New York State Scholastics:
Answers To Frequently Asked Questions (Updated 3/7/2022)
1.
Where do I check-in? You don’t need to check in if you’ve already
registered and paid the entry fee. You
already paid, so we expect you to be here by 11:00 am! If you have not yet paid or registered, or if
your USCF membership is not current, or
if you are in the wrong section, on the other hand, you should do that
before 10:00 am!
2. What time is the next round?
In all
sections, the games begin Saturday at
11:00 am, 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm and Sunday
(Eastern Daylight Time) at 9:00 am, 12:00 Noon and 3:00
pm.
3.
Do we have to use clocks? Yes, if either player has one. If neither player can get a clock, they can
start their game without one. However,
if their game goes too long, we may need to find a clock to put on on the game,
with both players having a limited time to finish the game at that point (for
example, five minutes each). As we advertised in advance, the tournament does
not supply clocks.
4.
What are the correct clock settings? The clocks
should be set for one hour each player, with a 10-second time delay for each
move for each player. If you have a clock without a time delay, set it the same
as above, except that you don’t set a delay if the clock doesn’t have a delay.
5.
How long do the games last? The games could last up to two hours, or even
a bit more if both players take all their time.
Generally, the older and more experienced the players are, the longer
the games take. Probably the K-1 games
will be done pretty quickly, and the High School games will take a lot longer.
6.
Where do I wait while the players are playing their games?
Some schools with lots of players have team rooms. These team room assignments should be posted
at the hotel and maybe on the tournament website as well. If you don’t have a school team room, then
the waiting areas would be in the M1 Room (1st Floor) of the Saratoga Springs City Center
and also in the Canfield/Carousel Room at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel as well.
7.
Where are the games played? The High School sections will play in the Excelsior Ballroom
next to the Courtyard
Marriott Hotel (11
Excelsior Avenue), about a 10 minute walk from the Hilton. The Primary
Championship, K-3 Under 800, K1 Championship and K1 Under 400 Sections will be
in the Saratoga Ballroom of the Saratoga
Hilton Hotel. All the
other sections will be in the Main Hall (1st floor) of the Saratoga Springs City Center, adjacent to the Saratoga Hilton via
an indoor walkway, and in the adjacent Salon C Room (1st Floor) of the Saratoga Springs City Center. To reduce crowding in the Saratoga Ballroom
Foyer, the Primary Championship may be moved to the City Center, Main
Hall D instead.
8.
When and where are the trophies awarded?
The Awards Ceremonies are
scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm Sunday,
as previously advertised. Most of the Awards Ceremonies should take place in
the same general areas as the games, because the trophies will already be in
the rooms. However, if an Awards
Ceremony is in a different room we will post this outside the rooms and
announce it as well. Players who win a
trophy but do not stay to receive it will need to contact Crown Trophy Company in Brooklyn at 718-769-4112 (ask for Larry
Brown) to make arrangements to purchase a replacement trophy (which can also
be engraved with the winner’s name) and pay for the shipping.
9.
How do I know whom I should play? The pairings
should be posted a few minutes before each game, in the foyers outside the
entrances to the playing rooms above.
Look for your name posted on the yellow pairing sheets, check to see
which Board Number you have been assigned (the Board Numbers are on the far
left-hand side of the yellow sheet), and check if you are supposed to play
White or Black. MAKE SURE YOU ALSO CHECK YOUR OPPONENT’S NAME TOO— we don’t want you playing the wrong
person or with the wrong colors! If possible, we will try to text your
pairings (if you registered online and selected the texting pairings
option) and post them on our website.
10. What if I can’t play all the games? In that case we need to know that! We expect that you will play all your games,
and if you don’t tell us otherwise ahead of time, you will get paired against
somebody and then end up losing your game on forfeit. We don’t want that. If you know ahead of time that you can’t
play, we can give you half-point byes (unrated draws) for up to two such
unplayed games. However, if you want
half-point byes, you need to request them before Round 2 (2:00 pm Saturday) and
then after Round 2 starts you cannot take them away. If you need to request half-point byes
because you won’t be able to play the first Round or because you have to miss
both Round 1 and Round 2, we need to know that in advance, before you get to
the hotel. If you want to request and
commit to taking byes beginning in Round 3, we don’t want to know this until
after you get to the hotel, in case you change your mind in the meantime (but
you still have to commit to the byes before Round 2 in any case). If it’s too late for half-point byes, but you
are not going to come to the next game, then we still need to know that. WE DON’T WANT YOU TO GET PAIRED IF YOU ARE
NOT GOING TO PLAY AND THEN LOSE BY FORFEIT!
11. Who gets a trophy? The top 10 scorers in each section. For
players who do not win a place trophy, additional (class) trophies are also
awarded to the two top-scoring Unrated players in each of the following five
sections: the K-1 Under 400, K-3 Under 800, K-6 Under 600, K-8 Under 900 and
K-12 Under 1200 sections. Other class trophies go to the two top-scoring
players in the following rating classes:
the 2 top rated Under 1900 and Under 1700 in the High School Championship Section; the 2 top rated Under1600 and
Under 1400 in the K-12 Under 1800
Section; the 2 top rated Under 1000, Under 800 and Under 600 in the K-12 Under 1200 Section; the 2 top
rated Under 1800, Under 1600 and Under 1400 in the Middle School Championship Section; the 2 top-rated Under 1400,
Under 1200 and Under 1000 in the K-8
Under 1600 Section; the 2 top rated Under 700, Under 500 and Under 300 in
the K-8 Under 900 Section; the 2 top
rated Under 1700 and Under 1500 in the Elementary
Championship Section; the 2 top rated Under 1200 and Under 1000 in the K-5 Under 1400 Section; the 2 top rated
Under 800 and Under 700 in the K-5 Under
1000 Section; the 2 top rated Under
500, Under 400 and Under 300 in the K-5
Under 600 Section; the 2 top rated Under 1400, Under 1200 and Under 1000 in
the Primary Championship Section;
the 2 top rated Under 600, Under 500, Under 400 and Under 300 in the K-3 Under 800 Section; the 2 top rated
Under 800, Under 600 and Under 400 in the K-1
Championship Section and the two top-scorers rated Under 300 and Under 200
in the K-1 Under 400 Section. You only get one trophy, the bigger one (the
place trophy takes precedence over the “class” trophies, which is why the place
trophies are supposed to be bigger than the class trophies). The seven top-scoring school teams win a
trophy too. Please check to make sure
that you are listed under your correct school (NOT your Chess Club), otherwise
your school’s team score may not be counted correctly. You need to have at least two players from
the SAME school playing in the same section to count as a team.
12. How many points do I need to
get a trophy?! 5½ points is a pretty good bet (six points
even better)! Otherwise you need to
check to see how the other players in your section are doing and see who could
get more points.
In the High School (K-12) sections, there are also Mixed Doubles Bonus prizes as
well! A Mixed Doubles Team is a special
kind of team: only two players, one male
and one female, and they don’t have to play in the same section or even attend
the same school. But the average team
rating of both Mixed Doubles teammates must be Under 2200. Both players on the five top-scoring Mixed
Doubles teams receive a chess set labeled with their Mixed Doubles prize! Register as a Mixed Doubles team on-site
only, before both players begin Round 3 and it does not cost anything extra!
13. What about the other free entry
prizes? The top-scoring New York player born after 9/1/02 in
grades 9-12 in the High School Championship qualifies for the Denker National
Tournament of State High School Champions at the 2022 U.S. Open in Rancho
Mirage, California; the top-scoring New York player in grades 6-8, born after
9/1/06, in the Middle School Championship qualifies for the Barber National
Tournament of State Middle School Champions, and the top-scoring New York
player in grades K-5, born after 9/1/09, of
the Elementary Championship qualifies for the Rockefeller National
Tournament of Grade K-5 Champions, also at the 2022 U.S. Open! First
place individual (in any state) in the Championship Sections also wins 6 months
of free or reduced entry to Continental Chess non-youth tournaments with all
prizes 100% guaranteed, 4 months to 2nd and 3 months to 3rd.
Individual free/reduced entry prizes in the other sections are 4 months to 1st,
3 months to 2nd and 2 months to 3rd. NY players who score 6-0 receive a 2-month
bonus on their prize period!
Prizewinners whose prize period includes the World Open and/or Foxwoods
receive a $100 discount on the entry fee to the events covered. Players
whose official Online Regular Rating is more than 100 points over the section
maximum cannot win a First Place individual trophy or any free entry prizes.
14. There must be more rules? Like “Touch Move,” “en passant,” etc.?
Of course! The rules we have posted here and on our
website are used for this tournament.
Other rules also apply, and they are found in the Official US Chess
Federation Rulebook (which might even be on sale at the tournament). We have a number of National Tournament
Directors at this event (that’s the highest level recognized by the US Chess
Federation, BTW), and they have a lot of experience dealing with a lot of
strange things which sometimes happen in these tournaments.
15. How are the tiebreaks
calculated? By computer!
The tiebreak rules are somewhat complicated, and they are listed in the Parents’ And Coaches’ Guides at the
tournament and also posted on our website.
The trophies and plaques and free entries are awarded using the players’
final standings, using tiebreaks to break ties, if necessary. However, ONLY
for players who score 6-0, we have a special speed playoff, because tiebreaks
do not work for players who have perfect 6-0 scores.
16. How are the pairings made?
By computer (hopefully)! General
pairing explanations are found in the Parents’ and Coaches’ Guide (a more
detailed explanation is found in the USCF Rulebook).
17. How many rating points do I
get? You should wait until Monday and check the
USCF’s website at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrLst.php
NOTE: The standings listed on the USCF website DO NOT INCLUDE ANY TIEBREAKS! They are often listed in a different order than the order in which we award the trophies, because our standings include the correct tiebreaks (hopefully)!
18. Why is my child in a different section than I originally selected? This could be for a number of reasons.
We use the USCF Official March Rating Supplement, and his/her official March published rating may have been too high for the section originally requested. In that case, the player is moved up to the next highest section for the player's grade level. If you would like a different section, (assuming the player is also eligible by grade), please email us this information before it is too late to director@chess.us (list the player's name, USCF ID and which section you are seeking to enter).
The player may have selected a grade which is too high for the section. In that case we would move him up to the next lowest section above that grade.
The player's coach may have switched the player for other reasons. In that case, someone has to confirm which eligible section to use.
19. Where do I get food?
The City Center has a special food concession prepared for the Chess
Tournament and the Hilton and the Courtyard Marriott have premade items for
sale as well. The hotels do not wish outside food being brought into the
meeting rooms or public areas, so please don’t get yourself (and us) in
trouble!
20. When is the Bughouse
tournament? 8:00 pm Saturday, probably in the Saratoga
Ballroom. Registration is from about
7:00 – 7:50 pm.
21. What if I get nervous or bored while
my kid is playing? In that case, we have a special tournament
for you! It’s a separate, one-day
tournament, called the Parents and Friends Tournament.
It begins at 10:30 am EDT Sunday (register at Chess Control in the
Hilton between 9:30 – 10:15 am). This
event is four games, 30 minutes + 5-second delay each player, rated by the US
Chess Federation (USCF membership is required therefore). The entry fee is only $30, but parents,
coaches or those affiliated with the NY State Scholastics (as well as alumni
from previous years) get a $10 discount!
Trophies are awarded to the 3 top-scorers! The Parents
and Friends game times are 10:30 am,
12:00, 1:30 and 3:00 pm Sunday (two half-point byes are available if you
lock them in by 12:00 pm). You have to
supply your own set and clock! NOTE: This tournament will be
held in the Hilton or the City
Center. If you have to seat your
child for his or her games on Sunday, you might end up being late for your own
tournament game and may find that you have used up time on your clock in so
doing! Vaccination and masks required.
22. Is there anything
else? Yes!
We are hosting a New York State
Chess Association (NYSCA) Meeting and Open House on Saturday at 9:15 am, in
the Wedge Room of the City Center. Here is your chance to provide feedback on
the tournament and find out more about the New York State Chess Association!
MORE
QUESTIONS?? Check
our websites at www.chesstour.com and www.chessevents.com for more
information!
Thank you for playing in and supporting one of the US Chess Federation’s
Longest-running
scholastic chess tournaments, now in its 54th edition!
NEW
YORK STATE SCHOLASTICS COVID-19 POLICY
By entering the tournament, players agree that
Continental Chess cannot guarantee that they will not as a result become
infected with COVID-19. Entrants further certify that during the 10-day period
before the tournament, they have not experienced any symptoms associated with
COVID-19, which include fever, cough, or shortness of breath, or had close or
direct contact with anyone who is either confirmed or suspected of having
COVID-19.
Players also certify that they are or will be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by the first day of this tournament. The same also applies to parents and coaches (who should be prepared to show proof of vaccination at the tournament if requested by the tournament staff). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers an individual fully vaccinated if they are 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. Misrepresenting oneself as fully vaccinated may result in my being banned from future CCA events and other penalties.
Masks are also required in
all public spaces.
This includes, but is not limited to, players in games, tournament staff, and
other attendees. The mask and vaccination requirements for Continental Chess
are announced at chessevents.us and in the free emailed CCA Bulletin. If you do
not receive the free CCA Bulletin, you can subscribe at chessevents.us. Failure
to observe mask and vaccination requirements may result in being excluded or
removed from the event .
Players are encouraged to
receive pairings
by text or email. You should be able to check standings online prior to entering
the playing hall. Pairings will probably be posted at the site, but you should
endeavor to find your information BEFORE you arrive.
Crowds should not congregate around pairings or standings or
outside doors of the playing halls. Please respect social distancing principles
in effect at the event and any markers.
Failure to observe social distancing if required may result in removal
from the tournament and/or site, without refund.
Non-playing spectators may be restricted, depending on
circumstances.
BEST PRACTICE
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Please try to limit the number of non-players in tournament areas. If you
have a group of young players competing, please consider assigning no more than
one or two parents to wait for those players at any given time. This will
reduce the crowds around exits and in hallways, which promotes a safer
atmosphere for everyone.
Within 10 days of the
tournament,
if you experience any symptoms consistent with COVID-19, please do NOT attend.
These symptoms include, but are not limited to, fever, respiratory distress,
and shortness of breath. If within 10 days of the tournament, you have any
close or direct contact with anyone who is either confirmed or suspected of
having COVID-19, please do NOT attend. This includes close or direct contact
with anyone who is experiencing or displaying any symptoms consistent with
COVID-19.