Silver State Chess Association LLC
on behalf of Nevada Chess, Inc.
Presents
SOUTHERN NEVADA STATE SCHOLASTIC
INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
and QUALIFIER to NEVADA STATE SCHOLASTIC CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Date: Saturday, March 1st, 2025 @ 8:30am
IMPORTANT: This year, the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship will be held in a different format. Both the Southern portion of the state (defined below) and the Northern portion of the state will hold separate Over-The-Board tournaments to determine individuals and teams from each region who will then compete in the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship to be held on Saturday March 29th (individuals) and April 26th (teams).
Individuals who reside in, or go to school in, the following Nevada counties will be eligible to participate in the Southern Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship: Clark, Nye, Lincoln and Esmerelda.
This announcement is for the Southern Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship. The Northern Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship will be held on a different day and will be detailed in a separate announcement.
We expect the change in format will facilitate greater participation from students throughout Nevada.
Location:
Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts
3100 E Patrick Ln
Las Vegas, NV 89120
A US Chess Rated Tournament in 6 Sections open to Southern Nevada residents or Southern Nevada students in the counties listed above.
K-3 Championship (Open to all players in grades K – 3)
K-5 Championship (Open to all players in grades K – 5)
6 rounds
Time Control Game/25 minutes +5 seconds
Middle School Championship (Open to all players in grades 6 – 8)
High School Championship (Open to all players in grades 9 – 12)
5 rounds
Time Control Game/30 minutes +10 seconds
K-5 Reserve (Open to all players in grades K – 5 rated Under 400 or unrated)
K-12 Reserve (Open to all players in grades K – 12 rated Under 800 or unrated)
6 rounds
Time Control Game/25 minutes +5 seconds
Individual and Team Trophies will be Awarded!
All players will receive a participation medal. Trophies will also be awarded.
Qualifiers
The top four individual scorers in each of the six Sections in the Southern Nevada Scholastic Chess Championship will meet at the Southern Nevada Chess Club on Saturday, March 29th to compete in the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship (individuals), an online tournament that includes the Southern Nevada individual qualifiers and the Northern Nevada individual qualifiers. We will provide digital tablets for that tournament. The winners of the three sections: High School, Middle School and K-5 Championship from the tournament on March 29th will represent the State of Nevada at national tournaments to be held in July in Wisconsin. Nevada State representatives will each receive a travel stipend from Silver State Chess after completing all games in the national tournament without a forfeit loss.
The top two team scorers in each Section in the Southern Nevada Scholastic Chess Championship will meet at the Southern Nevada Chess Club on Saturday, April 26th to compete in the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship (teams), an online tournament that includes the Southern Nevada team qualifiers and the Northern Nevada team qualifiers. We will provide digital tablets for that tournament. The winning teams will not qualify for any national tournament because there is no national team tournament for which to qualify.
We expect the change in format will ensure easier access to competitors from multiple regions in Nevada and will ultimately facilitate greater chess participation in the State of Nevada.
All national invitational tournaments will be held in July in Wisconsin. Representatives will each receive a travel stipend from Silver State Chess after completing all games in the national tournament without a forfeit loss.
Additional Prizes
The top scoring player in each section will receive free entry to the International Youth Championship in Las Vegas June 7-8. Restricted to players born after June 8, 2010 and rated under 1800.
The top scoring girl in each of the four Championship Sections will receive free entry to the Southern Nevada State Girls Championship to be held on March 8, 2025 at the Southern Nevada Chess Club in Las Vegas. Any of these players who have already entered the Southern Nevada State Girls Championship will have their entry fee refunded in full.
The second-place finishers in all six sections will receive an entry to a future one-day tournament of their choice at Southern Nevada Chess Club in Las Vegas. The high school second place finisher may choose the Thursday night series instead of a one-day tournament. Visit https://snvchess.com for more information about tournaments at the Southern Nevada Chess Club.
Entry Fees:
$50 before Feb. 2
$65 by Feb. 16
$75 before February 28 @ 4:00pm PST
$100 after February 28 @ 4:01pm PST
Refunds:
Refunds must be requested via email to info@silverstatechess.org prior to 11:59pm on February 28 and will have a processing fee of $12 withheld.
Byes
Maximum two half-point byes are available upon request. All half-point byes must be requested before 8:30am on March 1. Half-point byes for Rounds 4 or later are irrevocable after 12:30pm on March 1. If any player is unable to play any round for any reason, including withdrawals, please notify a tournament director or score keeper.
Teams
Two or more players from the same school in the same section automatically form a team.
US Chess Membership required: you may join or renew at https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess
Lunch:
As an additional change from prior years, competitors will be required to bring their own lunches. We are looking into the possibility of having food trucks onsite in front of the playing venues. Lunch details will be provided as we get closer to the tournaments.
Schedule: Welcome and announcements will begin at 8:30am. All players should be seated for Round 1 start at 9:00am. Subsequent rounds start about 15 minutes after the previous round ends. There will be a lunch break for players to eat player-brought lunches. Players registering after 8:30 a.m. may not be paired for round 1.
Players should bring a Chess clock capable of using Increments and they should be familiar with how to set the clock.