Grade Level Championships

Cincinnati Scholastic Chess is proud to host the 2024 Ohio Grade Level Championships on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Blue Ash (Cincinnati), Ohio.

This is an Ohio Scholastic Chess Association/State Championship Event!

To be eligible to play in this tournament, all players must reside or attend school/home school in Ohio.

Tournament Format
Forfeits and Withdrawals
US Chess Federation Membership
Tournament Schedule
Entry
Teams
Trophies
Venue Information
Further Information and Questions

Tournament Format

This is a five-round Swiss tournament. The time control is G/30 d5 for grades K–5 and G/45 d5 for grades 6–12.

Sections

There are 13 sections, one for each grade. Every player must play in the section for his or her grade regardless of rating.

Ratings

All sections are rated. Unrated players will earn a rating by playing in this tournament.

A rating is a numerical measure of a player’s playing strength calculated by the US Chess Federation based on the results of rated games played by the player. An unrated player is one who has not yet earned a rating because he or she has not yet played four rated games. A player is officially rated when he or she has played four or more rated games. The USCF publishes official ratings for all rated players every month.

Official ratings published as of November 1, 2024, will be used for pairing purposes, except that, for a player who is officially unrated but who has a Regular or Quick rating shown in his or her tournament history on the USCF webpage, the player’s most recent Regular rating, or most recent Quick rating if there is no Regular rating, in the tournament history will be used.  Accelerated pairings may be used in any section with more than 32 players.

Notation

Notation refers to recording the moves of a game as it is played. All players in grades 4–12 are required to take notation. Players in grades K–3 are not required to take notation. Players who choose not to take notation in grades K–3 will be ineligible to make certain claims regarding their games.

Byes

Players may take one half-point bye in any round provided it is requested prior to the posting of pairings for Round 2.  Exception: any player who receives a full-point bye in round 1 may not take a half-point bye in a later round. Players may request a bye (a) on the tournament entry form when entering, (b) by email to info@chesscincicnnati.com after entering, or (c) onsite by submitting a Bye Request Form to the  Tournament Director’s in-box.

Equipment

Cincinnati Scholastic Chess will provide all sets, boards and clocks. Cincinnati Scholastic Chess will also provide scoresheets, but players may use their own scoresheets or scorebooks if they wish. Use of electronic scoresheets is permitted provided that such use complies with USCF regulations.

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Forfeits and Withdrawals

A player will forfeit in any round if he or she does not arrive at his or her designated board prior to the expiration of the player’s time.  Forfeited players will automatically be withdrawn from the tournament and may be reinstated at the sole discretion of the Chief Tournament Director.

A player who answers a cell phone call, sends a text message, or reads an incoming text message during a game shall immediately forfeit that game. A player whose cell phone or pager audibly rings during a game shall receive a warning for the first such incident, and forfeit the game upon a second such incident during the tournament. Players are encouraged to leave their cell phones and other electronic devices (except approved electronic scoresheets) with a parent or coach outside the playing hall if possible, and otherwise to turn them completely off and stow them out of sight while in the playing hall when games are in progress.

Players may withdraw from the tournament at any time prior to round 5; however, it is important that players choosing to withdraw so notify the Tournament Director before pairings are posted for the next round — otherwise they will be paired, resulting in a forfeit. Notification must be given by means of a completed and signed Notice of Withdrawal deposited in the Tournament Director’s in-box.

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US Chess Federation Membership

Players in grades 4 through 12

Players in grades 4 through 12 must be current US Chess Federation (USCF) members on the day of the tournament. USCF dues are additional to the tournament entry fee. Details of the most pertinent membership options are shown below:

• Youth (must be under age 19 at expiration): $20
• Young Adult (must be under age 24 at expiration): $27

The dues shown above are for individual, one-year memberships. Other types of individual memberships, two-year memberships, and family memberships are available as detailed at www.uschess.org/join/. USCF membership dues are not refundable.

In addition to memberships, USCF offers two magazines: Chess Life (published monthly, 12 issues per year) and Chess Life for Kids (published bi-monthly, 6 issues per year). All USCF members have online access to these magazines, but members may also choose to receive a printed copy by mail. You may purchase or renew a USCF membership with or without a print magazine subscription. The cost of a one-year print subscription for each option is as follows:

• Chess Life, 1 year: $12.00
• Chess Life for Kids, 1 year: $6.00

Players may purchase or renew a membership in conjunction with entering this tournament either online or by mail. Players may also purchase or renew a membership directly from the USCF at www.uschess.org/join/.

Players in grade K, 1, 2 or 3

For players in grade K, 1, 2 or 3, USCF membership is optional. Players in these grades who do not already have a USCF membership expiring on or after November 30, 2024, may choose any of the following options:

1. Renew an expired membership: If they are now or previously have been a USCF member, they may renew their membership if it has expired or will expire before November 30, 2024.

2. Purchase a new membership: If they are not now and have not previously been a USCF member, they may purchase a new membership. Players purchasing a new membership who previously played under the Junior Tournament Player Program (JTPP) must use, for the new purchase, the USCF ID number assigned to them under the JTPP.

3. Play without a membership: If they do not want to have a USCF membership, they may enter the tournament under the JTPP, which allows a player to enter the tournament without being a USCF member. This applies to former members whose membership has lapsed as well as to those who have never been members, including players who have previously played under the JTPP. Cincinnati Scholastic Chess will obtain a USCF ID number for any player entering under the JTPP who does not already have one. No action is required by the parents or players in this regard other than selecting the JTPP option on the entry form.

Although they will not have USCF membership status, players participating under the JTPP will nevertheless earn a rating from playing in this tournament.

To find a player’s USCF ID number, search for the player’s name using the “Player/Ratings Lookup” function under “Ratings” on the USCF website. Search on variations of the name if necessary. For example, a player may be listed as “Joe Player” or “Joseph Player”; searching under either of these names might fail to find the record, but searching under “Jo Player” will find it in either case. Be aware that if no expiration date is displayed in a player’s record, the ID is a non-member ID and the player is not a USCF member.

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Tournament Schedule

All five rounds played will be played on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Players may make a correction to their entry onsite between 8:30 and 9:15 am. Announcements will begin at 9:30 am. Round times are as follows:

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Entry

Players must enter in advance, either by mail or online. There will be no onsite entry.  The entry fee is $36.00 through Friday, October 25th; $45.00 after that through Friday, November 15th, and $54.00 thereafter.  All entries must be received by 8:00 pm on Friday, November 22.

A limited number of reduced entry fees ($20.00) for qualifying players are available to low-income families upon request. Players seeking to pay the reduced entry fee must enter by mail. Cincinnati Scholastic Chess may require a statement documenting eligibility.

Entries will be confirmed to participants by email if a valid email address is supplied on the entry form and will be posted on this site as they are processed. Players should verify that all posted information is correct and, if any change is required (including bye requests), notify Cincinnati Scholastic Chess by email to info@chesscincinnati.com before 8:00 pm on Friday, November 22, or onsite during the corrections period from 8:30 to 9:15 am.

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Teams

Two or more players in the same section from the same school, as indicated on their entry forms, will constitute a team. Players are asked to identify their schools by complete name and city to facilitate the proper designation of teams. The top three scores among a team’s players will count toward a team trophy. Players from the same team will not be paired against each other unless necessary to avoid pairing a player inappropriately out of his or her score group or otherwise unduly skewing the natural pairings that would have occurred without considering team affiliation.

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Trophies

In each section trophies will be awarded to individual players scoring 3.5 points or more.  Team trophies will be awarded to the teams finishing in first through third place. The order of finish among players or teams with the same score will be determined by standard USCF tiebreaks.

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Venue Information

The tournament will be held at the Embassy Suites, 4554 Lake Forest Drive, Blue Ash, OH 45242. The hotel is located approximately three miles from the intersection of I-71 and I-275. Click here for a map. The Embassy Suites offers a made-to-order breakfast and dinner in its restaurant adjacent to the playing hall, and a two-hour evening reception for overnight guests. Arrangements are being explored for a food concession inside the hotel between breakfast and dinner for the benefit of tournament participants. For more information about the hotel, click here or visit the hotel’s website. For those wishing to stay overnight, the nightly rate is $115 for a king suite and $125 for a suite with two queen beds. All suites also include a sofa bed. Reserve by Friday, November 15, 2024, to ensure room and rate; reservations received after this date will be accepted only on a space-available basis and at rates available at that time. For reservations call 513-733-8900 or 800-362-2779. Click here if you wish to book a room online.

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Further Information and Questions

For more information about the Grade Level Championships tournament, please review our Essential Information document. If you still have questions, please email inquiries to info@chesscincinnati.com or contact Alan by phone/text at 513-600-9915.

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