ChessKid Announces USA Girls & Women's Championship On April 17th

ChessKid.com, the scholastic branch of Chess.com, is pleased to announce its first United States national online tournament exclusive for female players.

To promote and highlight the continued growth of female scholastic players in the US, ChessKid will award individual, school, and mother/daughter team prizes. There will also be a women's section with individual prizes.

The tournament will be U.S. Chess Online Quick Rated. All scholastic girls who are newly-registered to U.S. Chess will also receive a free one-year membership when joining the event if registered before the early deadline. As an additional bonus, all girls and women who register early will also receive a free training camp taught by a U.S. Women's Champion.

Among the prizes, there will be the opportunity for the top ten in each section to participate in an online chess camp led by current/former U.S. Women's Champions.

Champions GM Irina Krush, IM Nazi Paikidze, IM Anna Zatonskih, IM Rusudan Goletiani, WGM Sabina Foiser, WGM Jennifer Shahade, WGM Jennifer Yu, and WIM Elina Cotler have already offered to be the teachers for the winners. That is nearly every U.S. Women's Champion this century.

During the event, WGM Jen Shahade will provide commentary. "I'm so excited to watch the top girls and in the country battle in the ChessKid USA Girls & Women's Championship," she said. "Let's make this a world record—spread the word!"

She will be joined by two co-hosts, Krush and Yu.

Four Sections for Girls With Team and Individual Awards

Sections: K-3; 4th-5th; 6th-8th; 9th-12th. Girls cannot "play up" into a higher grade and can only play in the section of the grade they are currently in.

Registration: At this website.

Individual awards: Plaques for the top three in each section; top 10 girls in each section get to participate in chess camp led by current or former U.S. Women's champions.

Team awards: Plaques for the top three teams for each school's top three scorers in each section.

Team awards: Plaques for the top three scorers from each school's best three teams in each section.

Women's Section Individual Awards

Plaques for top three; top 10 women get to participate in a chess camp led by current or former U.S. Women's Champions.

Note that the women's section is open to all female players and has no age restriction. Therefore, scholastic girls can elect to play in the women's section.

Special Awards

The top three mother-daughter pairs with the best combined score will also win plaques (regardless of which section the daughter plays).

Tournament Details

Date and time: Saturday, April 17, 2021, at 9 a.m. Pacific/12 p.m. Eastern.

Entry Fee: $40 by April 5, $50 by April 12. Players cannot register after April 12. To play in the warm-up event on April 10, players MUST register by the early deadline on April 5.

Time Control:

• K-3 & 4th-5th grades: 10 min + 5 sec; 6 rounds;
• 6th-8th, 9th-12th & Women: 15 min + 5 sec; 6 rounds.

* This tournament is EXCLUSIVE to girls/women who are playing inside the United States or its territories.

* US Chess membership is required for participation. Games will only affect US Chess online quick rating.

* For scholastic sections online: If you are brand new to U.S. Chess and rated play, ChessKid will purchase a US Chess scholastic membership for you. They will send you a voucher that you can use to register for a NEW US Chess membership only if you register before the early deadline.

* You must email [email protected] with your full name and the section you'll be playing in before registering to receive your voucher. This offer does not apply for existing or expiring US Chess members or for the women's section.

Registration Information

• Players can register online here.
• The "early registration" fee is U$40. Early registrations will be accepted if received on or before April 5 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific U.S. time.
• The registration fee from April 6 to April 12 is U$50. Registrations will not be accepted after April 12, 11:59 p.m. Pacific U.S. time.
• ChessKid will create a unique username for each participant of this event. The event will take place on ChessKid.com.
• Players who register by the "early registration" date (April 5) will receive their username by Friday, April 9. They will have the opportunity to participate in the warm-up event on Saturday, April 10.
• Players who register after April 5 will receive their username by Friday, April 16, to participate in the main event on Saturday, April 17.

Early Registration Benefits

Players can enjoy early registration benefits by signing up for the event on or before April 5 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific U.S. time. Those are:

• Participation in a pre-tournament camp that will be live-streamed exclusively for competitors;
• Eligibility to play in a warm-up event on ChessKid on Saturday, April 10;
• Lower registration fee.
• Free US Chess one-year membership if you are brand new to US Chess.

Fair Play

ChessKid expects that all children and their families will abide by the rules governing fair play. The child and their parent/guardian will have to agree to our fair play policies upon registration for the event. Those are:

• ChessKid will run this event with the highest level of integrity and ethics. All players must play fairly and use good sportsmanship.
• We strictly forbid cheating of any kind. ChessKid will use its algorithms to monitor games and also will manually analyze select games at its discretion.
• All of your moves must be your own. You are forbidden to get help from anyone or anything else, including (but not restricted to) coaches, friends, parents, chess engines, or any other software of any kind.
• You will not have a phone, tablet, or any other electronic device in the same room.
• You are only allowed to have one browser tab open and no other programs running on your computer. Violating this rule qualifies as a "technical forfeiture," and you will be disqualified, with no chance at prizes.
• You agree that ChessKid will make the final determination on any fair play issue.
• If you violate the ChessKid Fair Play Policy, ChessKid will close your account and label it as having violated the Fair Play Policy.
• Agreeing to the above policies is required for your registration. You will not be allowed to play in the event if you do not agree to them.

For any questions about the event, please email [email protected].