As part of the annual Columbus Fabulous Fourth celebration this year, young people are invited to compete for cash prizes in a chess tournament to be held in Stearns Gym between 2-6 p.m.
Registration will begin at 2 p.m., followed by a review of the rules and qualification. There will be four tables of varying skill level, and each table is limited to six players, who will play round-robin in five 15-minute games, with a sixth tie-breaking round if needed.
Cash awards, provided by the Kiwanis Club of Tryon, range from $5 for third place on Board 4 to $30 for first place on Board 1 and will be distributed at 5:30 p.m.
The cash prizes, raised by the Kiwanis Club of Tryon under the leadership of Ernest Giannini, are as follows:
Board 1
• First place $30
• Second place $25
• Third place $20
Board 2
• First place $25
• Second place $20
• Third place $15
Board 3
• First place $20
• Second place $15
• Third place $10
Board 4
• First place $15
• Second place $10
• Third place $5
To qualify to compete, a person must be under 19 and must know how to play chess. Students who have participated in the Polk Central School Chess Program automatically qualify. Others will need to pay a $1 registration fee and answer a simple question about a board position.
Board 1 plays standard rules. A take-back move is when a player regrets having made a certain move and is allowed to redo it. Board 2 allows one take-back move per game. Board 3 allows two take-backs per game, and Board 4 allows three.
All boards play by these rules: You touch a piece, you take it or move it, if possible; illegal moves lose. At the end of 15 minutes, the side that has taken more pieces wins, if no resolution has occurred. If the piece count is even when time is up, the side that used fewer take-back moves wins.
The tournament will follow the following schedule: 2 p.m. registration, 2:30 rules review, 2:40 qualification; 3 p.m. Round 1, 3:20 Round 2, 3:40 Round 3, 4 p.m. break, 4:30 Round 4, 4:50 Round 5, 5:10 tie-breaking, 5:30 awards and 6 p.m. adjourn.
Address questions to organizer Dr. Brian Crissey at 828-894-8444.
– article submitted
by Lynne Parsons