Our next tournament is scheduled for May 18. This will be an Open, 4-SS, G/35;d5, notation required. Entries are closed, as we are at our limit of 20. Looking further ahead, we have a Rated Novice (8th grade and under, rated 600 or under, 5-SS, G/25;d5, no notation) scheduled for July 13 and another Open (4-SS, G/35;d5, notation required) scheduled for July 20. Both will be restricted to about 20 players.

I've been ruing the disappearance of rated chess activity in Goshen and surrounding areas. I'm not too tempted to try to organize the mega-tournaments we had pre-pandemic (lots of work!), but I thought perhaps something on a smaller scale would be doable. I checked with the Goshen Library and they have meeting rooms available at a price we can afford (free). So, I'm going to give it a try. In no particular order, these are some guidelines I'm keeping in mind.

  1. The primary purpose is to provide an opportunity for chess competition for Goshen youngsters.
  2. It has to be serious chess! That means rated, clocks, taking notation. Rated means US Chess membership required.
  3. It has to be open to all, young and old.
  4. Hold it - don't 1., 2., and 3. conflict? No, youngsters with a real interest in the game can play serious chess, and it will be beneficial for Goshen youngsters to play a variety of opponents, not just their schoolmates.
  5. We have to fit comfortably into the library schedule. The meeting rooms are open from 10-4 on Saturday. We will play 4 games at G/35;d5, first game beginning at 10:30. Optional extra games as times permit.
  6. If absolutely necessary, I may adjudicate games to get out of the library in time!
  7. We will adopt the rule that once EITHER player has under 10 minutes on their clock, BOTH players may stop keeping notation.
  8. So I don't need to drag a ton of equipment to the library, we will limit attendance to 16 players.
  9. If we have more than 8 players, we may play in groups of 4 or 8 or use accelerated pairings. We (the director and the players) will remain flexible and adjust the tournament format to the entries we have.
  10. Players must enter in advance.
  11. Early withdrawals will be shunned for the rest of their earthly lives! Don't sign up unless you plan to complete your schedule.
  12. Entrants will display impeccable comportment and not get on the tournament director's nerves!
  13. Children do not need to be accompanyed by an adult, but children who misbehave will be sentenced to a lifetime of practicing Ladder Mates.
  14. Our events have been reasonably successful, so we are moving forward with the next one on January 20.
  15. This list may grow as I think about it a little more.

If you are interested in taking part, make sure your US Chess membership is up to date and join or renew if necessary. You can do that at https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess. If you have questions or problems with memberships, contact me at joepye@pobox.com. If you need to learn how to keep chess notation, try this site. To see a list of entrants for the next tournaments, go here or here or here. For questions or to reserve your place, contact me at joepye@pobox.com.

Here's another library that hosts chess tournamnents: Niles, MI.

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