MADISON – The first competition of 2020 in Madison, the Winter Knights Chess Tournament will be held at Columbia Elementary School on Jan. 18.

“Winter Knights is a chess tournament for kids in grades K-12 attending public, private or home school,” Ranae Bartlett said. Bartlett serves as Executive Director of Madison City Chess League or MCCL.

An open tournament, Winter Knights is open to all students in good standing in their school chess clubs.

Winter Knights offers both Rated and Non-Rated sections. Rated players must register in their grade level section, which closely aligns to the upcoming City Chess Grade-Level Championship in April.

“We’re using a longer time control of 60 minutes for the Rated section to help our students prepare for national tournaments that use either a 90-minute or 120-minute time control,” Bartlett said. Players must renew MCCL membership for 2020 in a separate order before registering for Winter Knights to receive $5 off the registration fee.

On Jan. 18, a players meeting for the Rated Section will convene at 8:45 a.m. Players in the Non-Rated Section will meet at 9:15 a.m.

Round times for Rated Sections will be at 9 and 11:30 a.m. and 2 and 4:30 p.m. Time control will be G/60;d5.

Non-Rated Section players will compete at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. Time Control will be G/30;d5.

Players in all Rated Sections must have USCF membership before registering for Winter Knights. To receive USCF membership online, visit uschess.org or postal mail the membership form available at uschess.org.

Entry fee is $20 for MCCL members in all sections. For players who are not MCCL members, the fee is $25. All MCCL annual members must renew memberships in January. Deadline is Jan. 15; on-site registration will not be available.

In Rated Sections, the top three players will receive individual trophies. Place-winners in 4-6 and Top Female will earn individual medals.

For Non-Rated, individual medals will go to places 1-3 and Top Female in each section.

Winter Knights’ six Rated Sections are similar to MCCL City Chess Championship, a grade-level championship. Like the city championship, students must register in their grade level: K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12.

For students new to competitive chess, Winter Knights will offer two Non-Rated Sections, K-3 and K-6. Players do not need USCF membership to play in Non-Rated. Students in Non-Rated will play five rounds with 30-minute game times and five-second delay.