2016 ChessKid.com National Online Invitational Championship

PRESS RELEASE — Chess.com LLC

March 21, 2016:

FM Klein's full recap of last year's event can be found here. 

As ChessKid.com Vice President IM Danny Rensch explains, events of this nature represent a rare opportunity for America's most talented youth to square off only against players of similar age, strength and experience.

The "by-invitation-only" round robin format is just one of the things that makes this tournament a special occasion. With all the games played online, travel expenses and other logistical inconveniences are not an issue in bringing the nation's best together.

Just as last year, the 2016 edition will feature five rounds, as well as the same five age-specific sections. 

New for this year: All games will be played on ChessKid.com instead of Chess.com. As usual, games will be broadcast live at www.chess.com/TV.

For the full details, including rules and prizes, see below. Look for an updated announcement (closer to tournament time) once the field of 30 players is confirmed.

ChessKid.com is the "scholastic extension" of the world's largest chess website: Chess.com. By bringing so many of the nation's best and brightest youth chess players together for an event of this magnitude, ChessKid.com and U.S. Chess hope to provide more exposure for the great game of chess, as well as all the benefits the game has on a child's cognitive development and critical thinking skills. 

TOURNAMENT DESCRIPTION
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• WHEN: This event will take place June 3-5, with a total of five rounds over three days (1/2/2 rounds on F/Sa/Su). Round one: Friday at 7pm EST. Round two: Saturday 12noon EST, 9am Pacific. Round three: Saturday 6pm EST, 3pm Pacific. Round four: Sunday 12noon EST, 9am Pacific. Round five: Sunday 6pm EST, 3pm Pacific.  

• WHAT: The event is a national championship, which means the winner will be the official "8 and under national champion," etc. The games are also "U.S. Chess-rated" meaning the results will affect the official U.S. Chess rating of the participants.

• SECTIONS: 6 and Under; 8 and Under; 10 and Under; 12 and Under; Girls 13 and Under.

• HOW PLAYERS ARE DETERMINED: This is an invitational tournament, with six players per section. This means 30 total kids over the five sections will compete. The invitees are determined by the USCF Top Rated Players list, January, 2016. Age eligibility is as of January 1, 2016.

• INVITATIONS: The Top 15 players in each age group will receive participation invites (either as a confirmed invite or "alternate," should someone ahead of them decline participation). In the event that a player qualifies in the Top 15 in two age groups (e.g., an Under 8 Player also qualifies for the Under 10 division) the player will be given the right to choose his group of participation and the next player (in either section) will be invited accordingly. 

• RATING TIES: In the event that two players' ratings are tied in the Top 100 lists, the exact decimal rating will be used to break the tie. In the extremely unlikely event that the players are still tied, ChessKid.com reserves the right to find another tiebreak method.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT & RULES

• ROUND ROBIN: This is a single "round robin" tournament, which means every player will play every other player exactly one time. We will attempt to provide exact pairings two weeks in advance of the event, but we may experience delays based on player participation confirmation.

• TIME CONTROL: The games will be played online on Chess.com with a time control of "G/90 + 30 sec increment," which means both players get 90 minutes for all their moves and each time they make a move they get an additional 30 seconds added to their clock. 

• LIVE COVERAGE: Every single round will be covered live and viewable on Chess.com/tv. 

• WHERE THE KIDS PLAY FROM: Because the games are played online, most players will be playing locally. Some kids will play from home, and others from public locations in their home towns (or nearby), like local chess clubs or a public library, or even a rented conference room at a hotel, in the case of several players in the same area. All kids will be encouraged to play from a highly stable internet connection and possibly a hard-wired (ethernet) setup.

• T.D. MONITORED: Most typical "over the board" tournaments are monitored loosely by the tournament director, or TD, who is physically present to discourage any type of cheating. Online tournaments are different because your opponent and the TD can't see you. Because of this, all players must provide a local, neutral adult chaperone to be present and monitor them while they play. In addition to this, Chess.com has top-of-the-line cheat detection.  

• TAKEBACKS: Though "mouse slips" can and do happen in an online setting, this year we will not allow ANY takebacks to be issued under any circumstances. We recommend the most careful observation of your position and usage of the mouse before making a move!

• RELAYING MOVES TO A BOARD: While all players will be allowed to use a real board to show only the current position in their game (no moving the piece for analysis), no player is allowed to have someone else enter their moves on the computer.  This rule/clarification has two reasons behind it:  1) If a player in severe time trouble calls out a move and the relayer doesn't make the move in time, then there will be difficult questions about whether the player deserves to lose on time; 2) If a relayer makes a different move for any reason — accidentally or on purpose — then the opponent will be analyzing the wrong move. It's also possible to mouse-slip a superior move. Both of these scenarios are best avoided.

• TIE-BREAKS: In the event of a tie for first place, a clear winner will be determined via an Armageddon rapid game. White will receive 25 minutes, Black will receive 10 minutes and "draw odds." A 5-second time increment will be in place. The lower-rated player will have choice of color.  

• In the event of a tie for other places, U.S. Chess standard tiebreaks will be used.

PRIZES

• Each player will receive a free 1 year Diamond Membership on Chess.com.

• Each player will receive a free 1 year Gold Membership on ChessKid.com. 

• Each player will receive a free ChessKid.com or Chess.com T-shirt and a wristband.

• Top 3 finishers in each section will receive a custom plaque with their name engraved.

• 1st place in each section will receive a $300 scholarship (an estimated 3-5 hours of lesson time) toward lessons with a top chess trainer (coaches assigned by Chess.com). 

Full rules and details will be shared with participants and on-site proctors / directors upon accepting invitations.

ChessKid.com is the "scholastic extension" of the world's largest chess website: Chess.com. By bringing so many of the nation's best and brightest youth chess players together for an event of this magnitude, ChessKid.com and U.S. Chess hope to provide more exposure for the great game of chess, as well as all the benefits the game has on a child's cognitive development and critical thinking skills.