Silver State Chess Association LLC
Presents
NORTHERN NEVADA STATE SCHOLASTIC
INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
and QUALIFIER to NEVADA STATE SCHOLASTIC CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Date: Saturday, April 18th, 2026 @ 12:00pm
IMPORTANT: Both the Northern portion of the state (defined below) and the Southern portion of the state will hold separate Over-The-Board tournaments to determine individuals and teams from each region who will then compete in the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship to be held on Saturday April 25th.
Individuals who reside in, or go to school in, the following Nevada counties will be eligible to participate in the Northern Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship: Washoe, Humbolt, Elko, Pershing, Storey, Churchill, Lander, Eureka, White Pine, Lyon, Douglas, Mineral and the independent city of Carson City.
This announcement is for the Northern Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship. The Southern Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship will be held on a different day and will be detailed in a separate announcement.
We expect the change in format will facilitate greater participation from students throughout Nevada.
Location:
Lake Tahoe School
995 Tahoe Blvd.
Incline Village, NV 89451
A US Chess Rated Tournament in 6 Sections open to Northern Nevada residents or Northern Nevada students in the counties listed above.
K-3 Championship (Open to all players in grades K – 3)
K-5 Championship (Open to all players in grades K – 5)
4 rounds
Time Control Game/25 minutes +5 seconds
Middle School Championship (Open to all players in grades 6 – 8)
High School Championship (Open to all players in grades 9 – 12)
4 rounds
Time Control Game/30 minutes +10 seconds
K-5 Challengers (Open to all players in grades K – 5 rated Under 400 or unrated)
K-12 Challengers (Open to all players in grades K – 12 rated Under 800 or unrated)
4 rounds
Time Control Game/25 minutes +5 seconds
Individual and Team Trophies will be Awarded!
All players will receive a participation medal. Trophies will also be awarded.
Qualifiers
The top three individual scorers in each of the six Sections in the Northern Nevada Scholastic Chess Championship will meet at the Lake Tahoe School on Saturday, April 25th to compete in the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship (individuals), an online tournament that includes the Northern Nevada individual qualifiers and the Southern Nevada individual qualifiers. We will provide digital tablets for that tournament. The winners of the four sections: High School, Middle School, K-5 Championship, and K-3 Championship from that tournament will represent the State of Nevada at national tournaments to be held from August 3-6th in Grand Rapids, MI. Nevada State representatives will each receive a travel stipend from Silver State Chess after completing all games in the national tournament without a forfeit loss.
The top scoring team in each Section in the Northern Nevada Scholastic Chess Championship will meet at the Lake Tahoe School on Saturday, April 25th to compete in the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship (teams), an online tournament that includes the Northern Nevada team qualifiers and the Southern Nevada team qualifiers. We will provide digital tablets for that tournament. The winning teams will not qualify for any national tournament because there is no national team tournament for which to qualify.
Additional Prizes
The top scoring player in each section will receive free entry to the International Youth Championship in Las Vegas June 13-14th. Restricted to players born after June 14th, 2011 and rated under 1800.
The top scoring girl in each of the four Championship Sections will receive free entry to the Northern Nevada State Girls Championship to be held on April 19h, 2026 at Lake Tahoe School in Incline Village. Any of these players who have already entered the Northern Nevada State Girls Championship will have their entry fee refunded in full.
Entry Fees:
$50 before March 19th
$65 by April 2nd
$75 before April 17th @ 4:00pm PST
$100 after April 17th @ 4:01pm PST
Refunds:
Refunds must be requested via email to info@silverstatechess.org prior to 11:59pm on April 17th and will have a processing fee of $12 withheld.
Byes:
Maximum one (1) half point bye is available upon request. Half-point byes must be requested by 12:00pm on April 19th and will be irrevocable after that time. If any player is unable to play any round for any reason, including withdrawals, please notify a tournament director or score keeper.
Teams
Two or more players from the same school in the same section automatically form a team.
US Chess Membership required: you may join or renew at https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess
Snacks:
No food will be provided. Competitors are encouraged to bring water bottles, which can be used in the playing area and snacks, which can be consumed outside of the playing area between rounds.
Schedule: Welcome and announcements will begin at 12:00pm. All players should be seated for Round 1 start at 12:15pm. Subsequent rounds start about 15 minutes after the previous round ends. There will be a lunch break for players to eat player-brought lunches. Players registering after 12:00pm may not be paired for round 1.