75th WV State Championship

The 75th Annual West Virginia State Chess Championship will be held over Labor Day weekend. This year the tournament is being held in Elkins, WV. As always, a short WVCA business meeting will occur on Saturday morning before the rounds begin.

Date:	August 31 – September 2, 2013
Site:	Holiday Inn Express, 50 Martin St, Elkins, WV 26241
Entry Fee:	$40 by 8/20, $50 at site (Make checks payable to David Bruner.)
Prizes:	$$750 b/30: $250-130, U1900 $100-50, U1600 $75-35, U1300 $75-35. Trophy to top WVCA player.
Format:	6 SS; 35/90, SD/60
Byes:	Maximum two per player. Half point bye requests must be made prior to start of tournament
Registration:	8:30 – 9:30 AM
Rounds:	10-4, 9-3, 9-3
Contact:	David Bruner
Phone:	304-636-0238
Email:	dbruner29@gmail.com
	Annual WVCA business meeting Saturday at 9am. No smoking. Wheelchair accessible.
	WVCA membership required, other states accepted for out-of-state players.

Mid-Ohio Valley Chess Class Facebook Page

Jordan Whistler has created a Facebook page for his Mid-Ohio Valley Chess Class. Be sure to "Like" this page to stay informed about upcoming lessons.

Kanawha Valley Open

The Charleston Chess club will host a tournament in two weeks:

Kanawha Valley Open

Date:	August 3, 2013
Site:	WVSSPA Building; 1610 Washington Street East; Charleston, WV 25311
Entry Fee:	$15.00, $2 discount to Charleston Chess Club members.
Prizes:	(Based on 20 entrants) 1st - $100; 2nd - $40; U1900 - $40; U1500/UNR - $40
Format:	3 SS; Game/75; d/5
Registration:	9am - 9:45am
Rounds:	10-1-4
Contact:	John Everett Roush; 114 Chloe Drive; Ripley, WV 25271
Phone:	304-550-4103
Email:	jroush@wvsspa.org

For a list of other upcoming tournaments in West Virginia, please visit the West Virginia Chess Association website.

21st Annual Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament

The 21st Annual Parkersburg Homecoming Chess Tournament is less than one month away!

For those of you who don't now, the tournament will be held on Sunday, August 18, 2013 at the Parkersburg Municipal Building at 2nd & Market Streets in Parkersburg, WV. The format will be four-round Swiss System G/60. Registration is from 9-9:45 and rounds will be at 10:00, 12:45, 3:00, and 5:15. There will be both rated and non-rated sections. The entry fee for the rated section is $15 postmarked by 8/12 or $20 at the site. The entry fee for the non-rated section is $10.

We've had good turnouts the past few years, and are hoping to continue this Parkersburg Homecoming tradition.

For an entry form and more information, visit the Parkersburg Homecoming Chess Tournament page on this website.

USCF National Girls' Invitational Tournament

From John Homer:

WV is sending players to the USCF Tournament of 8th Grade State Champions (Barber) and to the USCF Tournament of High School State Champions (Denker). We did not find a girl to participate in the Polgar Girls' Invitational which offered free room and board, plus a lot of valuable prizes and free instruction by the World's Female Chess Champion.

However, we still have a chance to nominate a girl (grades K-12) to attend the USCF National Girls' Invitational Tournament to be held along with the Barber and Denker at the USCF Open Chess Championship. The NGIT has players from only 40 states and is willing to accept a nominee from West Virginia, IF WE NOMINATE SOMEONE AT ONCE.

Please contact Tom Bergquist or John Homer if you have a candidate. Ten of the players so far are rated under 1000.

You can find additional information at http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2013/ngit/.

If anyone knows of a candidate and does not have the contact information for Tom or John, please email me at movchessclub@gmail.com and I will get you in contact ASAP.

Tournaments This Weekend

This Saturday, July 20, tournaments will be held in Beckley and Morgantown:

Beckley Chess Club Open #7

Date:	July 20, 2013
Site:	Beckley Art Gallery, 600 Johnstown Road Beckley, WV 25801
Entry Fee:	$20
Prizes:	Based on entries
Format:	4 SS; Game/60 (5d)
	No Byes last round
	NS, NC
Registration:	8 am – 8:45 am
Rounds:	9 am - 11:15 am – 2 pm – 4:15 pm

Barney Fife Tournament

Date:	July 20, 2013
Site:	Morgantown Chess Club, 100 Cobun Ave Morgantown, WV 26501
Format:	4-SS, G/75 (w/5 second delay).
Schedule:	Reg.9-9:45 Rds: 10am - 1pm - 4pm - 7pm
Byes:	Maximum one half-point bye per player. Half-point bye requests for round 4 must be made before the start of round 3.
Entry Fee:	$25 postmarked by July 13, $35 at site, $2 discount to MCC members.
Prizes:	One section, prize fund $$400 b/20 (proportional payout). $125-85, U1900 $75, U1600 $65, U1300 $50.
Entries:	Morgantown Chess Club, c/o Terry Wassell, 104 Dustin Lane, Morgantown, WV 26501. (Checks payable to "Morgantown Chess Club").
Info:	Email: morgantownchess@gmail.com
	Website: http://morgantownchess.org
Misc.:	If available, A HOUSE player may be paired to avoid a bye. No Smoking, Wheel Chair Accessible. USCF membership required (available onsite). Sponsored & Organized by Morgantown Chess Club.

Please consider supporting our local chess clubs by playing in one of these fine tournaments.

Beginner Chess Class for Kids

The next meetings of Jordan Whistler's beginner chess class for kids will be on Monday, July 22 and Monday, July 29 at the Vienna Public Library meeting room from 5-7 PM. These classes have produced a great deal of excitement so far, and are highly recommended if you have young ones interested in learning to play.