To play in the 2023 OSCF State Championship tournament in Seaside, OR, a player must meet the following criteria:

Summary:

1. Oregon residents in Grades K-12 and aged 5-19 who play 15 rated games within a single rating system (FIDE, USCF regular, USCF regular online, NWSRS), including 8 games played between April 4, 2022 and April 15, 2023 and at least one “OSCF State Qualifier” listed in green font on the NWSRS calendar. Questions regarding eligibility should be directed to oscf@oscf.org.

The Fine Print:

1. Age & Residency:  Players must be at least 5 years old, and enrolled in kindergarten or a higher grade (whether public, private, or as a registered homeschool student) on the date of the tournament.  Players cannot have graduated from high school (or received a GED), nor may they be older than 19 on September 1 of the year prior to the date of the relevant championship. Players must either live full-time in Oregon, attend an Oregon public or private school full-time, or be registered in Oregon as a homeschooled student. However, players are not eligible if, during the relevant academic year, they have attended or plan to attend the scholastic chess championship of another state that places residential limits on players’ participation. If there is any question regarding player eligibility, grade level or residency, please address it to the OSCF Board prior to registering for the tournament, and preferably well before that. OSCF Board decisions are final. Note that there may be separate age requirements connected with nominations for national invitational tournaments.
2. Participation: OSCF championship qualifier tournaments must be held in Oregon, be NWSRS or USCF rated (or both), have a time control of G/25;+5 or longer, be open to all players, and be certified by OSCF. Qualifiers are normally listed in green font on the NWSRS calendar and advertised as qualifiers in advance of the event.
3. Experience:  Games must be played; byes and forfeits do not count. Some tournaments are NWSRS rated only, some are USCF rated only and some are NWSRS/USCF dual rated. Be sure to read the fine print when registering for any tournament so you understand the number of rated games that will be played and which type of rating system will be used. That said, “rated” games for purposes of developing an “established” rating do not need to be played at OSCF qualifier tournaments; club coaches can submit games for USCF or NWSRS rating, and non-qualifier tournament games that are USCF or NWSRS rated can count as well.
4. By Invitation:  In order to accommodate players with established ratings whose commitment to chess is demonstrated, but who otherwise have not met the eligibility requirements listed above prior to the cutoff date, the OSCF Board may, at its sole discretion and at the request of a coach, parent, or player, invite additional players to participate in a given year’s State Championship.