2026 Virginia Scholastic & College Chess Championships (Virginia students or residents ONLY) – Saturday March 7 – Sunday March 8, 2026
https://www.vachess.org/
2026 VIRGINIA SCHOLASTIC & COLLEGE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
hosted by Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Virginia students or residents ONLY
[No time control listed on website]
Saturday-Sunday, March 7-8, 2026 — 6560 Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA
WHAT: The Virginia Chess Federation (VCF) is partnering with Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology for the 2026 Virginia Scholastic & College Chess Championships.
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, 2026, with a Blitz Tournament on Friday night, March 6th.
REGISTRATION: ONLINE at www.vachess.org. Please do not contact TJ High School; they are relying on
the VA Chess Federation to answer all questions about the tournament and event logistics.
Registration Fees for the Blitz and Main tournament are as follows:
• Friday Night Blitz: An optional, but very fun event!!
➢ Scholastic Sections (Grades K-5 and 6-12): $35 through Feb 28th, $45 thereafter
➢ Parents & Friends Blitz: $20 through Feb 28th, $45 thereafter
• Main Tournament:
➢ All Scholastic & College Sections: $70 through Feb 28th, $90 from March 1-4, $110 thereafter.
➢ Parents & Friends Side Tournament: $30 through Feb 28th, $35 thereafter
HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS: TBD. We will seek agreements with hotels close to the High School. Details will
be posted on the VCF website, www.vachess.org.
MAIN EVENT FORMAT: These activities are on Sat and Sun, March 7th and 8th.
• 8 Scholastic Sections and 1 College Section: Round 1 is at 9 AM in all sections.
➢ College: All games are played on Saturday, March 7th.
➢ K-12 Championship and K-12 Under 1400
➢ K-8 Championship and K-8 Under 1200
➢ K-5 Championship and K-5 Under 1000
➢ K-3 Championship and K-3 Under 600
• Side Events:
➢ Parents & Friends Tournament (starts 15 minutes after Round 2 in the Scholastic Sections … e.g., 12:45
PM on Saturday)
➢ “Play the Master” simultaneous Exhibition on Saturday afternoon beginning about 2 PM.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
• Friday, March 6th: On-site Registration for the Main Event and Blitz. Round 1 of BLITZ is at 6:30 PM.
Blitz is an optional event. Blitz is usually finished about 8:30 or 8:45 PM.
• Saturday, March 7th: Round 1 at 9 AM. Rounds 2-3 at 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm. College Section games
are at 9 am, noon, 3 pm, and 6 pm. Parents & Friends tournament starts at 12:45.
• Sunday, March 8th: Rounds 4-5 at 9:30 am and 1:30 pm. Awards Ceremonies held section-by-section as
soon as possible after the last game finishes in a section.
o NOTE: We remind everyone that Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, March 8th.
TEAMS: Scholastic and College Teams must be comprised of players who attend the same school. A school is
not required to have a “chess club” or an “official school team” to play as a team for this tournament. Two or
more players who go to the same school and play in the same section of the tournament are automatically
considered a team for this tournament. You can find detailed team eligibility information on the VA Chess website
at this helpful link.
PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:
• Scholastic Sections: All players in the Scholastic sections (K-12, K-8, K-5, K-3) must be attending
school in Virginia or be a VA resident attending school out-of-state. Players attending an out-of-state
school cannot compete as a team–all teams must be Virginia-based schools. Players from neighboring
states who attend school in VA are eligible to compete. Please check with us if you have questions!
• College Section: Players must be attending college in VA or be a VA resident attending college out of
state. All college players must be high school graduates. High school students who are attending college
cannot compete on a College team.
• U.S. Chess Federation membership is required for all players. Players can join US Chess or renew their
membership through the VCF at www.vachess.org and select the “Join/Renew US Chess” tab on the left
side of our webpage. We offer a small discount on US Chess Federation membership. If you prefer, you
also can join/renew your US Chess membership directly with US Chess, go to www.vachess.org and
hover your cursor over the “Join” option near the top of your screen.
AWARDS: Tons of trophies! See www.vachess.org
IMPORTANT: The VCF uses the results of this tournament to select representatives to attend the US national
tournaments of State Champions. These tournaments (see list below) will be held in early August as part of the
U.S. Open in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The VCF provides healthy stipends to assist the 5 Virginia players who
earn the right to represent The Commonwealth at these tournaments.
• Denker Tournament of High School State Champions (Top Player in Grades 9-12 from the K-12 Section)
• Barber Tournament of Middle School State Champions (Top Player in Grades 6-8, from the K-8 Section)
• Rockefeller Tournament of Elementary School State Champions (Top Player in Grades 4-5, from K-5)
• NEW for 2026: Maurice Ashley Tournament of Primary School State Champions (Top Player in K-3)
• Haring Tournament of Girls State Champions (Top finishing Girl from Virginia’s K-12 Section)
FUN SIDE EVENTS:
• BLITZ on Friday evening March 6th (Round 1 at 6:30 pm). 4 double-rounds (2 games per round for 8
total games). Includes a Parents & Friends section.
• 4-round “Parents & Friends” tournament open to adults. Scholastic or college players are NOT eligible
to play in this event.
• “Challenge the Master” Simultaneous Exhibition.
TEAM ROOMS: See www.vachess.org. We are working with the TJ High School administration to obtain
about 15 classrooms that can be used by teams with 10 or more players as well as by parents who wish to form
a group to obtain a team room. Please do not contact the school for any information about this, the school relies
on the VA Chess Federation to collect and consolidate all Team Room requests. The cost for a Team Room is
$100 per room of which $25 is returned to you after the tournament, and $75 is used to purchase a Gift Card for
the teachers whose rooms we use.
PRE-EVENT ZOOM INFO MEETINGS: The VCF will organize several options for players and parents to
attend a pre-event Zoom Meeting in mid-to-late February 2026. These events will be announced on our website
and emails sent to all registered players.
QUESTIONS: Contact Mike Hoffpauir, VA Chess Federation, mhoffpauir@aol.com or text to 757-846-4805.
The Virginia Chess Federation (VCF) is the US Chess Federation’s State Affiliate for Virginia
The VCF is a 501c(3) non-profit organization—Donate at www.vachess.org.