Beginner's Guide - Are Chess Tournaments For Your Child?
Is your child ready for a chess tournament? If so, should they try rated or non-rated? How do you get into a rated section? Here are your answers!
Tournaments, yea or nay?
Chess tournaments are exhilarating, friend-making, and rewarding events for the players, but they are competitive and do require a solid knowledge foundation before I suggest your child participates in one. Here are signs that your child might be ready to compete in a tournament:
- Must have mastered how each piece moves and captures.
- Should know how to castle and promote.
- Should be at least familiar with what is en passant.
- Be able to explain the difference between check, checkmate, and stalemate.
- Be able to execute a queen-only checkmate most of the time.
- Be able to execute a ladder (stair-step) checkmate with 2 rooks most of the time.
- Be a good sport and be able to handle tough losses.
Basically, they should be able to play a full game of chess competently and know how to finish off their opponent with a checkmate.
Rated vs. Non-Rated
Rated chess tournaments are preferable for kids serious about chess. Children in these sections are assigned a rating and after each tournament, the child's rating will be adjusted up or down based on how the child does. This allows the player to track their progress and will give them state and national rankings.
Unless your child's been playing for a while online and is confident with their skill set, I always suggest your child starts in a non-rated section based on their age. Players in non-rated tournaments are generally less experienced and, therefore, often a bit easier than rated players. This means the child will not be overwhelmed as easily and increases the likelihood of them loving tournaments. You also don't need memberships to play in these sections, so it's less of a commitment for you.
Once your child expresses a consistent desire to play in chess tournaments and has scored a couple of top-half finishes in their non-rated section, it's time to go rated! Children will need to learn chess game notation as recording the game is a USCF requirement, but this is something that is typically very easy to learn!
How To "Go Rated"
"Going rated" is very easy! Just go to the USCF's website and purchase a 1-year membership ($20 currently). Doing so will give you an 8-digit USCF ID#. You might have noticed before boxes to put your "USCF ID" in, and this is what you put into that box. You then select the rated you want them to play in, finish the registration, and they're set to "go rated!"
The child will start out as "unrated." They'll be given their first provisional rating based on how they score against the competition they face in their first tournament. Typical beginner ratings are between 101-400. The "provisional" part of the rating means that this rating is a (very) rough estimate of the child's actual strength. After 26 rated games are finished, the USCF will issue them their first official rating, and their name will show up on state, national, and age ranking lists.
I hope this helped and I wish your child happy playing at their future tournaments!!
Jonathan Rasberry
Rasberry Chess Academy
