How do I find my United States Chess Federation (USCF) chess rating after the tournament?

Your rating is a number that notes your performance in USCF-rated tournaments against other rated players. It can move up or down based on how well you do in future tournament. Your rating will be posted approximately ten days after the event and listed on www.uschess.org.  Go to Players and Rating on the left side of the screen and then Player/Rating Lookup.  Type in your name and you will see your rating.

How do I find out about more tournaments?

Tournaments are listed in a few resources.  The USCF has a Club and Tourneys page and Upcoming Tournaments listing by state.  The South Carolina Chess Association (SCCA) has a site www.scchess.org with a Calendar listing all tournaments in SC.

What is the next really big tournament in SC?

Look on www.scchess.org for a list of in the coming weeks.

My school does not have a chess club.  How can I help start one?

Ask your parents or teachers to look at the resources on www.scchess.org  under Scholastic Chess and go to Scholastic Wiki link.  This is a treasure of great information about starting clubs, instruction and lots of other information including a list of school chess clubs across SC.

How do I get better in chess?

Like everything, you need to practice to improve.  In chess you need to have some good education resources that can help direct you on your path.  Some good resources are:

• WWW.CHESSKIDS.COM

An excellent website with a very good children’s instruction on the basics.  It has an interactive PowerPoint program and Test Your Understanding fun quizzes that reinforce the information. 

• CHESSMASTER 10^th edition or Art of Learning edition

Very good chess program for PC or Nintendo DS.  The PC program has an “Academy” segment with excellent instruction for advancing players. 

• How about a Family Movie Night with Chess?

Consider renting these films.

-         Searching for Bobby Fischer

-         Knights of the South Bronx