No. Every child who shows up to the first round of the tournament will play the full six rounds. We use a Swiss tournament pairing system which effectively means that as the tournament progresses, players who lose will get paired against others who lost, and players who are winning will get paired against others who are winning.

So not only will they play the full six rounds, but the tournament should be more competitive for all players as it progresses.

The tournament time control is 15+0, or 15 minutes each with no increment (i.e. no additional time will be given during the game). If your child runs out of time, they forfeit the game.

As mentioned previously, the type of pairing system we use in the tournament matches players of a similar strength progressively as the tournament progresses. Many of the children at this tournament will have only started playing chess this year, and many will also have a more advanced understanding of the game, so there will be plenty of competition for beginners and intermediate players alike.

Due to child safeguarding requirements imposed by the venue, parents are not allowed to stay for the duration of the tournament. We are allowing parents to stay for the first round, and come back for the final round and prize giving.

If your child has any very specific requirements and you feel that you need to attend the event with them, please message me and I will confirm if you can join for the duration of the event.

Also, naturally, no children will be allowed to leave without being accompanied by their parent / guardian.

Yes. As we have indicated on the tournament schedule, there will be a break half-way through the tournament and children will be allowed to eat and go outside (on the school premises) under our supervision.