Registered players, come meet the GM Carlos Alejano in person on Saturday morning from 8:30am - 8:45am.
He'll be available for a short meet n greet session before the tourney starts. Feel free to ask him any questions you may come up with. Think carefully on these. =) We'll send you details via text message at a later date.
He'll be available for a short meet n greet session before the tourney starts. Feel free to ask him any questions you may come up with. Think carefully on these. =) We'll send you details via text message at a later date.
Update 11-19-2021
Masks are Required for participation in this event.
Click to see policy.
2-day main event & a 1-day Scholastic Tournament
December 11-12th, 2021
held at the Westin Galleria Houston
Hotel booking deadline for the discounted room rate is November 26th, 2021!
Limited rooms available.
https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1635863897940&key=GRP
Limited rooms available.
https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1635863897940&key=GRP
We acquired more space for more players now!
We have space for 176 main event players and 208 scholastic players!
| Main Event | Scholastic Tournament | |
| Player Limits | All ages, all skill levels | Kids in grades K-12, unrated or rated under 1400 USCF |
| Spots Available | estimated 176 | estimated 208 |
| Format | 5 round Swiss | 5 round Swiss |
| Time Control | G/90;+30inc for Championship & Amateur Section | G/25;d5 (each game can last an hour or so) |
| G/120;d5 for Reserve Section | ||
| Entry Fee | Early EF $97 if paid by 10pm CST Tues, Nov 30th | Early EF $30 if paid by 10pm CST, Tues, Nov 30th |
| All registrations afterwards are $112 | All registrations afterwards are $40 | |
| Prizes | Prize Fund $3500 based on 100 fully paid entries; to be increased with more entries | Trophies only - no cash prizes. |
| Championship ($875-525-350) | There will be at a minimum a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th place trophy for each section. Players who score 4 out of 5 pts will receive an award. 3.5 pts may or may not get an award. | |
| Amateur ($613-368-245) | ||
| Reserve ($263-158-105) | ||
| Rating Limits* | Championship (USCF 1800 +) | We will do our best to limit each section to 25-30 players each. Sections will be divided based upon the number of entries and the rating of the players who are registered. i.e. if we get 208 players, there will be approximately 7 sections. Your child will be placed in a section based on their rating, not on age or grade level. This facilitates competition against other opponents of a similar skill level. |
| Amateur (USCF 1500 - 1799) | ||
| Reserve (UNR - 1499) | ||
| Rating Limit Details | You may opt to play up a section if your OTB regular rating was at least WITHIN 50 points of the higher section within the year of 2021. i.e. someone who reached 1750 at some point in 2021 may play up to Championship section. Request to play up via text to 281.698.0068. Wait for confirmation. | You may have your child play up a section if their OTB or Online USCF rating was at least within 50 points of the higher section within the year of 2021. Online ratings from websites such as chess.com, lichess will not be taken into consideration, only official ratings from USCF. Make a request to play up via text message to 281.698.0068. |
| Notes* | *Players you are placed in a section based on your "supplement" rating issued for the month of Dec 2021. Online USCF ratings will not be used. If you'd like to play in a particular section please make sure you meet the limit details noted above. | Parents, your child will be placed in a section at the tournament director's discretion. This placement will be based on either OTB or online USCF rated tournament history and/or their supplement rating published for December 2021. We do NOT individually review everyone's LIVE ratings. |
| Rating & Pairing Details | Championship section will be FIDE and USCF rated. Amateur/Reserve sections will only be USCF rated. USCF pairing rules used for all sections. | USCF OTB quick and regular rated. |
| Time to Show Up | No check-in needed. Be seated at the boards by 8:55am to set up your board for play & for announcements. | No check-in needed. Be seated at boards by 8:45am for announcements to both parents and kids. |
| Round Times | Saturday, 9am, 2pm, 6:45pm | 9am, 10am**, 11am**, 1pm, 2pm** |
| Sunday, 9am, 2pm | **above are estimates - rounds will go back to back and may start earlier or later than the stated rd times | |
| Byes | 2 half pt byes available. Request upon registration and no later than 4pm on Saturday. Last rd byes are irrevocable. | Let the TD know in advance if you need to miss a round or if you can't make it to the tournament at all. |
| What to Bring | Chess set, board, digital clock, writing instrument, mask(s). | Digital clock & writing instrument for doing notation. If you don't bring a clock, it's okay. Scholastic players may start without a clock & we will add one as needed. Outerwear in case room is too cold for your child. Masks & extras just in case. |
| Don't Bring | Smart watches / Bluetooth earbuds / Headphones / Music playing devices | Smart watches / Bluetooth earbuds / Headphones / Music playing devices |
| Venue Address | The Westin Galleria Houston, 5060 West Alabama, Houston, Texas 77056 USA, go to the 4th floor of the hotel, look for Woodway Hall | |
| Parking Guidelines | Due to issues with mall security - access to the playing hall is only guaranteed thru the hotel's main lobby entrance and entrance from the Brown garage. Access to other mall entrances may be limited or inaccessible outside of regular mall operating hours. See further details here: https://www.thechessrefinery.org/westin-parking-details.html | |
| Tiebreaks | Cash prizes are always split between tied players. | Computer tiebreaks used to determine trophy distribution. (see MSCO in USCF rulebook). See tiebreak information here (page 114) |
| Food & Beverage | No outside food & beverage allowed within the hotel confines other than that which is purchased within the hotel. If you go to the mall food court, please consume all food/beverage at the food court. Water will be provided within the tournament venue to players. No eating is allowed in the woodway hall and surrounding waiting areas. | |
| Pairings | Pairings will be posted online. Alternative is to wait for the hard copy pair charts to be printed on-site. We will text players if there is a pairing change, etc so keep an eye on your cell phones. Expect pairings to be posted online for round 1 sometime late evening Friday or early morning Saturday. Pairings COULD CHANGE as there are always last minute withdrawals, etc. | |
| Pairings Link | https://www.thechessrefinery.org/mainpairings.html | https://www.thechessrefinery.org/scholasticpairings.html |
Online registration only. There is no on-site registration. Use a desktop computer, preferably not a phone
GM/IM Titled players, contact us via text message 281.698.0068 for free entry (EF to be deducted from any prize winnings).
Registration Details:
1. Due to limited space availability, registrants will only be given a 50% refund if unable to attend. Cancellation requests must be made via text message to 281-698-0068 by 10pm on Monday December 6th, 2021. Requests not made within the aforementioned time frame will not be issued a refund.
2. You agree that if you are showing cold, flu-like symptoms, you may be asked to leave the tournament with no recourse. This is entirely up to the discretion of the chief tournament director.
3. You agree to abide by whatever COVID policy precautions are in place at the time of the event, i.e. if masks are required, you will be required to wear one for the duration of the event or risk being forfeited/withdrawn from the tournament. See mask policy details here.
4. You agree to abide by the electronic device policies as noted on this link: https://www.thechessrefinery.org/tournament-guidelines.html.
5. All refunds will have cancellation fees due to the costs that Paypal incurs upon us for each transaction. No refund will be 100% FULLY refunded.