
An Official US Chess National Championship for all Players in Grades K-12
DATES
November 12-13, 2022
OVERVIEW AND ELIGIBILITY
-
The National Online Scholastic Quick Championship (OSQC) is a completely open K-12 scholastic tournament held online on lichess, over a single weekend.
-
All players must have a lichess account and must be eligible to play on lichess – all lichess accounts are free
-
US Chess membership required
FORMAT:
-
7 round Swiss tournament in 4 sections: K-12, K-8, K-6, K-3
-
This is an individual tournament with individual and (school) team prizes.
-
You do not have to be part of a school chess club or team to play.
-
Teams are made up of students from the same school
-
-
All games are played online on lichess.
-
Pairings will be uploaded to Chessstream and players can join their game at the right time with just one click!
RATINGS AND PAIRINGS
-
The 2022 National Online Scholastic Quick Championship is a US Chess online quick-rated tournament. The OSQC does not affect US Chess over-the-board (OTB) ratings.
-
Players will be paired using the highest of the following November 2022 US Chess supplement ratings:
-
Over-the-Board Regular Rating
-
Over-the-Board Quick Rating
-
Online Regular Rating
-
Online Quick Rating
-
-
Per US Chess Scholastic Regulations 18.1, accelerated pairings may be used in early rounds for any section with more than 256 players.
-
Per US Chess Scholastic Regulations 18.1.3, teammate pairings possible in rounds 6 and 7.
SCHEDULE

STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND EVERY ROUND LISTED ABOVE WIN, LOSE, or DRAW
IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND A ROUND, REQUEST A BYE TO SKIP THAT ROUND
TIME CONTROL
G/20 Minutes; Increment 5 seconds
Each players receives 20 minutes plus a 5 second increment (bonus) per move to complete each game.
SECTIONS
High School (K-12)
Middle School (K-8)
Elementary (K-6)
Primary (K-3)
BYES
-
Can't make it to all the rounds? Byes allow a player to skip a round they cannot otherwise attend.
-
You may optionally take one (1) half point bye in any round if requested before the tournament starts.
-
One half point bye permitted, all other byes are 0 points. Any zero-point byes must be sent via email or the Slack Help Desk one hour before the round in question.
-
Half-point byes can only be requested using our online change form.
INDIVIDUAL PRIZES
-
This is an individual national championship event offering individual and team prizes, based on the number of players per section.
-
All players who tie for first place in each OSQC section are considered co-winners and National Champions. Awards are presented based on standard US Chess mathematical tiebreaks – see US Chess Scholastic Regulations, 20.3.1.
-
Inidividual prizes will be engraved with the player's name and mailed to the address provided at registration.
Individual Prizes per Section
TEAM PRIZES
-
This is an individual national championship event offering individual and team prizes.
-
All teams who tie for first place in each OSQC section are considered co-winners and National Champions. Awards are presented based on standard US Chess mathematical tiebreaks – see US Chess Scholastic Regulations, 20.3.2.
-
There are team prizes for the top school per section. No “club” teams are permitted.
-
The top 4 scoring players count towards the team’s score.
-
The minimum team size is 2 players. There is no maximum.
-
No player is allowed to play on more than one school team. Players are not allowed to compete for any school other than the one they currently attend.
-
Team prizes will be engraved with the school's name and mailed to the school, teach coach, or other address as specified by the winners.
Team Prizes per Section
ZOOM REQUIREMENTS
-
For all sections and rounds, all players on the top 20 boards must be on Zoom with video on to play and will be monitored full-time by tournament directors.
-
Players who are not on the top 20 boards per section should not join Zoom. All players are still subject to Fair Play Requirements.
-
The top 20 boards per section will have a Zoom link next to their board on the pairings page and must join with a satisfactory side or rear-view camera angle prior to beginning their game.
-
Players on the top 20 boards should join Zoom at least 15 minutes prior to the round. Players who are on the top 20 boards but do not join Zoom will be forfeited.
-
Read more in the terms and conditions document (coming soon).
-
Players on Zoom will be required to provide a side or rear-view camera angle of the playing area (see image below). The front-facing webcam view is not sufficient.

REGISTRATION AND ENTRY FEE
-
Registration is online only at nationals.chess.stream
-
There is no emailed, mailed, phone, team/group, or manual registration.
-
Due to the lichess authorization process, each player (or parent) must register online individually for the tournament.
-
No team, bulk, group entries, or mailed/phoned/manual entries or “swaps.” Coaches, schools, etc. cannot register their players – each player and/or parent must register separately online.
-
$49 by November 1
-
$65 by November 8
-
$75 after November 8
-
All registration closes November 11
-
Withdrawals / refunds will incur a $5 transaction fee if requested by November 10. No refunds after November 10.
CONTACT
-
Changes and questions before the event: nationals@chessstream.com
-
Non-urgent issues during the event: nationals@chessstream.com
-
Urgent issues during the event: Slack Help Desk
Please Read FAQ and Terms and Conditions