February Rising Star FIDE Rapid tournament coming soon on Saturday, February 3rd!

Greetings Southwest Chess Players!

We would like to cordially invite you to the February Rising Star FIDE Rapid tournament coming soon in Mesa on Saturday, February 3rd!

For more information about this upcoming tournament please follow this link to the website:

Rising Star Chess

Plus, please take advantage of our EARLY BIRD SPECIAL rate of $30.00 by registering on or before Wednesday, January 31st on the King Registration website:

February Rising Star FIDE Rapid Registration

Here is the street address for this nice venue:

DoubleTree by Hilton in Mesa
1011 West Holmes Avenue
Mesa, AZ 85210

doubletree.hilton.com/DoubleTree/Mesa

Tel: (480) 833-5555

If you plan on staying overnight in the DoubleTree, please take advantage of our special discount rate by clicking on the following link:

Special DoubleTree Discount for the Rising Star Chess

This will be an excellent location for the players and spectators! This nice location in Mesa is on the northeast corner of Route 60 and Alma School Rd.

Please click HERE to see a Google Maps of the DoubleTree in Mesa.

Please see the online brochure for this tournament on the King Registration website for all of the details:

February Rising Star FIDE Rapid

Register for the tournament on or before Wednesday, January 31st before the first late fee kicks in.
Here is a list of some of the upcoming Rising Star Chess tournaments. Please add these to your daytimer or calendar:

February Rising Star FIDE Rapid       —  Feb 3rd 2024
March Rising Star FIDE Rapid            —  Mar 2nd 2024
April Rising Star FIDE Rapid              —  Apr 6th 2024

We look forward to seeing you soon at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Mesa on Saturday, February 3rd!

February Rising Star FIDE Rapid

Flagstaff All City Chess Tournament February 3rd!

Happy New Year!!

Get ready to make your moves and seize victory at the upcoming Chess Tournament on February 3rd at Coconino High School!

👫 ALL-BOYS and ALL-GIRLS divisions await the next generation of grandmasters. Whether you’re a seasoned player or a budding chess player this is your chance to showcase your skills.

🗓️ Save the date: February 3rd🌟 $25 online, $40 at the door

Head to www.nazchesscenter.org to register

See you on February 3rd! 🏆♟️

Also, mark your calendars for the State Grades Tournament in Gilbert on February 17th!

Fountain Hills Chess Club in the news!

The Fountain Hills Chess Club meets at Batchelor’s Pad BBQ every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. 

From the Fountain Hill Times Independent (fhtimes.com)

Paul Crumbie and his wife, N’Marie, are the faces of the Fountain Hills Chess Club, a local gathering of new and not-so-new chess players to enjoy an evening of strategy, comradery and education.

Free and open to the public, the Fountain Hills Chess Club meets every Tuesday at Batchelor’s Pad BBQ at 5:30 p.m., where chess is played over beer and brisket.

Boasting over 50 members, Crumbie invites anyone interested in the game of chess to join the club regardless of age or experience.

“We have a few seven-, eight- and nine-year-olds and our oldest member is in their mid-90s,” Crumbie said, who has several beginning chess players in the club, intermediate players and one grandmaster with a chess rating of 2300.

Read full article: https://www.fhtimes.com/fountain-hills-independent/stories/fh-chess-club-welcomes-new-members,451206

Chess on the rise in Vegas

From the Las Vegas Review Journal ( reviewjournal.com )

On Dec. 26, Horseshoe Las Vegas will host the 33rd annual North American Open. It is one of the four biggest tournaments on the national chess calendar, with the National Open (also in Las Vegas) and two tournaments in Chicago and Philadelphia.

An estimated 1,000 chess players are expected to participate in this year’s tournament. The top-ranked “open” section will feature grandmasters, international masters and other strong players from around the country. Each player will play nine matches, with one point awarded for a win, a half-point for a draw and none for a loss. Cash prizes are awarded to the top finishers.

Eight lower sections will also be up for grabs. In these sections, players are grouped according to their official chess ratings. The lowest-rated players generally occupy the lowest section, but they can voluntarily “play up” into a section containing players stronger than they are.

Read full article:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/netflix-alleged-cheating-and-a-big-tournament-chess-welcome-to-vegas-2967271/

Date Change for the next Rising Star FIDE Classic and Blitz

Hello Southwest Chess Players!

We need to let everyone know that we’ve had to change the date for the next Rising Star FIDE Classic and Blitz to January 13 -15, 2024 (Martin Luther King Holiday weekend).

Due to venue availability constraints, the Arizona State Grades tournament, normally held in mid-January each year, had to be scheduled for Feb 17th this year, directly conflicting with the Rising Star FIDE Classic and Blitz. Fortunately, the DoubleTree Hotel was able to accommodate our request to move the FIDE Classic and Blitz to Martin Luther King Weekend.

The Arizona State Grades is a critical tournament for Arizona scholastic players and we’re happy to see that a 2024 edition will be held. We encourage all scholastic players to play in the event and to make sure to thank the good folks at Arizona Chess Central for hosting the tournament.

We’re also happy to announce that moving the Rising Star FIDE Classic to MLK Holiday weekend has freed up our February schedule so that we can host an additional February Rising Star FIDE Rapid tournament on Feb 3, 2024.

Congratulations to Arizona Players

Just a quick word of CONGRATULATIONS! to some Arizona chess players…

Named to the USCF 2024 All-America Chess Team:
IM Sandeep Sethuramn (Age 15)
Alexander Jasinski (Age 8)

Participants in the USCF 2023 National K-12 Grades Championships:
Jake Senczakowicz-Gibo (12th Grade, 4.5/7)
Evan Yin (10th Grade, 5.5/7, Tie for 3rd Place)
Elise Yin (8th Grade, 4.5/7)
Sharvesh Arul (5th Grade, 5.5/7)
Alex Jasinski (4th Grade, 5.5/7)
Rishin Jehin (4th Grade, 4/7)
Leon Li (2nd Grade, 5/7)

All scoring above 50% in this grueling 7-rd competition.

Please join us in congratulating these players for their achievements.

Rising Star Chess to bring FIDE-rated chess to Arizona

Arizona players will be able to play in a FIDE-rated tournament almost every month next year!

Rick Smouse of Rising Star Chess will be organizing his FIDE-rated Classic, Rapid, and Blitz events for 2024.

Most of you know Rick since he’s organized and/or directed over 1500 tournaments in Arizona over the years. His events are always well organized and well run.

Rick will be hosting four FIDE Classic events, four FIDE Blitz events, and six FIDE Rapid events in 2024.

The first of each of these are now open for registration here:

Feb 17 -19, 2024: Rising Star FIDE Classic

Feb 18, 2024: Rising Star FIDE Blitz

Mar 2, 2024, Rising Star FIDE Rapid

Rick has made major improvements to the tournament format. He’s increased the prized fund from $3300 to $5000, added a 5th section to give more players a fair shot at winning prizes, and added a 2-day schedule option to make it more convenient for players with busy schedules, and he’s added a re-entry option to give players a chance to improve their results and their chances of winning prizes.

Rick has also improved on FIDE Blitz format by increasing the prize fund to $300, adding a prize for U800 players, and expanding the format to a double-swiss, where players play two games each round, as white and as black, vs. each opponent.

Lastly, Rick has re-worked his traditional one-day Rising Star Advanced tournaments to conform to FIDE rules for rapid events so he can offer FIDE-rated Rapid tournaments throughout the year. These will follow the same basic format and schedule as the Rising Star Advanced events but with adjusted time controls of G/50;+5. And the top FOUR sections (Premier, Class A, B, and C) will all be FIDE-rated.

Rick is really going all out to expand the FIDE-rated tournament opportunities here in Arizona. I hope you support his efforts as much as you supported mine in 2023.

In addition to all of that, let’s support Pedram Atoufi as he hosts Unity Chess Club’s 10th Annual Phoenix Open. That event may also end up with FIDE-rated sections and possibly include a FIDE Blitz side event.

Pedram is also considering plans to schedule some FIDE-rated team events to give those without FIDE ratings an opportunity to earn a FIDE rating in a single one-day event.

So, all in all, 2024 will have an even busier schedule of FIDE-rated events than 2023.

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2023 December FIDE Classic and Blitz tournaments

Thank all of you for participating in the 2023 December FIDE Classic and Blitz tournaments. We had 84 players enter in the Classic tournament (including five out-of-state players) and 16 for the Blitz. These are excellent turnouts for both these events, especially given all the conflicting school & holiday activities this time of year.

The official results are available here: Cross Table for 2023 DECEMBER FIDE CLASSIC & BLITZ

A summary of the prize winners and FIDE-ratings progress for the Classic tournament is posted here:

2023 December FIDE Classic Results

A summary of the prize winners for the Blitz tournament is posted here:

2023 December FIDE Blitz Results

An update about plans for 2024 tournaments will be sent to all Banner Chess players in a few days.

Exciting Chess Events

Exciting Upcoming Chess Events

Just reminding you of two great upcoming events:

1. The November Rising Start Advanced G60+5 tournament is just a week away, on November 4th, at our favorite venue, the DoubleTree Hotel in Mesa. The hotel will once again offer it’s $10 box lunch deal for all participants.

The entry fee is a bargain at only $25 if you sign up before midnight on Wednesday, Nov 1. And remember, boards, sets, clocks, pens/pencils, and scoresheets are all provided for all sections. All you need to do is register then sign up to play. Please register here: Tournament Registration | Risingstarchess

2. The 2023 December FIDE Classic & Blitz is only 6 weeks away and is now open for registration. The format and tournament structure is the same as we used for the 2023 October FIDE Classic. The location is once again at the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Mesa and lunch concessions will again be offered for all participants.

As for all Banner Chess events, boards, sets, clocks, pens/pencils, and scoresheets are all provided for all sections. All you need to do is register then sign up to play. Sign up now to secure your spot in the tournament! Register for 2023 December FIDE Classic

(Note that King Registration has updated it’s payment process to resolve issues many of you had in completing payments on the site. If you have any trouble at all getting a payment processed, just contact us and we will get you registered manually.)

You can check early entries here: Entry List for 2023 December FIDE Classic

These are the last Rising Star and Banner Chess events of the year. We hope you can make both events, but in any case, we thank you for your support during 2023