2026 Alabama State Scholastic Chess Championship

Alabama State Scholastic Chess Championship

March 7 - 8, 2026

US Space and Rocket Center

Space Camp Operations Building

1 Tranquility Base

Huntsville, AL 35805

Individual / Team Championship

Individual awards to the top five players in each section. Team awards to the top school in each championship section and the top two schools in each under section based on the scores of the top four players from each school.

There are four championship sections and four under sections. The four championship sections play a two-day schedule. The under sections play a one-day schedule.

Two-day Schedule Sections

High School Championship (Grades 9-12, Rating 1100+)

Middle School Championship (Grades 6-8, Rating 900+)

Elementary Championship (Grades 4-5, Rating 600+)

Primary Championship (Grades K-3)

These sections will play 3 rounds on Saturday and two on Sunday. The time control will be G/90, d5 for the HS, MS, and Elementary Championship sections and G/60, d5 for the Primary Championship. The schedule may be abbreviated in very small sections. These sections are limited to Alabama residents because Alabama representatives to the Denker, Barber, Rockefeller, and Ashley tournaments will be selected from these sections.

One-day Schedule Sections

High School Under 1300 (K-12, Under 1300 or unrated)

Middle School Under 1100 (K-8, Under 1100 or unrated)

Elementary Under 700 (K-5, Under 700 or unrated)

Primary Under 400 (K-3, Under 400 or unrated)

These under sections will play 5 rounds on Saturday. The time control will be G/30, d5. These sections are open to scholastic chess players from other states.

Registration

The registration fee will be $40 per player for the championship sections and $35 per player for the under sections, through February 27. Those registration fees will increase to $80 and $70 respectively on February 28.

Registration will be open until 11:59 pm on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. There will be no registration after March 4 and there will be no on-site registration.

Required Memberships

Each player must have a US Chess membership. You can purchase or renew a US Chess membership on the US Chess website: https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess 

Each player who resides in Alabama must also have an Alabama Chess Federation membership. An ACF membership can be purchased or renewed on the ACF website:  https://alabamachess.org/sign-up/ 

Contact

If you are not able to register online or have any questions about this championship, please email Todd Guthrie at [email protected].