2007-08 Southwestern Maine Scholastic Chess Championship Tournament

March 1, 2008

The snow day is March 15, but this snow date is also contingent on the State team tournament occurring as scheduled on March 8. If States are snowed out on the 8th, States will take precedence on the 15th and SW Maine will be rescheduled at a later date.

 

This tournament is open to HS, JHS and ELementary teams and  individuals as well (see Reserve Section details).

Make as many copies of this form as needed (one form per team of 5 for the HS Championship section).  Be sure to complete all information requested, if possible, and check for accuracy.  You can find a player's USCF ID number and current rating at the USCF website at www.uschess.org. Click on "Ratings" at the top of the screen, scroll to "Individual Ratings" and follow directions.  If no USCF membership or rating, put NA. In future events we may try to go to a USCF-rated tournament.  For now, the ratings will help establish board playing order and initial school pairings.  Thanks.

School Name:   ____________________________________________

Address:           ____________________________________________

                        ____________________________________________

 

CIRCLE ONE: HS CHAMPIONSHIP **RESERVE HS ** RESERVE JHS**RESERVE ELEM

 

LIST PLAYERS IN BOARD ORDER, highest to lowest. (not important for reserve section.)

#1        NAME:                  _____________________________                    BIRTHDATE: ____NA ______

            ADDRESS: _____________________________                   USCF # :         ______________

 

                               _____________________________                   RATING:        ______________

#2        NAME:                  _____________________________                    BIRTHDATE: ____NA ______

            ADDRESS: _____________________________                   USCF # :         ______________

                               _____________________________                   RATING:        ______________

 

#3        NAME:                  _____________________________                    BIRTHDATE: ____NA ______

            ADDRESS: _____________________________                   USCF # :         ______________

                               _____________________________                   RATING:        ______________

 

#4        NAME:                  _____________________________                    BIRTHDATE: ____NA ______

            ADDRESS: _____________________________                   USCF # :         ______________

                               _____________________________                   RATING:        ______________

 

#5        NAME:                  _____________________________                    BIRTHDATE: ____NA ______

            ADDRESS: _____________________________                   USCF # :         ______________

                               _____________________________                   RATING:        ______________

COACH or PARENT:     ____________________________

PHONE:      ____________________________ (W)   _____________________ (H)

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________

EMAIL:      ____________________________

 

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Ron Lewis.

MAIL OR EMAIL COMPLETED FORMS TO: Ron Lewis, 189 Middle Road, Falmouth, ME 04105 ([H] 781-3962; e-mail raltiger@aol.com).   For further information contact Dan Lavallee ([W]774-6238; [H] 428-3326;  lavallee@cheverus.org) or Ron Lewis ([H]781-3962; [W]775-5401;  raltiger@aol.com).

Please bring as many sets and clocks as you can!!

2007-08 Southwestern Maine Scholastic Chess Championship Tournament

 

This year's Southwestern Maine Scholastic Chess Championship will be held at Cheverus High School, 267 Ocean Avenue in Portland.  All entrants must be pre-registered.  Pre-registration requires that all information be received by the Tuesday immediately preceding the date of the tournament. After the Tuesday deadline, no further entries will be accepted; however, team members may be changed due to illness or other valid reason.  It is requested that these changes be held to an absolute minimum and be made by the Thursday preceding the tournament, if at all possible.  This will allow us to begin as close to 9:00 AM as possible.  Pre-payment is easier, but payment may be made the day of the tournament.  Registration will open for any final changes or entry fee payments at 8AM.  Round 1 will begin at 9:00 AM.  Any late team may request a 1/2 point bye for the first round, but the request must be made by 8:00 AM on the day of the tournament. Call Dan Lavallee ([H] 428-3326; [W] 774-6238) to request the bye.

 

Tournament Date:      March 1, 2008. Snow Date tentatively scheduled for March 15.

 

Time controls:                        Game/60 for HS Championship; G/45 for reserve section.

 

HS CHAMPIONSHIP SECTION

Entry fees:   $3 per person. 

 

Format:   Each high school team will consist of 5 players ranked from strongest to weakest (Boards one through five). There will be four rounds of play. Teams meet in match play with each team member paired against his/her opposite board number. Initial team seeding will be based on SW Maine HS match results, average team USCF rating, if available, or alphabetical if not. Colors will alternate from Boards 1 through 5 once the Board 1 color (white or black) has been assigned (at random for the first round).  Attempts will be made to assure that each team receives an equal number of white and black assignments for each board during the tournament. Each team is awarded a point for winning a match (scoring 3 out of 5 or better), or 1/2 point for a tie match (each team scores 2.5).  Each school may enter only one team in the championship section, but other players may be entered in the Reserve Section. A school may enter a team of less than five provided it accepts the penalty of losing one point per round for each missing board (in theory, a team of three very good players could still have a shot at first place). Otherwise the Reserve Section is open to schools/individuals. Tie-breaks will be used to determine team trophy winners, if necessary.  Tie-break methods will be posted at the tournament site.

 

Awards:   Team trophies for the first and second place teams.  Trophies for members of the winning team.  A rotating tournament plaque for the winning team to keep for a year, with the team name and year to be inscribed, will also be presented.

 

RESERVE SECTION (HS, JHS & ELEM)

Entry fees:   $3 per person.

Format:   This will be a 4-round Swiss format tournament with pairings derived accordingly.  This section will be open to Elementary, JH or Middle School students as well as HS students.  Depending on numbers, there may be only one reserve section (mixed Elem/JHS/HS).  Attempts will be made to avoid pairing any school teammates in a match.  The team scores will be the total of the three high scorers for a team (a perfect team score would be 12).  A Reserve Section team will require three or more players to qualify as a team.  However, one or two players from a school may vie for individual honors in this section. Tie-breaks will be used to determine team and individual winners, if necessary.  Tie-break methods will be posted at the tournament site.

Awards:   Trophies for first and second place Elementary, JHS and HS teams.  (Elem/JHS/HS reserve results will be separated at the end of the event.) Trophies for the top three scorers for Elementary, JHS and HS teams. Trophies for first and second place Elementary, JHS and HS individual (not competing on teams) top scorers in the reserve section. 

Other Information

 

Team members: All team members from a team competing for each SW Maine team title must attend the same school.  Home-schooled players are exceptions.  Home-schoolers playing for a school team must utilize the chess program closest to the home-schooler's home.

Cancellation:   In the event of a severe snowstorm or other emergency, coaches will be informed the evening before.  If you can call Dan, that would be helpful.  Please make sure that your home phone numbers are on the registration forms. We will also try to have cancellation posted on the ChessMaine.net web site.

Food:   No food will be available at the site.  However, several fast food establishments are within a mile or two of the site, and there should be time between some matches for someone to go out and bring in food for players.  No extended time is provided between rounds, and it is the coach's responsibility to make sure players are at their assigned positions for the start of each round. Otherwise, the opponents will start clocks and absent players will lose time off their clocks until they show up.

Recording:   Recording of games in chess notation is required for all high school tournament games (not required, but encouraged, for JH or elementary players).  See USCF website or a rule book for recording instructions if you do not know how.  No specific system is required as long as the game can be reconstructed from the scoresheet.  A scoresheet does not have to be perfect to be acceptable. When the time remaining for either player drops below 5 minutes, further recording by either player in a game is not required.  A player not recording, however, loses the right to claim a draw by repetition of position, or the 50-move rule. Scoresheets will be provided at the site.

Clocks and sets: Chess clocks may be electronic or standard. A time-delay feature on the clock, if present, is not to be used.  The clocks are to be set for a G/60 time control (analog clocks set at 5 o'clock to be consistent).  Audio or visual cues for the elapsed game time control shall not be used on digital clocks.  It is up to the player to be aware of the remaining time, and to announce that the opponent's time has elapsed.  The board and pieces shall be of standard tournament Staunton design.  Sets other than this may be rejected after consulting with a TD or Assistant TD.

Rules of Play: All standard rules of chess are in effect.  In particular, the touch-move rules should be known and obeyed.  No talking between players on the same team is allowed, and players watching a game should be silent and offer no advice verbally or otherwise on the game they are watching.  Violation of this may cause a game to be forfeit.  A player may consult with a coach only to inquire whether he/she should accept a draw offer from the opposing player. The opposing player's coach should also be included in the conference. If a question of rules comes up during a game, then play (the clock) should be stopped and the player should raise his/her hand to summon a tournament director (TD) to answer the question.

Assistants: Volunteers are solicited to assist TDs in answering some questions when hands are raised.  If the assistant is associated with the team of the player raising his/her hand, then the assistant should defer to another not involved in the match or summon a TD.