The 2nd annual National Senior Tournament of Champions will be held in Orlando on August 3-6, concurrent with the other three Tournaments of Champions (Denker, Barber and Haring) and of course in conjunction with the US Open. Last year 42 states were represented, and the participants were quite strong. We’d like to see every state represented in 2019.
Every state chapter decides how to select their representative to the NSTOC. Many have already held qualifying events, and others have chosen to appoint their highest rated player who is willing and able to come. Others may not have found their representative yet – if you are over 50, it could even be YOU!
For more information on the NSTOC, check out the link at http://nationalseniorchess.com/ Along with the rules for the event, you will find a list of nominees by state and an indication as to whether that nominee has confirmed their attendance.
If you are a state chapter officer and no nominee is listed for your state, it means we have not received your nomination form. Please submit it as soon as possible. If you haven’t received the form, Jon Haskel, David Grimaud or I can provide it to your chapter president.
If you won your state’s qualifying event and don’t see your name on the list, contact your state chapter and prompt them to send in the qualifying form. Even if you didn’t win your state’s event or none was held, it can’t hurt to let them know you’re interested in representing your state.
I am posting this as a member of the Senior Chess Committee.
Last year there were 42 participants, representing 40 or 41 out of the 52 ‘states’. (The host state gets a second entrant and there are 2 players currently listed in CO, though one may have been living in and/or representing another state.)
The host state does not automatically get a second entrant. They designate a backup who is used as needed to guarantee no one gets a bye. Last year there were an odd number of players so he was needed - and scored quite well, with 1.5/2 vs GMs and 2-2 vs other masters. He quite outperformed his 2111 rating, picking up 44 points
One of the two players currently listed as CO represented Michigan last year.
Other than the host state, it’s one representative per state. However, N-CA and S-CA are treated as two states and DC also qualifies. So a full house would indeed by 52.
As of now, the following states do not have a representative. If you are from one of these states and over 50 and interested in representing your state in Orlando, please PM me. We are working with our state chapter contacts to secure a representative from every state, but at this late date the Senior Committee can appoint a player if necessary.
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida (expect to have by 7/1)
Hawaii
Illinois
Maine
Maryland
Missouri
Mississippi
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma (expect) to have by 7/1
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Jon Haskel is on it. Actually, they need two people; the host state provides an alternate who plays if needed to have an even number.
About half those states had a player last year. Certainly IL, IN, MO, NC and OK ought to be able to get a representative.
David Grimaud and I are actively contacting state chapters, last year’s participants, anyone we know to fill a slot.
OK will select their qualifier this weekend, and we also expect FL’s this week. I know MD, NC, AR, IL and UT all ran qualifiers; in some cases the winner can’t come and they haven’t found a replacement, others we simply haven’t heard from the state chapter.
Did you notice Alaska was NOT on the list? Yep, they will be represented!
I don’t know the name, but a player at the Senior Open identified himself as the SD representative. I told him he needed to email the committee or get his state association on the stick.
Thanks. I hope he takes your advice! Nothing from the states listed above has reached me, so where it might have fallen into a crack is not as important as identifying the participant.
So far, it appears there are 5 internationally titled players (Sevillano, Federowicz, Winslow, Burnett, Ginsburg) and 17 others with NM titles, a very strong tournament. Those figure may go up when more states send in their nominations. There is still a month to go. Surprised by the lack of entrants from IL, MO, FL, all areas where chess appears to be thriving.
States need to plan and organize senior tournaments for earlier in the year in order to choose qualifiers and encourage more seniors to play in the US Senior Open. Some events pick their senior qualifier from regular state championships held on Labor Day, too late for that year’s NSTOC. It is a long year to wait, and many things can happen to a senior’s health and financial circumstances.
It is now 4 weeks until the event in question. This needs to be done 4 months, not weeks, in advance. Planning and flights are easier the further in advance that it occurs. What was suppose to be the deadline for participants to be given by states to the USCF? Why is it so important to have all the states represented in this event?? Is the same effort being put forward for the Denker, Barber, & NGTOC??
I was not brought into the process until late May, so I may not be able to answer all your questions accurately. So take my comments with a grain of salt.
The nomination forms were sent to the state chapters several months ago. I believe it was in February, but I won’t swear to that.
Since the Denker, Barber and Haring (note that the NGTOC was renamed) are events of longer standing and they are scholastic events, states most likely already have long-standing qualifying events or processes, and those events are likely earlier in the year consistent with the scholastic cycles. By contrast, the majority of states did not hold senior championships, and if they did they were not necessarily at an optimal time. I know I played in the Utah Senior a couple years ago in mid-June. They wisely moved it up to April.
Just because someone wins a qualifier doesn’t guarantee they will choose to or be able to go. Indeed, four of the states listed above either had a nominee decline or had a qualifier decline before the state chapter sent in the nomination form. Seniors can also have unexpected changes in plans, for instance, due to health reasons.
I do not know whether an official deadline was given to the state chapters, but I do know that the rules for the NSTOC state that if the chapter has not names someone by a date and late June (you can look it up if the exact date matters to you) the Senior Committee may appoint one. We are seeking to do just that. We don’t have a list of senior members to work with so it’s not that easy. I have made some recommendations for next year to facilitate that task. We may consider an earlier date next year.
There are several reasons why I consider it important to have as many states represented as possible.
A. There is competition for the highest total score among the events. I’m not sure if the Senior was included last year, but I believe it is this year. Now most of those states aren’t going to be in contention, but it’s incredible to me that states like IL and MO can’t find anyone willing to come. Aren’t you from IL, Larry? Maybe we can get Rex Sinquefield for MO!
B. Some people argued against creating the NSTOC because they did not think there would be enough interest. Some said they didn’t think we’d get 20 players. In the inaugural event we actually had 42 out of a possible 52. I hope we beat that this year, but in any event, the naysayers need to be refuted.
C. Those smaller states that may not have the strongest champions are still important. If you look at the crosstables for the other three events you’ll find some states send people with very low ratings, maybe as low as 1000-1200. You can bet those kids are proud to represent their states, even though they have no fantasies about winning even half their games. Well, that’s also true for us older kids. I admit to bias on the topic, as I was close to the bottom of the ratings last year and will be even closer to the bottom this year. I’m still proud to represent Nevada. I reached out to a player about my strength who moved from GA to AK about ten years ago and hasn’t played since. He jumped at the chance to come. If I hadn’t known him, he wouldn’t even know the event existed. My goal for next year is to make sure we have contacted as many seniors as possible so they all know about the event and can make themselves known to us if they are interested.
D. (Not really a reason, but some smart-aleck will probably say I’m trying to get the small states represented in hopes I’ll find someone I can beat).
I can’t speak to the level of effort made for the other three events, but there are typically only a few vacancies, so they are either making an effort or they don’t need to because the states are coming through. For sure their volunteers aren’t getting questions with implied criticism of their organization and the efforts of their hard-working volunteers. (This isn’t the only presumably well-meaning yet subtly critical question I’ve fielded on these forums).