Tag: summer

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Austin Independence Day Open – Register now!

EVENT OVERVIEW

Date: July 3rd – 5th, 2026 (Friday through Sunday)
Location: Holiday Inn – Austin Midtown; 6000 Middle Fiskville Road Austin, TX
Sections: Open, U1800, U1400
Time Control: G/90;+30 (90 minutes per player with a 30 second increment per move)
3-Day Schedule: July 3rd – 5th, 2026
Friday: Round 1 @ 7:00PM
Saturday: Round 2 @ 2:00PM, Round 3 @ 7:00PM
Sunday: Round 4 @ 10:00AM, Round 5 @ 3:00PM
2-Day Schedule: July 4th – 5th, 2026 (Merges with 3-Day Schedule in Round 2)
Saturday: Round 1 @ 9:00 AM, Round 2 @ 2:00PM, Round 3 @ 7:00PM
Sunday: Round 4 @ 10:00AM, Round 5 @ 3:00PM
*Re-entry from 3-day to 2-day is available for a $50 fee.
Prizes (All Prizes Guaranteed):
OPEN – 1st: $700, 2nd: $400, 3rd: $200
U1800 – 1st: $500, 2nd: $300, 3rd: $150
U1400 – 1st: $300, 2nd: $200, 3rd: $100
Prizes paid via PayPal.
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REGISTRATION

Register HERE.
Advance Entry List HERE.
Regular Price: $99 if received by Thursday 6/25/2026 11:59 p.m. CST.
Late Price: $129 from Friday 6/26/2026 through the start of the tournament. Any registrations for
the 3-day schedule made after 5:30 p.m., 7/3/2026 receive a 1st round bye. Any registrations for
the 2-day schedule made after 8 a.m., Saturday 7/5/2026 receive a 1st round bye.
*Players may Play Up within 100 rating points of the bottom of the sections rating range; add
$50 to entry fee.
*Re-entry from 3-day to 2-day is available for a $50 fee.
Cancellation Policy: If you do not wish to participate in this tournament after paying the entry
fee, please email vance.tournaments@gmail.com. Cancellations requested by 7pm on
Wednesday 7/1/2026 will receive a full refund, minus a $15 processing and transaction fee. After
that time, no refunds for cancellations.

Withdrawal Policy: If you would like to withdraw from the tournament after it begins, please
alert the tournament director or email vance.tournaments@gmail.com. No refunds will be issued
after the tournament begins.
No-Show Policy: There are no refunds or credit for players who do not show up for their
scheduled tournament matches.
_______________________________________________________________________
More Details
Boards and pieces are provided. Please bring your own chess clock.
All players must have an active USCF membership.
One ½ point bye allowed if requested by Thursday 7/2/2026 11:59 p.m. CST; no last round byes.
USCF monthly ratings used for pairings.
Default late forfeiture time is one hour.
_______________________________________________________________________
Address: Holiday Inn – Austin Midtown; 6000 Middle Fiskville Road Austin, TX
Sections: 3
Prize Fund: $2,850
FIDE Rated: No
Residency Restriction: No
Online Event: No
ORGANIZER OVERVIEW
Eric Vance
vance.tournaments@gmail.com

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2026 NYOS Summer Chess Camp

Registration is open!

Description: A full day, week-long chess camp hosted by NYOS Charter School.  Located on the north side of Austin, the camp is open to all scholastic chess players, and is run by Mr. Gary Gaiffe. Great price for a full week of learning and fun!

Campers will be broken into skill level groups.  Different topics will be covered depending on which group the camper is in.  From tactics to positional play, game analysis to variant play, the camp will be both instructional and entertaining.  The final day will include a camp-wide tournament.

Dates and Times:  July 6-10; 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location:           
NYOS Charter School
12301 N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78753

Registration and Payment information:  View or download the  camp registration (pdf) or (docx) form!

Questions:  Contact Gary Gaiffe at ggaiffe@att.net or 512-426-7841

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2025 St Andrews Summer Chess Camp

Description: A full-day, week-long chess camp, hosted by St. Andrew’s Episcopal School at their Shoal Creek Campus from June 23-27, 2025.  The camp will be run by Gary Gaiffe and a team of local chess instructors. All scholastic players are invited to register!

The Summer Catalog is now available!
Registration is available at the link above.

Camp dates: Camp week #4, June 23 – June 27, 2024.
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Price: $560
Location: 31st St. Campus
Teacher: St. Andrew’s Summer Camp Specialist, Gary Gaiffe
Target audience: kids grades 1 – 8

Chess Camp includes formal instruction and play, plus a camp-wide tournament at the end of the week! Beginners learn basic chess theory, game objectives, piece movement, game and tournament rules. Intermediates study chess analysis and decision-making, tactics, checkmate patterns and tournament strategies. Advanced students are taught more sophisticated chess techniques and decision-making, complex tactics, calculated and intuitive sacrifices, opening and endgame analysis.

Contact instructor Gary Gaiffe, ggaiffe@att.net, 512-426-7841 with questions as to camp content and appropriateness for your students.

For all other questions, including those regarding registration procedures, please contact the Summer Camp office, summercamp@sasaustin.org..

Please visit the camp website before making inquiries. The website covers the topics of early arrival and aftercare, drop-off and pick-up, lunch and supervision, student conduct, class sizes, and cancellation policy.

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Leander Summer 2024 Scholastic Tournament

This USCF rated event takes place on August 3, 2024 @ 1PM. Limited to 28 players! As of 7/30 we only have 1-3 spots left in the advance section (700-1400 rated) and 2 spots in the Intermediate Sections (400-700 rated).  Join us!

Location
Leander Public Library
1011 S Bagdad Rd
Leander, TX 78641
(free parking on site!)

The tournament is held in the Library Annex, which is the building closer to the parking lot upon parking to your left.  

Sections
Advance (700-1400)
Intermediate (400-700)
Beginner 
Rounds and Times
Advance Section Four Rounds at a time control of G/45;d5
All other Sections Five Rounds at a time control of G/25;d5
No check in required. Be seated at 1PM for announcements.
The five rounds aim to be at 1PM, 2PM, 3PM, 4PM, and 5PM. Will start the next round as soon as the previous rounds finish. 
The four rounds aim to be 1PM, 2:30PM, 4PM, and 5:30PM
Registration Information
Tournament Registration Fee $20 – can take zelle, venmo, cash or check

Email danielhung@utexas.edu if interested in registering and to see if any spots are available. 

Awards
Trophy for first place, medals for positive score, ribbon for everyone else, all to be picked up a few weeks after the tournament. 
All sections will be paired round robin. The Advance section will likely be split into two sections based on rating. Will cross section pair to avoid byes. 

What to Bring and Know
Please bring a clock and chess set if you have one! 
US Chess Membership is required. Please be responsible for your membership prior to the event to help the organizers and prevent delays.
Notation is required.  Notation sheets will be available if needed, but please bring a pencil or pen.