HRCA ChessKid League

HRCA ChessKid League

Hampton Roads Chess Association is pleased to announce the implementation of a season-long competition for kids called the HRCA ChessKid League, which takes place entirely online at ChessKid.com. Chess kids in HRCA programs across Hampton Roads can play in weekly online Friday night tournaments against other local HRCA chess kids, and they can play on ChessKid and win individual and team prizes for completing activities and earning stars. This page provides all the details of the League!

There are two sub-Leagues — the Tournament League and the ChessKid Challenge League. Children can participate in one or both as desired. The League will run from February 7th to May 2nd, 2025. All awards will be presented throughout the day at the Seven Cities School Chess Championship on May 17, 2025. Winners may arrange to pick up awards at a later date if they are not in attendance.

Enrollment in the League is automatic for all eligible students — no action needed on your part, other than to participate!

HRCA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the life benefits of chess to people of all ages and abilities throughout our region. Research shows that children who study chess systematically gain the most academic and life benefits of the game — significantly greater than those who simply attend a chess club for one hour once a week. The League is a friendly competition designed to encourage children to make maximum use of their ChessKid Gold accounts for learning and practice, and therefore to gain significantly greater academic and life benefit from their pursuit of chess.

ChessKid.com is a 100% safe platform for children. They are unable to friend other accounts or freely chat or message with anyone on the site besides the account owner (HRCA SuperAdmin) or a linked parent account.

If you missed the Orientation Zoom and Test Tournament on February 7th, you can watch the recording HERE.

The Rules

These rules are designed to give all children the opportunity to participate and earn points equally, regardless of skill level. They are also designed to instill a Team culture in our school chess programs.

1. Eligible Participant Criteria

1. In grades Pre-K through 12th grade
   
2. Any schooling method: Public, Private, Homeschool, In-person or Virtual
   
3. Resides in Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton, and some outlying areas with approval).
   
4. Enrolled in HRCA classes or clubs that include a ChessKid Gold account with registration at any point during the current 2024-2025 school year.
   
   

2. Automatic Enrollment List

Students enrolled in the following HRCA programs are automatically league members if their enrollment included a ChessKid account:

1. HRCA Master Class
   
2. Girls Rock Chess Club
   
3. Guppy Chess
   
4. Hampton Roads Scholastic Chess Club
   
5. Seahorse Chess
   
6. Learn-to-Play at PSCC
   
7. Homeschool Chess Club
   
8. HRCA-coached School Chess programs

Note that students enrolled ONLY in classes through Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation, or who play ONLY at PSCC or HRCC, are NOT eligible for the League this school year, as these programs do not come with ChessKid accounts.

3. The Tournament League – Fridays @ 6PM

Every Friday night beginning February 7, 2025 and ending May 2, 2025, all League members can participate in an online Swiss tournament on ChessKid.com. There should be 12 total tournaments in this time period. ALL ChessKid League members are eligible for the Tournament League.

Tournament waiting area will open at 5:45PM. Games will begin at 6:00PM and will last until completed (latest should be 7:30-8:00PM). Rounds are ASAP, with a 1-minute break between. Do NOT close your ChessKid window until all your games are completed, and don’t be late!

1. Age and Ability Groups: Every tournament will be broken down into five sections:
   
   – Unrated players in grades K-3
   
   – Unrated players in 4th/5th grades
   
   – Unrated players in 6th-12th grades
   
   – Novice section for US Chess members rated under 500 (Regular over-the-board),
   
   – Advanced section for US Chess members rated 500 and up (Regular over-the-board).
   
   HRCA reserves the right to further break the groups down by grade (e.g. K-1, 2nd/3rd, etc.) if participation is high. If a player transfers to another ability group either due to HRCA restructuring groups or if the player becomes rated or achieves a higher rating, all previously earned points are retained and counted toward the player’s total for the season.
   
   
2. Fair Play and Disqualification: Players found to have “played down” in a lower age or rating group will be disqualified from that particular tournament. Players found by ChessKid.com cheat detection algorithms to have violated fair play policies will be disqualified from the tournament and may be removed from the League after speaking with the HRCA Executive Director. We take fair play seriously!
   
   
3. How-to Guide / Support: You can learn how to find and enter a live online chess tournament here or see the screenshots provided. There will NOT be live Zoom support for any Friday League tournament unless announced in advance with a link in the HRCA weekly newsletter. Contact us for assistance at any time with questions/login.
   Live assistance just prior to or during an event is NOT guaranteed.
   
4. Awards: HRCA staff will track tournament results for awards at the end of the season, totaling all points earned throughout the season by each player.
   
   The Top 5 players in each section will receive trophies.
   
   One additional trophy will be presented to the Top K-1 player in the K-3 unrated section.
   
   One additional trophy will be presented to the Top U300 rated player in the Novice section
   
   One additional trophy to the Top U700 player in the Advanced section.
   
   Trophies will be presented to the Top 3 Elementary schools overall (combined across sections) and the Top 3 Middle schools overall. Team scores will be made up of the top 4 individual scores from each school.
   
   If HRCA restructures the sections based on extremely high participation, new trophy breakdowns will be updated here.
   
   
   

4. The Challenge League – Participate any time!

This portion of the ChessKid League rewards participants for working on puzzles and other activities by awarding points for activities completed and counting stars earned. This can be done at any time convenient for the student.

1. Eligibility: Most of our HRCA students are eligible to participate in this portion of the League. The exceptions are students in programs who have their own internal ChessKid awards and incentives — like ODS and HRSCC. Children in these programs are strongly encouraged to actively participate in their own ChessKid Challenges and award systems!
   
   Other programs meeting on Tuesdays at KGPC, such as Seahorses and Guppies, are eligible to participate in the Challenge League until and unless they join HRSCC.
   
   
2. The Challenge Point System: The six activities listed below count towards Challenge points. You will find them under the drop-down menus for PLAY, PUZZLES, and LEARN. Students will receive one point for every activity completed. Points will be tallied from February 7th to May 2nd, 2025. This system recognizes purely EFFORT. Activities against Bots do NOT count for points.
   
   

   

   
   Under the PLAY drop-down menu:
   
   1 – FAST CHESS (PLAY vs KID) – Select either 5, 10, or 15 minute game. Play vs. bot games do NOT count for points.
   2 – SLOW CHESS – Players move at their leisure, like correspondence chess. These games will take longer to complete.
   
   Under the PUZZLES drop-down menu:
   
   3 – CHESS PUZZLES – 1 point for each attempted regular puzzle. Puzzle Duel and themed puzzles do NOT count for points.
   
   Under the LEARN drop-down menu:
   
   4 – VIDEOS – Earn 1 point for each video watched.
   5 – WORKOUTS – Earn 1 point for each workout completed.
   6 – ARTICLES – Earn 1 point for each article read.
   
   
3. The Challenge Stars: You automatically earn stars on ChessKid for correctly solving puzzles or playing live games with other kids. Your stars will be tallied from February 7th to May 2nd, 2025. This system recognizes both EFFORT AND SUCCESS.
   
   All attempted Puzzles can earn 1-3 stars each. Live games can earn up to 10 stars — 3 stars for a loss or draw, and 10 stars for a win.
   
   

   

   
   
4. Levels: All students are strongly encouraged to complete as many “Levels” (Lessons) as possible on their ChessKid account. You will find these under LEARN on the left drop-down menu of the ChessKid homepage. Choose LESSONS to get started.
   
   Levels include:
   
   6 Pawn levels covering piece movements
   
   3 Knight levels covering concepts of Check/Checkmate/Stalemate
   
   3 Bishop levels covering basic checkmates
   
   5 Rook levels covering Castling and en Passant, as well as Opening Principles and another checkmate
   
   9 Queen levels covering concepts like planning, calculating, and tactics
   
   100 King levels with advanced concepts
   
   41 SuperKing levels.
   
   Each level consists of watching a video, taking an interactive test over the content, and after the basics are completed, going out to the site and earning a specified number of stars to unlock the next level. This system of learning and forced application / practice is the most highly effective approach of all curricula HRCA has tested over the years. Children who complete all levels from Pawn 1 to Queen 9 will have completed and passed a foundational course in chess that is critical for them to continue to build their skills. Completing levels ensures individual comprehension that is not always possible to assess in a group setting.
   
   
   
   
5. Awards: The Top 5 eligible children will receive Trophies for the most Points in the ChessKid Challenge, with the top child identified as the winner of the HRCA ChessKid Challenge. Children completing at least 250 activities will receive a certificate. The single Top eligible child will receive a special plaque for winning the HRCA ChessKid League Star of the Season award. Certificates will be presented to other top finishers.
   
   Eligible children completing sets of Levels described above will receive certificates reflecting their achievements. Activities completed in pursuit of level completion (videos watched, puzzles and games to earn stars) are counted toward points and stars, as well.
   
   In addition to individual awards, we will tally total Points for each SCHOOL chess program, and the Top 3 Teams will receive Trophies for the ChessKid Challenge.
   

Frequently Asked Questions

What is my student’s ChessKid log in?

Your student’s ChessKid username and password was emailed to you after registration. Please search your inbox! You can also locate your student’s ChessKid name in your Parent Portal. After logging in to the Portal, click on the 3 lines for the menu at the top right of your screen. Select your student and click on VIEW. Scroll down to Additional Information to find the ChessKid username.

Will there be live support every Friday?

No. HRCA will provide live support via Zoom the first few weeks of the league, then students will need to contact us via email if they need assistance. Staff may not be available every week during the tournament time. Your chess coach will not be able to answer questions pertaining to the League — please contact Tina with questions.

I was in an HRCA program last year. Can I participate?

This pilot program of the HRCA ChessKid League is only open to HRCA students participating in our 2024-2025 programs, which began September 1, 2024. If you were in a fall program, but have not continued due to scheduling or other reasons, you ARE eligible to participate. If you are/were in a program that does/did NOT include ChessKid with registration, you are not able to participate this season. Please see the list above in sections 1-2 on who is eligible.