Friday Blitz
The Big XII tournament wasn't the only March Madness going
on in Downtown OKC this weekend. On Friday night, March 9th, 31 students,
grades K through 6, from 7 schools, met at
For 5 dollars, students could enter this unrated tournament with the guarantee
to play 5 games, and as many as 11. Time controls were set at 4 minutes each,
and just to make it interesting, black won all draws. First prize was free
entry into the state championship on March 31 in Claremore. A special prize of
a one-year USCF membership was awarded to the top unrated player. As a
thank-you to those who preregistered, three door
prizes (digital chess timers) were given away at the end of the night.
When each student registered, they drew a name out of a hat. That name was one
of 64 countries with grandmasters. (Yes, a few countries with only one
grandmaster got left out.) Once they received their country assignment, they
went to the pairing chart, which had pre-assigned their first 5 games.
The first part of the night was a series of 6-player round robins. Then the
students were ranked based on their round robin scores and put into a
single-elimination bracket. When the dust settled,
In contrast to the sometimes high-pressure environment of a rated tournament,
everyone saw this as a light-hearted way to spend a couple of hours. Wilson PTA
earned a considerable amount to go toward the 3rd grade fieldtrip, especially
considering how little planning and resources the tournament really required.
The bulk of the effort, on my part at least, was setting up the format. After I
had set up the pairing system in Excel, all I had to do was print out the
pairing chart, and wait for people to come in. Pizza was delivered after the
first five rounds, giving me enough time to rank the players and set up a
tournament bracket.
The whole process was surprisingly quick - Registration ran from
Assigning the countries worked really well. First, it struck home how chess is
truly a global activity. Second, it made pre-assignments so much easier. Third,
I didn't have to learn any kids' names. I could walk around the room and, with
a straight face, shout things like "
One of the highlights was the final game, where the kids really saw chess for
perhaps the first time as a spectator event. When the final game was announced,
the kids on the playground came streaming in to surround Table 1.
Thanks go out to all the parent volunteers, as well all our guests and their
parents. This was a great, low-pressure tournament, and a good way to introduce
new kids to tournament chess.
I had set the tournament up to handle 64, and we could have handled that many
with just a little more effort. I think attendance would be higher with a
little more advanced notice (I didn't set a firm date until a week and a half
ago), and I think the students who came to this one will spread the word at
their respective schools.
The bulk of the upfront cost was in the timers, of course, but if we hold just
a few of these the timers will pay for themselves. If you hold a blitz
tourney, maybe we can strike a deal and you can use my timers. I'm always
willing to negotiate!
The kids had a great time, and as a fund raiser it's hard to beat. If you're
interested in holding a blitz tournament, or just have any questions about how
we pulled it off, feel free to contact me at wilsonchess
(@) cox.net. And we hope to see you at our next one!