27th Annual Texas Grade Championships (North/Central)

27th Annual Texas Grade Championships (North/Central)
October 18 - 20, 2024

6-round Swiss
US Chess Rated

Link to Pairings & Results

UPDATE: Due to multiple requests, we will do our best to provide chess sets (NOT clocks) for every player. If you have equipment, please bring it regardless as a "just in case" scenario. Please bring writing instruments/pencils and clocks.
Thank you for your assistance.

All players are expected to bring their own playing equipment:
chess board, pieces, pencil for notation, chess clock.
Tournament is in the Grand Ballroom inside Sheraton IAH.
There will be equipment for sale if needed in the skittles area chess store.

Individual and Team Trophies!

Open to any pre-K thru 12th grade student either living or attending school in Texas.
Homeschooled are accepted.

US Chess Official October 2024 Regular Rating Supplement Used.

Unrated players may be assigned a rating based on 4 or more games played by 9/30/2024.

All players expect to play all six rounds, this is not an elimination tournament.
Each player MUST play in their current grade level.
There is no playing up or down to a different grade.
Each Grade level is its own section. i.e. kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, so forth.

US Chess current membership required
($20/year youth)
TCA membership required
($3 a year for age 18 and younger)

Questions? Contact "thechessrefinery@gmail.com"
or TEXT 281.698.0068. No calls please. Text only.

Most questions can be answered by reading through the information on this page.

Event is co-organized by F&B Trophies & The Chess Refinery.

Parents, participation in this event also means you give permission to take photographs and/or video of your child for fundraising, publicity or other purposes to help achieve the organizer's chess promotion goals

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Early Entry Fee $40 by Friday 10/4/24 now extended to Sunday 10/6/24!
$55 by Friday 10/11/24 now extended to Sunday 10/13/24!
$65 afterwards.

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Onsite Registration will be

Friday from 6pm - 7pm in the TEXAS room near the Grand Ballroom.

Online Registration ends Friday 5pm October 18th 2024.

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Refund Policy
All withdrawals must be requested by Wednesday October 16th 2024 to receive an 80% refund. Any withdrawals afterwards will not receive any refund.

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Tournament Venue

Sheraton North Houston IAH
15700 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Houston, Texas 77032

Hotel Group Rate Booking Link

$89 per night, please reserve by 9/20/24 Friday 10/4/24 for discounted rate.
A hotel stay is not mandatory! This is for travelers and those who just want the convenience of staying nearby.

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Round Times & Time Controls

Rd 1

Rd 2

Rd 3

Rd 4

Rd 5

Rd 6

Fri

7:30pm

Sat

10am

Sat

1pm

Sat

3:30pm

Sun

10am

Sun

1pm

Grades K-5th G45;d5 for round 1, all rounds afterward G60;d5

Grades 6-12th, all rounds G60;d5

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Side Event Schedule

EF for blitz is $15
EF for bughouse is $20 per team

Please bring cash to register on-site.

BLITZ tourney will be RATED. Bughouse not.
# of rounds to be determined after registrations are finished.

Sat Oct 19th	Anytime up to 30 min before round time	Onsite Registration for Blitz and Bughouse tournaments - Sign up by 630pm for Blitz and by 8pm for Bughouse
Sat Oct 19th	7pm	Blitz tournament - 2 sections, K-5 & K-12. Five individual trophies awarded for each section.
Sat Oct 19th	8:30pm	Bughouse tournament - 1 section, K-12. Trophies awarded to each player in the top 5 winning teams.

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Tournament Registration Rules

⍟	Each player MUST play in their current grade. Playing up or down a grade level is not permitted.
⍟	Two ½ point byes available, any round, if requested by 12 noon on Sat October 19th
⍟	A “team” shall consist of any number of players (minimum 2) from the same school in the same grade however only the highest top scoring 3 players will contribute towards the possibility of winning a team award.
⍟	A school can produce more than one team in a single section if they send 10 or more players within that section. If you choose to do this please send the team breakdown via email to the tournament organizer.
⍟	School Teams are “automatically” formed as long as individuals provide their school information upon registering for the tournament.

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Awards

⍟	Trophies to top 8 individuals and top 5 teams in each section
⍟	Team scores are based on top 3 highest scoring players in the same school in each section (or the minimum 2 players required to form a team)
⍟	Tiebreaks are utilized in the distribution of awards. Individuals: modified median, solkoff, cumulative Teams: total modified median, total solkoff, total sonneborn-berger, total cumulative
⍟	Three special "BIGGEST UPSET" prizes are being sponsored by TCA Region V Director Jim Polomsky! 1st place $150, 2nd place $100, 3rd place $50. Both players must have an official rating on the October regular US chess supplement list to be eligible for these prizes. There are a total of 3 prizes to be won, across the tournament overall, not per grade/section. Supplement rating used for the calculation.

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Team Rooms

To request a team room reservation, send a text message to 281.698.0068.
Give us at least a 24hr time frame to respond to your request.

Forum	Houston	Embassy	Palm Beach
432 sqft	630 sqft	423 sqft	540 sqft
$325	$475	$325	$400
Room booked, no longer available	Room booked, no longer available	Room booked, no longer available	Room booked, no longer available
Please text 281.698.0068 - we are likely able to acquire more team rooms on a case by case basis in addition to those already booked. Text to inquire.

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Order Commemorative T-Shirts

9 different colors available! Featuring the state’s Horned Lizard
and other symbolic imagery of Texas! Pre-order now for pickup in person at the event before we run out of your preferred color. Only $20.95 each. Handmade by Bonnie Guadalupe.