High School and Middle School players in the Portland metropolitan area should check out the Portland Area League tournament, which runs from November to February with matches played at 4 PM on Wednesdays when Lincoln High School is open.  The league has been operating for over 20 years in a “team chess” format, which is different than playing in a regular chess tournament, because it takes a team effort to win the match.  Each match consists of five boards with your team’s best player on board #1, your second best on board #2, and so.  The winner of the match is the team that scores three or more points.

Teams are typically composed of players in grades 6 to 12 from the same school or one of its feeder schools.  (For example, a student in the 6th grade at West Sylvan Middle school can play on the Lincoln High School team.)  A school can have more than one team, or bring reserve players to each match so they can be paired against reserves from other teams.   Even if your school doesn’t have a team, you can still join and either play on an existing team (if you live in their attendance area), or you will be placed with a team depending on where you live and the needs of teams in the league.

To register or to get more information contact Ed Addis at (503) 658-7809 or by e-mail at chessalot@aol.com.