March 7, 2023

Dear New York State Scholastic Championship Players, Parents, Coaches and Guests,

Thank You All for attending the 55th edition of the New York State Scholastic Championships— one of the USCF’s longest-running scholastic chess tournaments!

It is such a pleasure to welcome everyone back to Saratoga Springs!

This year we have the most players that this event has ever had in its history— and we may very well end up with a record-breaking turnout of over 1,500 players!

For the first time in our history, we also have had to cap the entries in some of the sections due to space limitations. The three K-12 High Schools sections at the Excelsior Springs Ballroom, next to the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel currently have space available and players can enter those sections only online at www.chessaction.com (however we may close the entries to the High School sections Friday afternoon March 10^th— if not earlier). On-site entries may not be available for any sections this year.

For the other eleven sections at the Hilton and the City Center, we have set up a waiting list for those who wish to request to register for those sections.

Please click here for information on the wait list procedure.

To accommodate our large group of chess players, the tournament is once again being run in three separate locations.

The High School Championship, K-12 Under 1800 and K-12 Under 1200 Sections will be played in the Excelsior Springs Ballroom, next to the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel. The Courtyard and the Excelsior Springs Ballroom are about a ten minute walk north of the Hilton along Excelsior Avenue. The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel’s address is 11 Excelsior Avenue, and the address of the Excelsior Springs Ballroom, next to the hotel, is 47 Excelsior Avenue, in Saratoga Springs. You should be able to walk to the end of the Hilton Hotel’s parking lot and then continue north on Excelsior Avenue, past the Olde Bryan Inn and onto the Courtyard Hotel and the Excelsior Ballroom on the left.

The Excelsior Springs Ballroom has excellent lighting and playing conditions to accommodate the High School sections. The Canfield and Carousel Rooms in the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel (next door to the Excelsior Springs Ballroom) are available for additional tournament games, and the Schuyler Room upstairs is available for Skittles. The Courtyard will also offer some sandwiches and premade food items, along with a breakfast buffet running through Noon in their restaurant. The Saratoga City Center will also operate a separate food concession geared to our group as well.

We understand the inconvenience in having the High School sections separated from the rest of the sections in the Hilton Hotel by a 10-minute walk outdoors in the winter. However, we are very fortunate to have such a first-rate tournament facility and hotel so close to the Hilton available and able to accommodate our large number of players, and we will try our best to give our High School participants an outstanding tournament experience. We will try to text the pairings to the individual players or parents, and make them available on the tournament website as well. If you registered online and provided your cell phone number with the texting pairings option, you should be all set. If not, you can provide that information to the Tournament Staff for future texting of pairings.

Eight sections of the tournament will be played in the Saratoga Springs City Center, adjacent to the Hilton Hotel via an indoor walkway. The Middle School Championship Section will be played in Room B on the first floor, and the K-8 Under 1600 Section will probably be in this room also. The K-8 Under 900, Elementary Championship, K-5 Under 1400, K-5 Under 1000, K-5 Under 600 Sections and the Primary Championship will all be playing in the Main Hall on the first floor of the Saratoga Springs City Center, known also as Hall D.

            The K-3 Under 800, K-1 Championship and K-1 Under 400 Sections will all be held in the Saratoga Ballroom of the Saratoga Hilton Hotel.

The Skittles Room for these sections will be in Room M1, on the first floor of the Saratoga Springs City Center.

            If you're interested in trying out some rated chess yourself while you're waiting, we are hoping to have a special side tournament on Sunday morning: the Parents And Friends Tournament! Registration is from 9:30 - 10:15 am Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday March 12^th at Chess Control in the Hilton Hotel, and the four USCF-rated games (30 minutes per game, plus 5-second delay per move, per player) might be played in the Saratoga Springs City Center! The Parents And Friends tournament may be limited to 10 players, and USCF membership is required of all players (no equipment is supplied for this event).

            At 9:30 am Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday March 12th, we will also have a New York State Chess Association Open House and Tournament Feedback Forum. Here you can learn about NYSCA, a 501 (c) (3) organization and America’s oldest state chess association, and its efforts to promote and support Chess in New York State.

Here are some links to other useful information.

The Continental Chess website, which has much chess information and historical data.

The New York State Scholastic Championships website, which has standings and pairings, and links to the information for this year as well as results from prior years.

Some Answers To Frequently Asked Questions

Awards Details And Information About Awards Ceremonies

The Tournament Rules

The Kindergarten/First Grade Rules

The Continental Chess Code Of Conduct

A Parents’ And Coaches’ Guide To Scholastic Chess

Thank You Very Much for your participation and we truly appreciate your support as we strive to provide all of you with an excellent tournament!

Thank you all again for coming and welcome to historic Saratoga Springs, New York!

Steve Immitt

Chief Tournament Director

New York State Scholastic Championships