2025 MSCA Scholastic Chess

Individual & TEAM Championship CUP

Saturday March 15, 2025

   

At  Mississippi State University

Colvard Student Union Ballroom, Starkville, MS 39759

 

MSCA invites you to our largest annual scholastic chess tournament. Open to all Mississippi school-aged students.

 

Sections:

K-1, K-3, K-5, K-8, K-12 (Unrated)  Trophies:  1st--3rd  Place Individual.                                     

U500, U800, U1100, Open (USCF Rated)  Trophies:  1st--4th  Place Individual

 

=====================================================================================

 

TEAM TROPHIES:   1st--5th Place in each Grade Level Category

 

“Team” can consist of a mix of rated/unrated players in the same Grade Level Group Rated Points DOUBLED for Team Score.  The combined score of the top four players from the same school determines that team’s score in the Team Standings. Teams can consist of 2 to 4 players.

** Individuals are welcomed to play even if they don't have a team. **

 

Top Girl Prize in each section & 1 BIGGEST UPSET Award (among all RATED Play)

All K-1 and K-3 players will receive 3-D metal printed MSU Bulldog Queen Piece sponsored by CAVS.

 

Top 2 players in each section (5th grade or above)  receive MSU Summer Camp scholarship sponsored by BCoE K-12 outreach program.

Tour of MSU High Performance Computing Collaboratory for Middle and High school kids.

====================================================================================

Unrated sections: 5 SS rounds, G/25, d5 

Rated sections: 3 SS rounds, G/50, d10.

 

** Individuals are welcomed to play even if they don't have a team. **

 

The top girl prize will be awarded even if that girl has also won another trophy in that section. Computer Tiebreaks.  Detailed tournament regulations are included below.

 

REGISTRATION: 

• Entry fee is $30 if received by 11:59pm on March 11th,   $40 thereafter & on-site

• $10 Discount for Students of Title 1 Schools |  Discount Code:  “TITLE1”

  To see if your school qualifies as Title 1 visit this link :   https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Offices/MDE/OFP/Titles/Title%20I%20A/fy23_title_i_school_eligibility.pdf

• If a school is marked "NONE" to the far right it is NOT TITLE 1
• If a school is marked "SW" to the far right it QUALIFIES AS TITLE 1

 ==========================================================================

****** We kindly ask that this Discount Code NOT BE ABUSED.  Audits have revealed that the code has been entered several times for students verified as NOT from Title 1 Schools.  MSCA operates on a shoestring budget.  Our surplus funds go toward furnishing economically disadvantaged chess programs with expensive items like clocks, USChess Memberships, Affiliate fees and tournament software.  Abusing this coupon code limits MSCA's ability to serve players in need from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. ******

===========================================================================

• Inquire about discount rates for large families or students in need

 

• On-site registration available from 8:00am to 9:00am 
• All players must check-in by 9:00 am.  Round 1 @9:30
• Lunch break after Unrated Rd#2 & Rated Rd#1. 

 

For More Info: beththrasher@MSscholasticChess.org  or (601) 941-5153

 

Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association – 2024 Team Tournament Regulations

 

1. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association (MSCA) Team Tournament Regulations are intended to fulfill the needs and expectations of players, coaches and parents at our scholastic team chess events.
1. To foster consistency between state and national-level scholastic events, the US Chess Federation encourages state scholastic organizations to adopt the National Scholastic Chess Tournament Regulations for all state scholastic championships.  However, the national tournament regulations deal with a great many details and situations that are not likely to be relevant at any of our state team tournaments, so what follows is a summary of the national regulations that will be applied.

 

1. ELIGIBILITY
1. Age and Grade Eligibility.  The following ages are as of September 1 of the school year in which the competition takes place. These age requirements are considered upper bounds for each grade. Our events are grade-based and require all players to play in a section that allows for their current grade.

Kindergarten: 6 years old
1st Grade: 7 years old	7th Grade: 13 years old
2nd Grade: 8 years old	8th Grade: 14 years old
3rd Grade: 9 years old	9th Grade: 15 years old
4th Grade: 10 years old	10th Grade: 16 years old
5th Grade: 11 years old	11th Grade: 17 years old
6th Grade: 12 years old	12th Grade 18 years old

 

1. There shall only be one year of eligibility per grade level unless one of the following situations applies:
1. Pre-schoolers may play as Kindergarteners in any event section. Kindergartners and Pre-schoolers may continue to play as Kindergartners in subsequent years until they start the first grade.
2. Players who repeat a grade in school may have a second year of eligibility in that grade as long as they are age-eligible for that grade.

 

 

• TEAM REQUIREMENTS

 

1. MSCA team tournaments are individual tournaments with team scoring. A student who does not qualify to represent a team can compete only as an individual.
2. A team is comprised of students who attend the same school.  (Students may “play up” for a school team in the same feeder pattern.  i.e.  an elementary student can play on a middle school team if that middle school is the school they will be attending in the future according to the feeder pattern)
1. A school is defined as an institution which has one name, is located in one building or connected adjacent buildings, and is under one on-site administrator and which provides core curricular instruction in English, math, science, and social studies.
2. A student will be considered to attend a school if and only if he or she physically attends classes at that school building and receives more than 50% of his or her core curricular instruction during those classes.
3. Each school may enter only one team per section.
3. Teams may also be comprised of home schooled or virtual school students.
1. A home schooled student is defined as a student who receives at least 50% of his or her core curricular instruction at home.  Virtual school students are students who receive more than 50% of their core curricular instruction on-line, but not in a school building.

 

Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association – 2024 Team Tournament Regulations (continued)

 

1. A home schooled or virtual school student has the following two options for participating on a scholastic chess team:

• The student may join with other home schooled or virtual school students who reside within the boundary of the same local public school as defined in 3.2. 
• The student may join with other home schooled students who physically attend the same instructional program.

1. There may be more than one home school or virtual school team per recognized public school district. 

1.  A scholastic team must contain a minimum of two players to be eligible for team prizes. 
2. There is no maximum number of players who may compete on a team, but only the top four(4) scores in any section count for team score. 
3. The coach, an adult team representative, or the ‘Team Captain’ is responsible for assuring that all of the team’s players are properly registered and eligible to participate as members of the team. 

 

1. TOURNAMENT FORMAT
1. Mississippi scholastic team tournaments are individual tournaments with team scoring. Accordingly, they are paired as individual Swiss System tournaments, with individual scores added to create team scores.  Whenever a rated section has more than 2N players, where “N” is the number of rounds, the TD will consider using accelerated pairings.
2. The combined total of the top four scoring players from the same school determines that team’s score.
3. Players from the same team will not be paired together unless no other reasonable natural pairing can be made.
4. When conflicts occur between individual pairings and team considerations – and where the top awards are at stake – individual pairings shall have higher priority. 

 

• Points from unrated games shall compile toward team score as such:  1 win = 1 point, 1 draw = 0.5 point

• Points from RATED games shall compile toward team score as such:  1 win = 2 points, 1 draw = 1 point

 

Therefore, RATED play will count MORE toward your team score!

 

 

• RATING SUPPLEMENT

 

1. For events starting before the 10th of the month, the previous month’s Rating Supplement will be used.
1. For events starting on or after the 10th of the month, the current month’s Rating Supplement will be used.

 

1. CHESS NOTATION
1. Chess notation is not currently required in any unrated sections but it is required for the rated sections (until one player has under 5 minutes, then notation for both can stop)
1. The use of approved electronic notation devices is permitted.

 

1. TIE-BREAKS
1. Computer programs are used to determine pairings, standings and tie-breaks for all sections.
2. All players tied for first place are considered co-winners, but trophies will be awarded based on tie-breaks.
3. Tie-breaks are used only to award trophies. Players or teams with like scores are equal and may change the plate on their trophy to reflect this (at their own cost).
4. When individual or team scores are equal, the following order of tie-break systems will be used to designate awards:

1. Modified Median
2. Solkoff
3. Cumulative Score
4. Opposition Cumulative Score
5. Head-to-Head
6. Coin Flip

Directions: If you wish to drive to the Colvard Student Union for drop-off or pick-up, it is recommended that the building be approached from the South via Tracy Dr. and Lee Blvd.  Parking in the immediate area is limited, so please allow enough time to walk from another parking lot if necessary.