Tales from a Chess Mom

Scholastic Tournaments

 

At the scholastic level, trophies and recognition is awarded to both individuals and teams based on grade and skill levels.

 

Each State runs their own States Championships.  California has two Championships. It  is divided between Northern and Southern California.  Southern California's Championship is named Super States.  It is generally held in March. Coach Jay Stallings and California Chess Youth League hosts this annual event.  The K-12 Champion earns an invitation to the Denker Tournament.

 

What is the Denker Tournament?  This is a new national scholastic championship.  “The Denker”, as it’s become known, is an annual event held in conjunction with the U.S. Open, in which the 51 champions of each state affiliate and the District of Columbia compete to determine who will be crowned the Denker Champion and receive a prestigious prize package including a 4 year Academic Distinction Scholarship from the University of Texas, Dallas.  UTD has been a leader in the promotion of Scholastic Chess for many years.

 

The major national scholastic chess championships are:

 

National High School championship K-12

National Junior High School championship K-9

National Elementary championship K6

National Primary championship K-3

 

These are held annually during spring.

 

Two prominent events which proceed these are the US Junior Open (under 21 years) and US Junior Invitational.  This is a closed, invitation only tournament.  The winner of this tournament is declared the US Junior Chess Champion.  Both these events are typically held during the summer.

 

Every 4 years the Super Nationals are held.  The next Super Nationals will be in 2017.