Can anyone give me a quick and dirty rundown of the various national scholastic chess competitions? I'd like to be able to put some comments by DS's chess coach into perspective but I'm not really able to figure out what is what here. There seem to be a lot of these things.
Also, I'm assuming there are far fewer players on the K-1 level than on other levels?
Hi Ultramarina,
I haven't been on this site for a while so I am just catching up on some threads.
DS has been to two national tournaments so I can give you some guidance there. We have exchanged PMs about chess in the past so feel free to do so again, or we can continue to discuss on this thread if you prefer.
There appear to be lots of "national tournaments", which would be an oxymoron. But they are all segmented by grades so for a particular child there are really only two that make sense.
The first is the national spring tournament that puts together grade groups. Often the tournaments for different grade groups are in different cities. For example the kids in 6th grade or below could be in Dallas, whereas the high school kids could be in Atlanta. Sometimes they combine them into one city, as they did in 2013. The grade groups that they have for this tournament are K-1, K-3, K-6, K-9, and K-12. While a kindergartner could theoretically play a 12th grader in K-12, the reality is that almost every child is in the lowest category for which they are eligible.
In December there is usually a national grade championship. There will be a separate category for each grade and so winning the championship is easier here, especially as many of the best players don't bother showing up for this tournament.
Also, here are my thoughts on other topics people have discussed:
1. As I stated before, I think your son has shown an unusually early talent for chess. I remember you mentioning it a couple years ago (at age 3?).
2. I commend your "no pressure" approach to the game. There are some kids that hate the game but are forced to play it. Usually the child showed early talent, and the parents are convinced they have the next Bobby Fischer if they just "Tiger Mom" enough. But my experience is that a young child's skill in chess tells very little about later skill. One local player was K-3 national co-champion several years ago, but gave up the game within five years because he did not progress, and was losing to local peers his age. On the flip side, another local kid has won nationals twice, three years apart.
3. If your son likes the game, a chess coach will certainly improve his skills. Private chess lessons, if they are affordable, are far better than group lessons.
4. When selecting the first chess coach, the most important thing is finding someone who can relate to a young child and make the lessons enjoyable. Rating is much less important for this first coach. You should not exclude anyone rated over 1800 (if currently playing), or over 2000 (if no longer playing).
