participate.
Most tournaments start around 9am, and conclude around 3pm. (Team tournaments are usually over by noon.) They are usually held at schools. Games are played in one area (usually the cafeteria), and parents wait in a separate area (called the "skittles area" - I don't know why). Players join their parents after they have finished their game. There is usually some kind of concession stand available for refreshments.
Remember: tournaments are for the kids to have FUN. If there is too much focus on trophies or winning, it is likely that the experience will not be an enjoyable one for parent or child. Ask you child if they had a good game, not if they won!