Rules & Expectations

At Chess for Success tournaments, we want to make sure that everyone has a good time while competing seriously.

We encourage you to develop your chess skills and be a good sport. This means playing by the rules and showing respect to your opponents. Being a good sport is very important, and it means being polite, patient, and graceful whether you win or lose. 

These expectations help us create a fun and rewarding experience as we celebrate the game of chess together. Tournaments are a mix of fun and serious competition, so please follow these rules to ensure that we all have the best possible time

At about 9am, the Tournament Director will briefly explain the rules and make pairings for everybody's first round at about 9:30am.

At the end of each game, each player reports to the Tournament Director whether they won, drew or lost. A win is 1 point, a draw is 1/2 a point, and a loss is 0.

All of our tournaments are played in "rounds." When all the games in a round are finished, the Tournament Director makes pairings for the next round.

Players are matched with an opponent in each round whose score is the same or very near the same.

Tournaments will be five rounds unless player attendance is low enough to require fewer. Whoever has the highest score after all the rounds is the winner. Players with the same score are given the same final position. We do not break ties.

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.