WHERE:
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place – 2233 S Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Chicago, IL
WHEN:
April 4 – 6, 2025
FORMAT:
6-Round, Swiss System (no elimination)
TIME CONTROL:
Game/90, d5
SCHEDULE:
April 4: 11 AM Bughouse, 2:30 PM Opening Ceremony, 3 PM Round 1, 7 PM Blitz
April 5: 10 AM Round 2, 2:30 PM Round 3, 6:30 PM Round 4
April 6: 9 AM Round 5, 1 PM Round 6, 5 PM Awards
SECTIONS: (Age as of January 1, 2025)
| Section | Born in year |
| Under 8 | 2017 or later |
| Under 10 | 2015 or later |
| Under 12 | 2013 or later |
| Under 14 | 2011 or later |
| Under 16 | 2009 or later |
| Under 18 | 2007 or later |
AWARDS:
Under 8 top 16 individuals, top 500 – 799, top U500, top 6 schools
Under 10 top 16 individuals, top 700 – 999, top U700, top 6 schools
Under 12 top 16 individuals, top 900 – 1199, top U900, top 6 schools
Under 14 top 16 individuals, top 1100 – 1399, top U1100, top 6 schools
Under 16 top 8 individuals, Top 1300 – 1599, top U1300, top 3 schools
Under 18 top 8 individuals, Top 1500 – 1799, top U1500, top 3 schools
Top 3 players added for team scores, team members must attend the same school
If your child or team wins an award, and you were unable to claim it at the tournament, you can contact our trophy maker Crown Trophy in Buffalo Grove, IL, via email at sales@crownbg.com starting Wednesday after the tournament to find out the cost to ship the trophy and to arrange payment.
AWARDS PROCESS (NEW THIS YEAR):
The top 8 individual and team awards will be presented on stage. All other awards can be picked up at the Early Trophy Pickup Table, which will be located in the lobby of room W-190.
RATINGS USED:
For pairing purposes we will be using the March rating supplement. Adjusted ratings may be used in accordance with the USCF National Scholastic Chess Tournament Regulations.
Players in all sections are required to disclose at the time of registration whether they have one or more ratings in other OTB rating system(s). Other OTB rating systems include, but are not limited to, FIDE, foreign systems, the Northwest Scholastic Rating System (NWSRS), and ChessXpress (CXR).
The Tournament Review Group (defined in the Scholastic Regulations) reviews every entry to this tournament, and makes decisions about whether to assign a rating based on alternate rating data found for a player. Players on the report may have been assigned ratings that are different from their US Chess regular rating in the rating supplement being used for the tournament. The most current version of the report is published here for transparency.
PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:
The following players are eligible in accordance with the US Chess Federation’s Scholastic Regulation:
- Full-time students who are enrolled in school (public, private, home, or virtual) in the United States or its territories for the entire semester in which the event is held. US Chess strongly encourages players, parents or coaches who have questions about eligibility to contact the US Chess Director of Events by email or phone at least three weeks before the tournament.
- U.S. citizens who are attending school abroad.
- Home-schooled and virtual-schooled students who live in the United States or are U.S. citizens living abroad.
BYES:
A single half-point bye is available for any round, except the last round. The bye may be requested online by 11pm on the day before the tournament starts. On-site requests have a deadline for round 1 of 2-hours before the scheduled start time. For all later rounds the deadline is 2-hours before the scheduled start for Round 2. Thereafter, the only bye available is a zero-point bye, which is an option for any round and may be requested up to 2 hours before the start of the round for which the zero-point bye is requested.
Any bye, including a zero-point bye may not be revoked after Round 1 begins.
The Chief TD shall have the ability to grant a half-point bye for any round on unusual circumstances, except the last round.
REGULATIONS:
Tournament Regulations and other polices can be found on the More info page