37th Annual Vermont State Scholastic Chess Championships

This tournament is open to Vermont students in grades K through 12. Participants must be Vermont residents or be enrolled in a Vermont public or private school. No prior tournament experience is necessary. Home schooled students are eligible, as long as they are Vermont residents and under 19 years of age. Home schooled students in a program that doesn't use traditional grade levels should enroll in a section appropriate to their age.

High School and 8th Grade sections will be USCF rated, and current USCF membership is required for participation in those sections. Please make certain that your membership is current prior to registration. You may obtain or update a USCF membership online at https://uschess.org.

All players must pre-register for the event. No walk-ins allowed. Registration closes on March 17th. Registration may close prior to March 17th due to space limitations. Online registration only, no entries will be accepted via mail or email.

High School and 8th Grade sections will be USCF rated, and current USCF membership is required for participation in those sections.

• All High School and 8th Grade games will use a chess clock.
• Matches will be “Game 30, Delay 0” meaning each player will have 30 minutes, for a total of 1 hour maximum per game, with no clock delay and no increment per move.
• Clocks will be provided.
• USCF players are required to notate their games. If unfamiliar with notation, do your best. Notation becomes optional for both players once there is 5 minutes or less left on the clock for either player.

K-7th Grade sections will be unrated, and USCF membership is not required.

• K-7th first round pairing will be by random draw.
• Pairing for subsequent rounds will follow Swiss pairing rules, which matches players who have accumulated a similar score for the day's event.
• All games in each round are expected to be completed within one hour.
• Any game lasting longer than 40 minutes will have a clock applied to assure timely completion.
• Players are encouraged to notate their games (i.e. write down each move as it is made) but it is not required.

All national tournaments correspond with the U.S. Chess Open and this year are being held in Norfolk, Virginia from July 27-30, 2024. Participation and final results in eligible sections serve as a qualifier for national-level tournaments, yet we hold no authority over these subsequent events. Nominees are responsible for bearing their own costs and expenses for national-level tournament participation.

2024 Denker National High School Selection

The top finishing student in the High School division will be selected as the Vermont representative to the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, a national competition with a representative from each state (Denker Tournament Details).

2024 WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions

The top finishing female student in the High School division will be selected as the Vermont representative to the WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions, a national competition with a representative from each state (Haring Tournament Details).

2024 Barber National Middle School Selection

The top finishing student in the Middle School division will be selected as the Vermont representative to the Barber Tournament of Middle School Champions, a national competition with a representative from each state (Barber Tournament Details).

NOTE: Any player in grades 6-8 who is interested in competing for the opportunity to represent Vermont in the national Barber Tournament must declare their intent during the registration process and compete in the Grade 8 division instead of their actual grade level.

2024 Rockefeller National Elementary School Selection

The top finishing student in the Grade 5 division will be selected as the Vermont representative to the Rockefeller Tournament of Elementary School Champions, a national competition with a representative from each state (Rockefeller Tournament Details).

NOTE: Any player in grades K-4 who is interested in competing for the opportunity to represent Vermont in the national Rockefeller event must declare their intent during the registration process and compete in the Grade 5 division instead of their actual grade level.

Ties: If there is a tie for the top position, the event results will be checked to see if the top tied players have already played each other that day. If they have and there was a winner of that game, that player will be declared the winner of the event. If not, a playoff game will be played between the tied players to determine the champion. If that game ends in stalemate, additional games will be played at successively reduced time controls until a winner is declared. Ties in all other positions except the top position will remain ties.

A word about notation: Notating chess games is not hard; it just takes a little practice to get into the habit of writing down your moves after you make them. A printable notation sheet can be found here. There are many places to learn notation online, and we believe that if you can play Battleship, you can notate chess! Notation has many benefits including the ability to review your games after the event, as well as help to correct errors and resolve disputes.

Results: Players' name, division and results will be published on this website after the event concludes. For rated sections of the tournament, those player's results will be shared with US Chess in accordance with their reporting rules.