About Tournaments

How do I know if I am ready to play in a chess tournament?

If you know the basic rules of chess and can complete a simple checkmate, you are ready to play in a youth chess tournament. You don’t need to be a chess genius; you just need to enjoy playing! We have had kids as young as four play in our tournaments.

Will I have to play kids who are way better than me?

We organize our tournaments by age and skill level (once you have played a couple of tournaments we have a better idea what your skill level is and can make adjustments). Our goal is for all kids to play some fun but challenging games. Sometimes, particularly if the tournament is small, you may have to play a game or two against a player who is much more experienced than you, but remember,  this is a great way to learn some new chess moves!

Are there prizes?

We have a pretty limited budget but we do try to always award ribbons and occasionally even a prize or two.

At the provincial chess challenge (held once per year) we give out medals and trophies in every grade (the first place finisher in each grade gets a trophy, second and third place finishes get medals).

Where do the tournament fees go?

We keep our tournament fees as low as possible in order to encourage as many kids as possible to come out and play. We use tournament fees to pay for: tournament space, ribbons and prizes and having our games rated by our national organization (Chess and Math). Any left over money goes to our general fund which pays for our equipment and a small subsidy for our team members who travel to nationals in May. 

Our tournament directors generally volunteer their time (occasionally they may be reimbursed for travel costs).

Are there special tournament rules?

Yes. Here they are.