Hyatt Regency Atlanta · 265 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta GA 30303 888-421-1442 (Mention US Chess) · US Chess Rate $169 · Click here to book at room at the Hyatt! Support US Chess and Ensure Future Events by staying at the host hotel! As of 03/16/2024, the Hyatt is essentially sold out, but there may be rooms available based on individual cancellations. Please use the booking link above to try reserving there first. We have a limited amount of overflow rooms at a nearby property. Please see below for booking information.

Furry Weekend Atlanta is a convention taking place alongside our National Middle School Championship. The convention welcomes everyone interested in their furry side; the costumes attendees wear are called fursuits.

It is not appropriate to touch a person's fursuit without permission. If you are curious about what the fursuit feels like or about furry culture, it is OK to ask the person.

There will be free Wi-Fi in Regency Ballroom (skittles room!) starting Thursday evening! This is lower-level wi-fi, good for checking pairings, sending texts, or checking email.

The Hyatt Regency Atlanta offers valet parking at $55/night. If you are an overnight guest at the Hyatt, you get 25% off that rate. The hotel does not have any internal self-parking.

There are six public parking lots within one block of the Hyatt, and two more parking lots within two blocks of the Hyatt.

Check here frequently for updates!

The MARTA station at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport provides direct train access to a stop one block from the Hyatt Regency. However...that station will be CLOSED during the National Middle School. MARTA has provided a comprehensive website detailing alternate options for getting to and from the airport. Just click the closure image to the left for more details!

If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable in interacting with anyone during this event, please report the problem to a tournament director or US Chess staff at Chess Control immediately (or ask your parent or coach to do so). Each tournament director and staff member wearing a yellow US Chess Safe Play button has been SafeSport trained and is able to assist you.

US Chess will follow up on your report in real time. Thank you for your attention to this important information.

PAIRINGS AND STANDINGS POSTED ONLINE!

For the 2024 National Middle School, board-order pairings and standings will not be printed. Rather, they will be posted online. Last-name alphabetical order pairings will still be posted onsite.

To see the pairings and standings, click "Results & Pairings" in the upper left hand corner, then select the tournament and section you're interested in. (There will be no data here before 11am local time, Friday, May 10.)

There will be QR codes that link to the pairings and standings posted all around the playing site. Copies of the QR codes are also available at Chess Control.

US Chess now provides a way for coaches, faculty advisors, and other interested parties to receive our pre-tournament emails for national events. Just use this form to subscribe!

You can select the event(s) you wish to receive emails about. If you wish to unsubscribe from these lists at any point, you do so by just clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email.

Awards are provided by Trophies Plus, sponsor of the All-American Team. Trophies Plus will ship awards for you at the conclusion of the event. Just click on their icon for details!

NOTE: Unclaimed awards left in storage are discarded after one year - so don't wait!

Follow US Chess on Instagram and Twitter!

Use the hashtag #MSChessChamps for your posts and tweets!

US Chess offered an informative Town Hall for parents, coaches and players at 8:30pm Central time on Thursday, May 2. The moderators were NTD Martha Underwood, chief TD; Josh Sinanan, Scholastic Council Representative; and Pete Karagianis, Assistant Director of Events.

If you were unable to make the Town Hall, that's okay! The video replay is now available on the US Chess YouTube channel.

Click Here for Rating Review Report

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 above linked report have been assigned ratings that are different from their US Chess regular rating in the effective rating supplement for this event. Any player who has been resectioned as a result of an assigned rating has been notified by email from US Chess. The most current version of the report is published here for transparency. Contact the Director of Events with any questions.

The Grand Hall (two levels down from Lobby level) will be the main playing hall.

There will be a second playing hall. That will be Centennial IV (one level down from Lobby level, across from Regency Ballroom). As of now, the K-8 Under 1100 and K-8 Unrated sections project to be held in this room. That may change depending on the exact registration numbers as of the deadline. Any change in this projection will be posted onsite.

IMPORTANT: There is an important formal dinner taking place in Centennial I and II on Friday evening, May 10. We must not block any part of the foyer outside Centennial I, II, or III. US Chess will work with the hotel to clearly define the area allowed for us to use in the Centennial foyer.

As of the above date, US Chess is not requiring masks, COVID-19 vaccinations, or negative COVID-19 tests for any attendees at our events.

Attendees are encouraged to take available precautions, including (but not limited to) bringing masks and hand sanitizer. However, the decision has been reached to return to pre-COVID conditions at the event.

US Chess will still sanitize all boards after each game. Attendees who wish to wear masks should bring their own.

US Chess reserves the right to alter this policy as needed, dependent upon the most recent regulatory or guidance updates from federal, state, and local health authorities. Please continue to check this space for any changes.

Information for Accommodation Requests: Consistent with the Guidelines for Accessible Chess Events, requests for reasonable accommodations during the event should be made 2-3 weeks in advance of the event. Requests for accommodations made on site will be handled to the best of our ability. Please contact [email protected] with accommodation requests.

Parents, coaches and players: check out our Tournament Safety Tips!

This is ESPECIALLY for younger players! PLEASE follow these guidelines for safe behavior.

INDIVIDUAL RESERVATIONS (9 rooms or fewer per night)

In order to confirm a room assignment for attendees, you will be required to provide a first night's deposit that will be charged immediately. The deposit is refundable up to 20 days prior to the convention date. Checks and major credit cards are acceptable to establish prepayment. Credit cards will be charged immediately. The Hotel will deduct any collected nonrefundable prepayment fees from the amount that may be owed as performance or cancellation damages.

GROUP RESERVATIONS (minimum 10 rooms per night)

Any coaches that reserve 10 or more rooms per night will be required to provide a credit card guarantee for all rooms and will be charged a non-refundable first night's deposit 20 days or less prior to the tournament date. Checks and major credit cards are acceptable to establish prepayment. Credit cards will be charged immediately. The Hotel will deduct any collected nonrefundable prepayment fees from the amount that may be owed as performance or cancellation damages.

Important Links & Information:
Email [email protected] with any questions or entry changes.
Click here for the complete schedule of events.
May rating supplement will be used in compliance with the Scholastic Regulations.
Current US Chess Scholastic Regulations are linked here
Electronic Device Policy for National Scholastic Events.
Please bring clocks. Sets and score sheets provided. Players are responsible for bringing and setting their own clocks, and explaining their operation when asked.
Unrated players may play in the Championship Section or Unrated Section only!!!
Up to two 1/2 point byes available any round if requested before round 1.
A half-point bye in round 1 must be requested at the time of registration, or on-site before 11 AM Friday.
A half-point bye request for rounds 2-7 not requested in advance must be requested two hours before the scheduled start of round 2.
Players requesting a section change late (after 11 AM Friday) will not be paired for round 1, will receive a half-point bye, and will begin play with round 2.
A Team must have at least two players, although no maximum of players. The top four scores in a section will count for the team score in that section. All players on a team must come from the same school.
First place individual and team in K-8 Championship section, including ties, will be recognized as National Champions.
US Chess membership current through May 2024 is required.

7 round Swiss in 7 sections: K-8 Championship, K-8 Under 1700, K-8 Under 1400, K-8 Under 1100, K-8 Under 900, K-8 Under 700, K-8 Unrated.

Time Control: Game/90 d10 (each player has 90 minutes to complete the game with a 10 second grace period each move)

Entry Fee:   $80 if registered or postmarked by April 22, $100 if registered or postmarked by April 29, $130 by May 6, $180 thereafter or on site. Do not mail anything after April 29.

• ONLINE REGISTRATION CLOSES 11AM EASTERN MAY 9! NO EXCEPTIONS!
• NO ON-SITE REGISTRATION! NO EXCEPTIONS!
• ONLINE REGISTRATION STRONGLY PREFERRED!
• DO NOT MAIL ANY REGISTRATIONS AFTER April 19!
• $30 change fee for roster or section changes after April 22 or any on site changes.
• A withdrawal requested by email no later than May 8, or in person at Chess Control no later than 11 a.m. local time May 9, will be refunded 100% of the entry fee.

Schedule:
Opening ceremony Fri. 12:45 pm.
Rounds start at: Fri. 1 pm-6 pm, Sat. 9 am-1:30 pm-6 pm, Sun. 9 am-1:30 pm.
Awards Ceremony: Sunday 6:00 pm (approximately)

Award list is final as of 12/25/2023.

All individual awards, including Blitz and Bughouse, will be custom medals. All team awards will be trophies.

National Middle School Blitz Championship:
Time control: G/5, d0
Thursday 5 p.m., entry fee $40 by 4/29, $60 after or on site.
Online registration closes at 2 p.m.
Onsite registration closes at 4 p.m.
Awards to Top 15 Individuals, Top 5 Teams and Top 3 in each Class
1700-1799; 1600-1699; 1500-1599; 1400-1499; 1300-1399; 1200-1299; Under 1200; Unrated.
Blitz Rules

National Middle School Bughouse Championship:
Thursday 11 a.m., $30 per 2-player team on site only. Registration 9-10 a.m. One section K-8.
Awards (2 each) to top 5 teams.
Bughouse Rules

Friends and Family Tournament (G/30;d5):
4SS, G/30. Saturday 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., $30 onsite registration only. Anyone registering after 10 a.m. will take a half point bye in round 1. Rated and Unrated sections. Trophies for each category of combined player/student results.

Current US Chess Scholastic Regulations are linked here

Tournament Information Contact: [email protected]

Register Online using the link in the top left navigation menu - Online registration is STRONGLY preferred.

Here is a link to our mail-in entry form, in PDF version and Word version

The use of these scoresheets is mandatory for all players. No other method of keeping score may be used, unless prior approval is granted by US Chess.

We are providing a scoresheet for grades 2-12, and a scoresheet for grades K-1 (these players may use either scoresheet). Click the links to see the scoresheets, print them out, and get familiar with them!

courtesy CCSCSL

Guest Grandmaster: WGM Katerina Nemcova Czechoslovakia Women's Champion, 2008 & 2010 Three-time Women's Olympiad participant Schedule for WGM Nemcova: Friday, 9 AM -- 30-Board Simultaneous Exhibition Friday, 3:30 to 5:30 PM -- "Take-on-all-comers" Blitz Saturday, 11:30 AM -- Lecture and Q&A Saturday, 3:30 to 5:30 PM -- "Take-on-all-comers" Blitz Sunday, 11:00 AM -- Lecture and Q&A Sunday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM -- "Take-on-all-comers" Blitz

Live Analysis on Twitch!

	Analyst - WGM Sabina Foisor United States Women's Champion, 2017 Five-time Olympiad representative, USA (photo credit: CCSCSL)
	Analyst - FM Gauri Shankar U-9, U-10, and U-11 British Champion, 2002 US Junior Open Champion, 2005 (photo credit: CCSCSL)
Visit http://www.twitch.tv/USChess to view the stream!