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Date: January 20-21st, 2024 (2 rounds Sat, 2 rounds Sun), Blitz/Bughouse event is on Friday evening Jan 19th
Venue: Lone Star College - University Park, located at 20515 TX-249 S, Houston, TX 77070. GPS Link. Building 11. Covered garage parking is FREE. We will provide more details on where to park and a video guide on how to get from the garage to the venue at a later date.
Hotel Info for Travelers: There are six hotels within a 2 mile drive of the venue. Click here for more info on the hotels.
Time: Look for the event itinerary in details below.
Who Can Play: You must be a current resident in Texas. You must have a current USCF membership. All players must have a TCA membership to compete in this event. Juniors this is only $3 a year. College students $3 a year. Adults $5 a year. Details here. Check to see if you are a TCA member here.
Rating Info: This event will be USCF Rated and possibly FIDE rated. Request for a FIDE ID if you do not have one. TBD at a later date.
Entry Fees: $225 per team if paid by MM/DD/YY. Increases to $275 afterwards. Final deadline to register is MM/DD/YY after which pairings will be done and teams will get the opportunity to prepare against their opponent(s). A team captain/coach/guardian will need to register each team collectively and make a one time payment. We are not taking multiple EF payment registrations from individual members of each team.
Prizes/Awards: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place TEAM Trophy Cup plus individual medals for all members of award winning teams. Top scoring board 1 player wins $xxx. Top scoring board 2 player wins XXX. Top scoring board 3 player wins XXX. Top scoring board 4 player wins XXX. Special biggest upset award trophy. Top High School Team Trophy (grades 9-12, same school), Top Middle School Team Trophy (same school, grades 6-8), Top Elementary School Team Trophy (same school). The top high/middle/elementary is for 1st place only. Individual medals will also be awarded to the team members of the 1st place winning High/Middle/Elementary teams.
Special Team Awards:
Team Regulations: Each team will consist of 4 players with ONE additional alternate for a total of 5 players maximum. Lowest rated player will be the alternate. Highest rated player shall be assigned to play board 1, all others shall be assigned in descending order by rating accordingly. Average rating of the 4 player team must be under 2200 based on the Dec 2023 USCF supplement rating. Any foreign player residing in TX with a FIDE rating but without a USCF supplement rating will be assigned a rating of 100 points plus their FIDE rating. Unrated players, whether foreign or domestic will be assigned a base rating of 1500 unless there is a higher post tournament provisional rating based on recent tournament play. We are currently restricting this event to a maximum of 15 teams. This may change depending on venue availability at a later date.
Friday Night Blitz Event: This will take place Friday evening at 7pm before the main event on Sat/Sun. CASH PRIZES AWARDED. More details coming at a later date. This is for individual players and is not a team based event.
Saturday Bughouse Tournament: After both rounds are finished on Saturday. More details at a later time/date.
Questions? If you can't find the answer after reading thru all the info on this page, TEXT 281.698.0068 or email thechessrefinery@gmail.com. Do not call. TEXT PLEASE or request a call back. Calls will have to be returned on weekday evenings or weekends. TEXTS will get responded to the fastest.
Venue: Lone Star College - University Park, located at 20515 TX-249 S, Houston, TX 77070. GPS Link. Building 11. Covered garage parking is FREE. We will provide more details on where to park and a video guide on how to get from the garage to the venue at a later date.
Hotel Info for Travelers: There are six hotels within a 2 mile drive of the venue. Click here for more info on the hotels.
Time: Look for the event itinerary in details below.
Who Can Play: You must be a current resident in Texas. You must have a current USCF membership. All players must have a TCA membership to compete in this event. Juniors this is only $3 a year. College students $3 a year. Adults $5 a year. Details here. Check to see if you are a TCA member here.
Rating Info: This event will be USCF Rated and possibly FIDE rated. Request for a FIDE ID if you do not have one. TBD at a later date.
Entry Fees: $225 per team if paid by MM/DD/YY. Increases to $275 afterwards. Final deadline to register is MM/DD/YY after which pairings will be done and teams will get the opportunity to prepare against their opponent(s). A team captain/coach/guardian will need to register each team collectively and make a one time payment. We are not taking multiple EF payment registrations from individual members of each team.
Prizes/Awards: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place TEAM Trophy Cup plus individual medals for all members of award winning teams. Top scoring board 1 player wins $xxx. Top scoring board 2 player wins XXX. Top scoring board 3 player wins XXX. Top scoring board 4 player wins XXX. Special biggest upset award trophy. Top High School Team Trophy (grades 9-12, same school), Top Middle School Team Trophy (same school, grades 6-8), Top Elementary School Team Trophy (same school). The top high/middle/elementary is for 1st place only. Individual medals will also be awarded to the team members of the 1st place winning High/Middle/Elementary teams.
Special Team Awards:
- Best TEAM NAME. Come up with a unique team name such as "Zugzwang Zealots", "Chess Soul Crushers", "Stalemate Scam Artists", "Blunder Prone Wizards", and so forth. No you cannot use any of the previously mentioned team names if you want a chance at this award. The best named team will win a special commemorative award emblazoned with their team name!
- Best CHESS HAT(s). At a minimum ONE chess themed hat per team must be brought to the event if you want to compete for this award. It will be cooler if all team members each have and wear a hat for picture taking purposes. Those who make the effort to create 5 hats will get more brownie points over a team who only supplies ONE hat. Of course if the ONE hat is super elaborate in comparison to 5 really basic ones then that does matter. You will NOT be wearing the hat(s) during the competition itself during a round. Best "Chess Hat" team will be awarded a $$$ gift card. $$$ to be determined but will be at least $$$ figures.
- UGLIEST SOCK Contest. All members (4 minimum) must wear the ugly socks for round 1 of the event. Pictures will be taken. The team wearing what are deemed the ugliest socks amongst all teams competing will win a special award. The socks do NOT have to be chess themed.
Team Regulations: Each team will consist of 4 players with ONE additional alternate for a total of 5 players maximum. Lowest rated player will be the alternate. Highest rated player shall be assigned to play board 1, all others shall be assigned in descending order by rating accordingly. Average rating of the 4 player team must be under 2200 based on the Dec 2023 USCF supplement rating. Any foreign player residing in TX with a FIDE rating but without a USCF supplement rating will be assigned a rating of 100 points plus their FIDE rating. Unrated players, whether foreign or domestic will be assigned a base rating of 1500 unless there is a higher post tournament provisional rating based on recent tournament play. We are currently restricting this event to a maximum of 15 teams. This may change depending on venue availability at a later date.
Friday Night Blitz Event: This will take place Friday evening at 7pm before the main event on Sat/Sun. CASH PRIZES AWARDED. More details coming at a later date. This is for individual players and is not a team based event.
Saturday Bughouse Tournament: After both rounds are finished on Saturday. More details at a later time/date.
Questions? If you can't find the answer after reading thru all the info on this page, TEXT 281.698.0068 or email thechessrefinery@gmail.com. Do not call. TEXT PLEASE or request a call back. Calls will have to be returned on weekday evenings or weekends. TEXTS will get responded to the fastest.
