The Chess for Success (CFS) State Tournament, formerly the OMSI/CFS Tournament, has been held annually since 1967. This year is the 41st anniversary of this tournament. It's open to all students in grades K-12 who reside in Oregon. The tournament has two steps: (1) Regional Tournaments; and (2) State Championship Tournament. Players who finish high enough in a regional tournament advance to the championship tournament.

State Championship Tournament
The state championship tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, March 21st and 22nd
at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. High School players compete on Friday and Saturday. Elementary and Middle School Teams compete on Friday. Elementary and Middles School individuals compete on Saturday. Chess for Success reserved a block of Rooms at the Red Lion Convention Center. For reservations call 1-800-343-1822 and be sure to mention Chess for Success for the discounted rate. Players should arrive at the site between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. Players who arrive after 8:45 may forfeit the first round game.

Divisions: There are three divisions: K-5th Grade Division (team and individual); 6-8th Grade Division (team and individual); 9-12th Grade Division (Individual only). Each division is a separate tournament. Players enter the division that corresponds with their current grade level. For players not enrolled in a school with grade levels (e.g. home school, alternative school programs) a grade level will be determined the first year a player enters the CFS tournament. The grade level will be one that most closely matches the player’s age and traditional grade level. In the following years it will be assumed that the player will advance a grade annually and will play at the corresponding grade level. Any exception to this practice must be granted by the Executive Director of CFS.

Regional Tournament Date, Time and Location: The Regional Tournament Schedule gives the boundaries of each region and the date and site of each Regional Tournament. Arrive at the Regional Tournament site between 8:15 and 8:45 a.m. Players who arrive after 8:50 may forfeit the first round game. Most tournaments end by 4 p.m. for K-5th Grade, 5 p.m. for 6-8th Grade and 6 p.m. for 9-12th Grade.

Your Regional Tournament: Each region has a Tournament Director and Host.

All players compete for individual titles in the following sections: K-4th Grade; 5th Grade; 6th Grade; 7th Grade; 8th Grade; and High School.

Individual Play: Players who attend public or private schools without chess clubs register as individual players in the region where there school is located. Home school students register as individual players in the region where they live.

Team Play: Players from a public or private school also compete for the team division title: K-5th Grade Team; 6-8th Grade Team. (9-12th Grade players compete as individuals only. For information about the high school team championship tournament contact the Oregon High School Chess Team Association.)

Registration: Each school may enter up to 10 players per division. Home school students who actively participate in the chess club of the public school for the area where they live are eligible to participate on the team for that public school. The public school chess-club advisor decides if home-school students “actively participate” and selects the team members. Home school students who do not actively participate in their public school chess club, and players who attend schools without chess clubs, may register as “individual” players.

How to Register: We encourage you to register on the web site. Schools should register by filling out the School Registration Form. Other players should fill out the Individual Registration Form. Chess for Success is a non-profit organization. The entry fees are used to pay for statewide mailings, room rentals, trophies and other costs for the tournaments.

State Championship Tournament: The finals will be held Friday and Saturday, March 21st and 22nd. High School players compete on Friday and Saturday, teams compete on Friday and individuals compete on Saturday. Qualifiers will receive information about the finals at their regional tournaments and information will be posted on the web site.

Automatic Qualification: Some of last year's Chess for Success State Championship Tournament participants automatically qualify to play in this year's Chess for Success State Championship Tournament: In the 9-12th Open Division, anyone who scored within one point of the winner; in other individual divisions, anyone who finished first or second. If an automatic finalist decides to play in the regional tournament he/she must register using the same form and fees as other players. If automatic qualifiers win at a regional tournament, their score is made invisible so that other finalists may be qualified.

Lesson Plans and Starting a Chess Club: Chess for Success has lesson plans available for purchase. These are 30 lesson plans to help those who teach beginning to intermediate players. They also have good information on Teaching Procedure, Ethics of Scholastic Chess and Characteristics of a Good Chess Club Advisor. Copies are available for $25 each.

• Chess Set -- pieces should the standard Staunton pattern. Sets with a different color or design or sets that are too small can be used only if both players agree. The Tournament Director settles disputes about which set or board to use.
  
• Sack lunch and drinks.
  
• Something to do between games. If your game finishes early, you may have a long wait before the next game.

Safety: Advisors are responsible for the safety of their players. We suggest that each team bring a parent or other adult who can supervise players between rounds.

Tournament Director: The Tournament Director is in charge of the tournament. The Tournament Director makes “pairings” (decides who plays whom), acts as the referee, keeps score and names the winners at the end of the tournament. If you think your opponent is breaking the rules of chess, or if you have any other problem, let the Tournament Director know immediately.

Number of Games: In each division, everyone plays the same number of games. Nobody is eliminated. Be prepared to stay as long as needed to play all rounds. If you must leave early for any reason, notify the Tournament Director before you leave.

The games are played in “rounds”. When all the games in a round are finished, the Tournament Director makes pairings for the next round. Your opponent in each round is someone whose score is the same as yours or very near the same. All regional tournaments will be five rounds unless player attendance is low enough to require fewer rounds. The Tournament Director will announce the exact number of rounds at the start of the tournament. Whoever has the highest score after all the rounds is the winner.

About 9 a.m., the Tournament Director will briefly explain the rules, and make the pairings for everybody's first round game at about 9:30. You play one game with that person and then report to the Tournament Director whether you won, drew or lost. You score 1 point for a win, 1/2 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss.

Your Opponents: You will play only other players in your own division. For example, if you are a 7th grader, you might play 6th, 7th, or 8th graders, but never someone from 5th grade on down, or 9th grade on up. You won't play someone from your school until maybe the last one or two rounds. You will never play the same player twice. The Tournament Director decides whether you have white or black in each game. Sometimes you get white or black two rounds in a row, but almost never three in a row. If an error is made in whom you are playing, or your score is written down wrong, tell the Tournament Director immediately.

Quiet During Games: It's good sportsmanship to call “check” when you put your opponent in check, but you're not required to do so. Before you move, examine the position carefully. If you overlook a check and touch one of your pieces, and you can use that piece to get out of check, you must move it. If you think you are hopelessly lost, you may give up by saying: “I resign”.

Do not talk during the game except to say “check”, “checkmate”, offer a draw, resign, or to get help from the Tournament Director. If there are any disagreements about your game, if your opponent makes a move you don't understand, or if you forget some of the rules, get help from the Tournament Director immediately. If you wait until somebody moves, you lose most of your rights to make a claim. When you finish a game, report the score of that game to the Tournament Director.

Rules of Chess: You must know the basic rules of chess. You can find copies of the rules with the instructions that come with chess sets, in books on chess, or in encyclopedias. The rules that cause the most trouble for new tournament players are: touch move, castling, en passant capture, pawn promotion and drawn games.

Recording Moves: In all sections players may record moves. Even if only one of the players is keeping a record of the moves, the move record will be used to help settle disputes about the position, drawn games and what moves were made. If one player is recording his moves and the other player is not, the non-recording player cannot use his opponent’s move record to make a repetition position draw claim or a 50 move rule draw claim. If the TD places a clock on a game in progress, the players are not required to continue recording their moves.

Chess Clocks, Adjudication: The rules governing the use of chess clocks are different for each section.

Chess clocks will not be used in the K – 5th Grade section games except:

• If the TD puts a clock on a slow game.
• If there is a clock available and both players request at the start of the game that there be a clock on the game. (Time control will be game in 35.)

Chess clocks will not be used in 6-8th Grade section games except:

• If the TD puts a clock on a slow game.
• If there is a clock available and both players request at the start of the game that there be a clock on the game. (Time control will be game in 45.)

In 9-12th grade section games, clocks may be used in games, if approved or required by the TD. (Time control will be game in 90.)

Spectators: Spectators must be passive and silent while any game is in progress. Spectators should stand or sit well away from the players and make no gestures of recognition; even a nod of the head could be misconstrued as approving a position or a move. If you need to communicate with a player who is playing, talk to the Tournament Director (or an assistant). The Tournament Director may do whatever is needed to make each chess game a fair contest, including banning spectators from the playing area.