Scholastic Friday Night Tournament

Friday, August 14, 2026

A one-evening, three-round US Chess-rated tournament for students in grades K–12.

Open only to students in grades K–12. Entry fee: $20.
Recommended for kids who are unrated up to 1400 rating.
Please do NOT register your child for this if they are over 1400 US Chess rating.

Friday Night Scholastic Tournament

Join us Friday evening for a fun and competitive scholastic chess tournament held alongside the Houston City Chess Championship Weekend.

This event is open exclusively to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. All games will be submitted for US Chess rating.

Format

Round Swiss

Players will compete in three rated games during one evening.

Entry Fee

$20

Per Player

Advance registration is recommended.
Entry fee increases to $28 after ~~10pm central Sun Aug 9th~~ 10pm central Wed August 12th.

Event at a Glance

Eligibility

K–12 Scholastic Players Only

Time Control

G/25 5-Second Delay

Rating

USCF US Chess Rated Only

Current US Chess membership is required. Players must have an active US Chess membership in order to participate in this rated event.

Tournament Schedule

Round 1 will begin at the published time. Later round times are estimates and may be adjusted depending on how quickly the previous round finishes. The event could finish faster or slower than expected depending on how fast the kids play.

Round	Date	Start Time	Time Control
Round 1	Friday, August 14	6:45 PM	G/25;d5
Round 2	Friday, August 14	Approximately 7:45 PM	G/25;d5
Round 3	Friday, August 14	Approximately 8:45 PM	G/25;d5
Estimated Finish	Friday, August 14	Approximately 10:00 PM	--

Please arrive early enough to get settled in 10-15 minutes before the first round. There is no check-in process. Just be ready to find your designated board and get seated immediately upon arrival. Pairings will be provided on-site for round one. If online, we will text you the link.

Sections & Trophies

Tournament Sections

To Be Determined

The final number of sections will be determined after reviewing the number of registered players and the rating range of the field.

Awards

Trophies Will Be Awarded

The number and distribution of trophies will be announced later based on registration totals, section sizes, and the rating range of the players.

Our goal is to create fair and competitive sections. Final section placement and trophy categories will be determined once the registration field is large enough to evaluate properly.

Venue

White Oak Conference Center
7603 Antoine Drive, Building A
Houston, TX 77088

The scholastic tournament will take place at the same venue as the Houston City Chess Championship Weekend.

What to Bring

Players Should Bring

A digital chess clock, if available
A pen or pencil for recording moves
A sweater or light jacket if needed
Any snacks desired

Organizer Will Provide

Chess boards
Chess pieces
Paper scoresheets

Digital chess clocks are strongly recommended. Players who own a reliable digital clock should bring it and should know how to set it for G/25 with a 5-second delay.