2026 Victoria Chess Challenge & Victoria City Championship

2026 Victoria Chess Challenge & City Championship

• Qualifier for Provincial BC Chess Challenge (April 19th, 2026)
• CMA and CFC Rated.
• Top finishers in each grade or with 2.5 points and more qualify for Provincial Championships.
• Perpetual trophy to the "Grade 8 - 12" winner.
• Keeper plaques awarded to top "Grade 8 - 12", top "Grade 4-7", and top "Grade K - 3"
• Ribbons awarded to 2nd - 5th in each grade.
• 5 rounds
• Start: 4:30pm. Tentative round time (may start early based on the tournament progress): 3:45pm/4:30pm/5:15pm/6pm/6:45pm. We will aim to finish all rounds by 7:30pm. Notify the TD ahead if you need to skip (take a bye) for any rounds.
• The game is 15/10 Active format (15 mins with 10 seconds increment)
• Open to all BC K-12 (Canadian and International) students
• 2 sections: Grade 8 - 12 and Grade K - 7.
• $35 CAD entry fee for first sibling. $25 for each additional sibling. There is no in-person registration on the day of the tournament.

Tournament Director: Aaron Holmgren, NA

Check-in: Please arrive at the venue and check in by 3:30pm to guarantee the first round pairing. Late participants must check-in to be paired in future rounds.

L ocation: Saanich Commonwealth Place, Cedar Room

Tournament Rules:

• Touch move: player must move a piece he intentionally touched if a legal move can be played.
• FIDE rules will be followed unless otherwise specified here.
• Neither draw by agreement or a resignation will be permitted in the first 30 moves.
• 1st place awards will be determined by either 3/2 blitz or computer tie break depending on the available time and the number of players tied.
• Distracting your opponent on their turn is forbidden. The arbiter may forfeit a player from their round due to excessive noise.
• Extra leeway will be given for players who make illegal moves. The first illegal move will be only a warning. The second illegal move will be a penalty and 2 minutes awarded to the opponent. The 3rd illegal move will be forfeiture of the game.
• FIDE rule 7.5.2 will not be enforced as an illegal move.
• In the case of breaking FIDE rule 7.5.4 (moving with both hands) an extra warning will be given before any penalty will be enforced.
• The arbiter will not enforce procedural irregularities in a game unless called to do so by a player. Illegal moves are always subject to FIDE rule 7.5.1 regardless of how they come to the arbiters attention. Any distractions or interuptions caused by a player will be enforced at the arbiters discresion.

By registering this tournament, the parent/guardian and the registered player agree to follow the fair play agreement terms in accordance with maintaining the highest possible standards of ethics and fair play. This agreement is required by the Victoria Junior Chess Association prior to participation in all online and over the board in person chess tournaments. Players who break the agreement will face forfeiture of their games, expulsion from the tournament, and sanctions by VJCS:

I promise to follow the CFC and FIDE Chess rules while playing my games (no communication with other players, etc)

I promise to not use a cell phone, chess engine, or seek any kind of outside assistance during my games.

I understand that VJCS may forfeit players 10 minutes late after any round start unless notified otherwise.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Saanich Commonwealth Place, 4636 Elk Lake Drive, Victoria, Canada

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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