MasterMinds 2nd Saturday Monthly Chess Tournament – Saturday, March 14, 2026

MasterMinds 2nd Saturday Monthly Chess Tournament

at Tech Freire Charter School in Philadelphia, PA

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Who: Players from Pre-K through adult

What: A one-day tournament to help you prepare for other tournaments like the Liberty Bell, World Open, and PA State Championships.

When: Saturday, March 14, 2026, with Quad Round 1 at 9:30 AM, and Scholastic Swiss 10 AM.

Where: Tech Freire Charter School, 2221 N Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19132

Registration and Fees: Quads registration is $30 cash only onsite, no advanced registration.

Scholastic Swiss registration is $10 online at Chessroster.com by Friday, Mar 13. Registration increases to $25 after 9 PM Friday, Mar 13 onsite only at the tournament. Onsite Registration is from 8-9 AM, players registering after 9 AM may not be paired for Round 1.

Format: A quad chess tournament is a mini, three-round tournament where four players of similar skill level are grouped into a “quad,” playing a round-robin format (each plays the other three once) for a balanced competition. Our Quads are open to players who want to play a longer time control. No byes are allowed.

The Scholastic Swiss is a Swiss-system chess tournament, a non-elimination format where players compete in a set number of rounds, playing opponents with similar scores, ensuring everyone plays in every round (if possible) and strong players eventually meet, with the winner having the most points at the end. It balances fairness by pairing winners with winners and losers with losers, avoiding repeat opponents and keeping the competition balanced without knocking players out after a loss, allowing for comebacks. Each player is allowed one requested half point bye.

Sections: Quad players are grouped in fours and compete in a round-robin. Scholastic players can compete in one of four sections: K-3 U500, K-6 U800, K-8 U1200, or K-12 Open. All players must be members of US Chess.

Who can Play: All players are welcomed from Pre-K through adult. This tournament is open to out-of-state players. FIRST-TIME PLAYERS ARE ALSO WELCOME!!!

Quad Prize Fund: The winner of each Quad will receive $100 cash. If we have to run a HEX, a six player Swiss-System, First place receives $100 and Second place $50 cash.

Awards: There are individual and team awards for the Scholastic Swiss.

Individual: 1st through 3rd place in all 4 sections.

Teams: 1st and 2nd place Teams across all 4 sections. Teams can be made up of either a school or club.

School Teams – students on a single campus under one principal.

Club Teams – must meet for at least 8 months per year and players must have attended 6 regularly scheduled meetings of the club in the previous 3 months. (A club officer should be able to provide verification that players are eligible to compete for their club.)

Players on a team can compete across all sections of the tournament for the team trophies.

Tournament Schedule:

Quad rounds are 9:30 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM. The Scholastic Swiss first round is 10 AM, the following rounds are as soon as possible. Pairing of the proceeding rounds will take place after all the games of the existing round are completed.

Time Control: For the Quads the time control for each player will be Game in 85 minutes with a 5 second delay (G/85;d5) for the entirety of the game. The time control being implemented for each player in the Scholastic Swiss is Game in 40 minutes with a 5 second delay (G/40;d5) for the entirety of the game

Chess Equipment: Quad players provide their own equipment. We will provide chess sets and chess clocks for the Scholastic Swiss. Scoresheets and pencils are provided for all players.

Chess Notation:

All players competing must take chess notation. Players are permitted to bring and use their own Scorebooks and pencils if they own them.

Players are encouraged to learn and practice chess notation before entering an Over-The-Board chess tournament. Here is an instructional YouTube video on How To Use Chess Notation.

Notes:

Membership in the US Chess Federation is required for ALL players in this tournament.

A membership can be purchased for one or two-years at US Chess. A current US Chess membership allows a player to participate in any US Chess rated chess tournament in the U.S.A. A US Chess membership is not a fee that must be paid for every tournament.

Need More Information?

Email info@mastermindschess.org with your questions.