2008 Chess Tournament

6th Annual CDGMS Chess Tournament

General Info	Updates!
School Team Information	Individual Players Information
Rules and Expectations	Food
Trophies and Prizes	Registration Procedures
Directions -- How do we get there?	Who'll be There -- Which Schools?
List of Winners	Pics of Winners

Previous Tournaments 1st Annual Chess Tournament 2nd Annual Chess Tournament
3rd Annual Chess Tournament
4th Annual Chess Tournament
5th Annual Chess Tournament

Update!

May 25, 2008

Many thanks to all of you for attending our 6th annual chess tournament. For some of you, it was the first time. We hope you enjoyed your brief stay at Chief Dan George Middle School. We need to apologize for a few things. We did not have the television/DVD player hooked up and we did not have a few other things we used to have in previous tournaments. We were under staffed this year, but the show went on and it started and ended close to the predicted time. We will do this all over again next year. The usual date for our chess tournament is the weekend after the Victoria Day long weekend. We hope to see you all back next year. We will post pictures of the tournament and winners and final results in the next day or so.

May 23, 2008

Tomorrow's the chess tournament! The tables are set up and we are clear for take off. Our list of door prizes this year is amazing. Please note the following vendors and supporters of our tournament. They support our tournament by donating the door prizes. Please support them so they can continue to support us.

A&B Sound of Abbotsford
The Keg of Abbotsford
Safeway of Abbotsford
White Spot of Abbotsford
McDonald's Restaurant - South Fraser Way (Bourquin)
Willow Video of Abbotsford
Subway Downtown Abbotsford (5 corners)
Fraser Valley Vending Ltd.
BC Dairy Foundation

The registration fees you pay go towards the purchase of trophies, medals, and other door prizes such as chess sets and chess clocks. Any funds left over go towards our chess club - purchase of chess sets, instruction videos, and entry fees to other tournaments.

Please note that our canteen, The Pit Stop, will close early this year at 2 PM.

At this point, I would like to thank the people behind the scenes who make this all happen. The Sakai family who continue to help out every year. Mrs. Lois Paul, our former custodian, who continues to volunteer her time even though she no longer works at our school. Mr. Dugdale (counselor), Mrs Chartier (Pit Stop), Mrs. Mitchell (teacher), Mrs. Hollanti (school secretary - registration), our student voluteers who give up their Saturday to lend a hand, Mr. Dudzik (principal), Mrs. Fladager (vice principal), and the rest of the Chief Dan George Middle School staff for their support and help. And, of course, the chess coaches who volunteer as judges on the floor during the tournament. It is really not an easy job.

May 18, 2008

Pics of this year's trophies have been updated. Registrations are coming in quickly. Please make sure to register by the 20th. We will not take registrations at the door.

May 13, 2008

As in previous years, there will be lots of door prizes to be given away. We have two chess clocks and three deluxe chess sets to give away as well as three $25.00 gift cards from A&B Sound of Abbotsford, a $25.00 gift certificate from the Keg in Abbotsford, a $25.00 gift certificate from Safeway of Abbotsford, two 10 dollar gift certificates from two gift cards from McDonald's of Abbotsford for a Big Mac each month for a year, free 6 inch subway coupons, movie and game rental coupons from Willow Video, stuffed animals, toys and t-shirts from the Dairy Foundation of BC and Fraser Valley Vending, etc. There will be enough door prizes for everybody. Remember that the registration deadline is the 20th of this month!

May 2nd

The trophies have been ordered. Pictures of this year's trophies will be uploaded in two weeks when they arrive.

April 18, 2008

Registrations have started to trickle in. Check the list of who's coming to this year's tournament.

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General Info

The intent of the tournament is to support the efforts of school-based chess teams and to provide these students with an opportunity to participate in a fun and friendly event in the spirit of sportmanship. Yes, chess is a sport!

The tournament this year, will be held on Saturday, May 24, 2008.

***We have made a few changes to the rules and expectations from previous years, so please read carefully.***

The tournament itself will start at 9:30 am with check-in / registration starting at 8:30. If your school's chess team is planning on entering the tournament, you will need to pre-register by the 2oth of May at the latest! Like last year, we will NOT allow individual players (see exception below) - school teams only. Although individual players are not permitted at our tournament this year, we will still award individual trophies for the top three finishers in each category.

If all goes as planned, the tournament will be over by 4:00 pm.

Our staff room will be open for parents and coaches. We will have a computer with Internet access available, as well as, complimentary coffee and tea. We will have available for students a television with VCR and DVD in the waiting area (multi-purpose room). Students may bring their own game systems (Nintendo DS, PlayStation, etc.) if they wish.

Registration Fees:

$10.00 for each student
A school team must have a minimum of 5 players with a maximum of 7 (schools can have more than one team)
In order for school teams to qualify for trophies, all players must be enrolled at that school. In previous years, we have had groups register as a team by combining players from neighbouring schools. A call to the school to confirm the ages of the students revealed some inconsistencies. We will be monitoring this to ensure all teams qualify. All school teams must have a teacher/coach present at the tournament who will be responsible for all team members (not just a chaperone). Proper supervision is a must.

All monies collected from the fees go toward the trophies, plaques, and door prizes.

This tournament is NOT a CFC (Chess Federation of Canada) sponsored or sanctioned event. Player ratings will not be affected. No stress, with stress on FUN!!

School Team Info

In order to qualify as a school team, at least five players must be present. A school may bring up to seven players (two spares).

Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the top three schools in each of the following categories:

K to 5
6 to 8
9 to 12

The categories are such because of Abbotsford's middle school setup. Please note that players from school teams are also eligible for individual awards.

For the K to 5 and 6 to 8 categories, players will be randomly matched up at first. Once the organizers determine the strength of all the players, match ups will be adjusted accordingly. For the 9 to 12 category, players will be matched according to a roster that the sponsor teacher or coach submits prior to the commencement of the tournament. Coaches and sponsor teachers, please note that the roster should be made up with the strongest and most experienced player in position number one and the least experienced player in position number five.

In the K to 5 and 6 to 8 categories, the teams' score will be based on the winning percentage of all the players, including spares. In these two categories, the spares will play like everybody else and play all five games.

In the 9 to 12 category, spares are used as substitutes, since pairs are matched up according to their roster (top player vs top player, second best player vs second best player, and so on -- 5 on 5). Spares, of course, can substitute any player on their team at any time. In case there are not enough individual players in the 9 to 12 category, or there is an uneven number of individual players, some spare players may be asked to play as individual players and not be on a school team. Other changes may be nescessary, depending on the number of players and teams that show up to the tournament. The 9 to 12 category has traditionally been one with very few players.

All efforts will be made to ensure that players from the same school do not play against each other in the first two categories (K to 5 and 6 to 8). In case of an uneven amount of players in any of these two categories, a player without an opponent will receive a bye. A bye in this tournament will mean an automatic win point. All efforts will be made to ensure that two teams from the same school do not play each other.

Team trophy winners will be determined by overall team percentages. This means all players will figure into the scoring. The total points of all players will be added up and then divided by the number of players on that team. Unlike other tournaments, we do not decide the winning teams by averaging the scores of the top five players on a particular team. Our school philosophy, when it comes to sports, has always been to promote participation and not just picking the best and discarding the rest. Our chess tournament will parallel the same philosophy. Because schools can field more than one team (minimum of 5, maximum of 7), chess coaches can arrange their teams strategically. Coaches are required to hand in a team roster of their players before the tournament begins.

Individual Players Info

Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the top three players in each of the following categories:

K to 1
2 and 3
4 and 5
6 to 8
9 to 12

Rules and Player Expectations

All players will play five games in total. Games will be limited to 50 minutes each. Most games will be over within 30 minutes. However, if a game is not over by 30 minutes, a chess clock will be brought into play and each player will be given 10 minutes each (twenty minutes in total) to finish the game and determine a winner. This will only happen if the game looks like it will not be over within the 50 minute time slot.

All games are "touch move", meaning if a player touches a chess piece, they must move that piece (unless, of course, the piece cannot be moved). There will be a referee at each category. Chess coaches, we are going to be counting on you to volunteer your time again to referee the tournament.

Times for games:

9:30 to 10:20 Round One

10:30 to 11:20 Round Two

11:20 to 12:00 Lunch

12:00 to 12:50 Round Three

1:00 to 1:50 Round Four

2:00 to 2:50 Round Five

3:30 Prizes and Awards Given Out

Player Expectations

Players must be respectful and courteous at all times. If a student is not behaving appropriately, they will be asked to leave the premises. If a student on a team is not behaving appropriately, the entire team will be disqualified and asked to leave. This is a school sponsored event. Cheating and poor behaviour will not be tolerated at this tournament. All students and coaches will be given at least one warning before such drastic measures are taken. The whole idea behind holding this tournament is to promote the joy of playing chess and competing in a friendly environment -- good sportsmanship.

All players are expected to shake hands at the end of each game and encourage each other to play at their best at whatever level. Players are expected to stay at their tables during a game and not walk away, even when they are playing with a clock. Any display of arrogance will not be tolerated. It may be acceptable at professional and sanctioned tournaments to behave this way, but in this tournament, it will not be considered good form.

Once a player is finished playing a game, they are expected to go directly to the referee in charge with the opponent present and give the results. After that, both players will need to go to the eating/rest area. Lingering about with others in the playing area will not be allowed. Please do not display poor sportsmanship by giving high fives and shaking/pumping fists in the air. The time to celebrate comes at the end of the tournament.

Food!

Every student is expected to bring their own lunch.

The Pit Stop, Chief Dan George Middle School's canteen, will be open during the tournament. The Pit Stop has deep fried foods, such as chicken strips, cheese sticks, and french fries, as well as hot dogs, bagels, and pizzas -- all at reasonable prices. Visit the Pit Stop web page for more info. If freshly made hot dogs, chicken strips, spring rolls, burgers, fries, and pizza doesn't cut it, the school is five to ten minutes away from McDonalds, Tim Horton's, Wendy's, KFC, Burger King, and Taco Time.

Our staffroom will be open for parents and coaches. We will have a computer with Internet access available, as well as, complimentary coffee and tea. Televisions (3) with VCR and DVD will be available for students to use in the waiting area (multi-purpose room). Students may bring their own games systems if they wish.

Trophies and Prizes

Pics of this year's trophies.

Trophies will be awarded to first to third place in each category. Along with the trophies, we will be giving away three brand new digital chess clocks, three deluxe chess sets, five portable chess sets, two twenty dollar certificates for White Spot Restaurants, Twenty-five dollar Keg certificate, 100's of other door prizes, including stuffed animals and toys. Nobody will go away empty handed.

Directions -- How do we get there?

Chief Dan George Middle School is part of the Abbotsford School District. The school is located on the corner of Gladwin Road and Old Riverside Road. Our exact address is 32877 Old Riverside Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 8K2. Our school phone number is 604.852.9616. Our FAX number is 604.850.7653. If you are heading out from Vancouver, Surrey, or Langley, just follow the freeway heading east until you get to the Clearbrook Road Exit. Head north from the freeway interchange and keep going until you get to Maclure Rd. Turn right on Maclure and head east until you get to Gladwin Road. Turn left on Gladwin and keep going until you see some huge power lines overhead. That's where our school is.

If these well thought out directions are confusing, please click on the map and you will be taken to mapquest.ca.

The maps on their web site can be zoomed in and zoomed back out!

If you are heading into Abbotsford from Hope or Chilliwack, take the Clearbrook exit and head north (same as above).

If you are heading into Abbotsford from north of the mighty Fraser River, head on over the Mission bridge and take a right on Harris Road. Keep heading west until you get to Gladwin Road. Turn left on Gladwin Rd. Keep heading south up the steep hill until you see the huge power lines. You're there!

Registration Procedures

Contact Information:

Chief Dan George Middle School

32877 Old Riverside Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 8K2

Phone -- 604.852.9616

FAX -- 604.850.7653

Tournament organizer -- Kerry Sakai

School Team Registration

School Teams must register before May 20, 2008. As well as the trophies for the top three teams in each category, there is a possibility that chess clocks will be awarded as prizes if enough schools register for the tournament.

In order for teams to register, we need the following information faxed to us on school letterhead.

Name of sponsor teacher
Return address, phone number, and fax number
Number of teams that will participate
Age and grades of students
Statement confirming that payment has been remitted (cheque's in the mail!)
Team Roster

Payment may be made on the day of the tournament. Please make cheques payable to Chief Dan George Middle School or CDG Middle School. Please do not make cheques out to Chief Dan George - he passed away some time ago.

Coaches, please note: minimum number of players per team is 5 with a maxumum of 7. All players will be counted in the team's total score. One point per win and half a point for a draw. The points of all players are added up and divided by the number of players on that team. If a coach brings more than one team, they have the right to "load up" one team if they wish.

Individual Player Registration

We are only allowing individuals who have been to our previous tournaments. We have kept records of all players since our first tournament. Only players who are in our database will be allowed to participate.

In order for individuals to pre-register, the following information along with payment must reach us by May 21, 2007.

Name, address, and phone number
Payment (cheque made out to: Chief Dan George Middle School -- do not send cash through the mail)
Age, grade, and school you are registered with
Ranking, if you have a CFC ranking

Please Note: Absolutely no walk-ins at all this year. Even those who have been to our previous tournaments - we will not accept people at the door.
You must be pre-registered.

Schools that have registered for the tournament