Junior Tournaments for 2010

The first junior tournament of the year was the Canterbury Age Group Championships, held on Saturday, April 17. The second junior tournament for the year will be the Canterbury School Pupil Championships, to be held on Wednesday, July 7.

These tournaments will cost $15 to enter. Prizes vary depending on the number of entries, but generally will be chess books. Bear in mind, also, that juniors are welcome to enter senior tournaments, and will usually be given a discount on the entry fee.

These tournaments will be five round Swiss tournaments, with each round played with chess clocks. The time limit for these games is 25 minutes for each player for the whole game. If a player's time runs out, that player loses the game, except where their opponent cannot possibly give checkmate because of material considerations (e.g. only has a King left). All tournaments at the Canterbury Chess Club are "touch - move", unless noted otherwise.

Where possible, the participants are split into grades based on age, which is determined at the start of the calendar year, or based on school category (Primary, Intermediate or Secondary). Prizes are awarded to first in each grade, with additional prizes if sufficient players enter. Note that a prize will not usually be awarded in a grade with only one entrant. For the purpose of eligibility to enter these tournaments, a junior is defined as a player whose birthday is on or after 1/1/1990, and a schoolpupil is defined as a player born on or after 1/1/1991 who is also attending a recognised primary or secondary school, or being home-schooled at an equivalent level.

To enter the 2010 Canterbury Schoolpupil Championships, please fill in the form:

Child's Name:
Child's Date of Birth – Day: Month: Year:
School:
Contact E-mail:

E-mail confirmation should follow within 3 days of filling in the form. If a family wishes to enter more than one child, please fill in the form separately for each entrant.

Schedules

This is a likely schedule for each tournament. There may be slight variations, but these will be noted on the entry forms for the individual tournaments.

It's not uncommon for tournaments to finish earlier than this, especially for the younger players, as they rarely use all their allotted time. Rounds are paired and started after all the relevant results from earlier rounds are in to the Tournament Director.

The most important thing to remember is that the point of the game, and a tournament, is to have fun! Anyone who knows the rules is ready to give it a go, as playing is the best way to improve.