May Dual-Rated G/45;d5 Swiss in Two Sections, Round Four
2025-05-29 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, 700 Alma Street, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a US Chess dual-rated Swiss tournament in two sections beginning Thursday, May 8th, using the G/45;d5 time control and playing one game each evening over four successive weeks in May. Players will be grouped into two Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

Format: Swiss system tournament in two sections over four weeks, one game per evening
Rounds: May 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
Entry Fee: $20 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12); entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
Prizes: Each of the two sections will have two separate prize groups based upon rating, or four prize groups in total
Byes: One bye is available for rounds 1-3 with at least one day advance notice—no byes are available for round 4.
Register: Registrations close after the completion of Round 1
Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening
2025-07-31 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-07 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-14 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-21 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-09-04 18:00 - 21:00
Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

Freestyle Chess (Chess960) Draft Tournament
2025-09-11 18:00 - 21:00
A number of people have requested that we revisit Chess960 or, as it’s now styled, Freestyle Chess in another casual tournament so that’s exactly what we’ll do in this event, again using a piece placement draft with the following format and rules:

There will likely be 5 or 6 Swiss rounds at G/5;d3 in one or two sections
Registration will occur onsite–please try to arrive by 6:45pm
The games will be played with the normal Freestyle/Chess960 rules except for the use of a draft, wherein white starts black’s clock then black places the first piece on the back rank and starts white’s clock, white copies that move then places another piece of their own, black copies that placement then places a third piece, etc., until black places a final piece and white makes the first chess move of the game
It’s important to note that the draft phase covered above occurs while players’ clocks are running, just as in normal moves for the game
The king must be placed between the two rooks as in normal Freestyle/Chess960
More information about castling may be found in chess.com tutorials here and here
The bishops must be placed on opposite-colored squares
We will use clock move rather than touch move, as in our casual blitz tournaments
An illegal move pointed out by an opponent (no one else) immediately ends the game as a loss for the player who made the illegal move

Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, Rounds 1-2
2025-09-25 19:00 - 21:00
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, September 25th, using the G/15;d5 time control and playing two games each evening against the same opponent (one as white and one as black) over three successive weeks. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

Format: Quads or small Swiss sections (6-8 players) over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
Rounds: September 25th, October 2nd and 9th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
Control: G/15;d5 (quicki-rated game of 15 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
Entry Fee: $20; PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12; entire entry fee goes to the prize fund
Prizes: Each quad will offer a $50 first and $30 second prize, while any Swiss section prizes will depend upon the number of players
Byes: No byes are available for this event
Register: Please sign up in advance using the ‘Register’ button, above
Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, Rounds 3-4
2025-10-02 19:00 - 21:00
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, September 25th, using the G/15;d5 time control and playing two games each evening against the same opponent (one as white and one as black) over three successive weeks. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

Format: Quads or small Swiss sections (6-8 players) over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
Rounds: September 25th, October 2nd and 9th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
Control: G/15;d5 (quicki-rated game of 15 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
Entry Fee: $20; PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12; entire entry fee goes to the prize fund
Prizes: Each quad will offer a $50 first and $30 second prize, while any Swiss section prizes will depend upon the number of players
Byes: No byes are available for this event
Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, Rounds 5-6
2025-10-09 19:00 - 21:00

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening
2025-10-16 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-23 18:00 - 21:00
Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

A4c Variant Tournament #3
2025-10-30 18:00 - 21:00
“A4c” or “The Clock (Almost) Never Stops” Variant

Background: One of the strongest blitz players in our club came up with this variant and, after hearing it described, we couldn’t resist holding two informal tournaments in 2024 to give it a try. It proved very popular so we’re giving it another go—it involves a good deal of fast chess plus a game within a game (a metagame) centered around how best to manage one’s fixed time allotment over several games.

Concept: Players will play best of 3 games against the same opponent in each round with 10 minutes on their clocks, with no increment or delay. When a game ends, players pause the clock but do not reset the time. They reset the pieces then restart the clock for the next game with the times remaining from the prior game(s). If a player runs out of time they lose the match. If a player wins the majority of the points possible in the 3 games, they win the match (so if a player wins two games and still has time remaining on their clock they win the match). One player gets two games with the white pieces (first and third games) and the other gets preferred clock side for all games.

Oddities: Clock location does not change so one player always keeps it on their preferred side. Typically the players start the game by drawing for colors then whomever wins the draw chooses White or Clockside, but given we’ll be holding a Swiss system tournament the player assigned White in any round gets two whites and the player assigned Black gets to choose clockside. (We could also allow the player who is assigned White by the pairing software to choose color preference or clockside to further complicate the metagame).

Comments: I like the metagame aspect of this format because it incentivizes players to manage their clock across multiple games with tactical decisions (whether it is burning down an opponent’s time when they are ahead on time or resigning quickly to preserve more time for subsequent games). It also allows a stronger slower player to manage their time differently and take more time to win the majority of games (though this is risky if they go into a third game after budgeting time poorly).

Format: As mentioned above, we will play 3 games at Gs/10 over three or possibly four rounds, depending upon when we get started, and we may split players into groups of 8-12 by rating if the tournament doesn’t start very near 7pm (leaving time for just three rounds), so please arrive a little earlier if at all possible.

Fourth Menlo Park Chess Club Championship, Round One
2025-11-06 19:00 - 21:00
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold our fourth annual club championship beginning Thursday, November 6th, at 7pm, a five-round USCF-rated Swiss system event using the dual-rated G/45;d5 time control over five weeks (there will be no round on November 27th, Thanksgiving). Our championship is aimed at players with at least some tournament experience (one or two rated events, say) and may not be suitable for children under the age of 10, given games could last until almost 9pm on a school night. Details follow:

Format: Five-round Swiss-system tournament in one section, one game per evening
Rounds: November 6th, 13th, 20th and December 4th and 11th (there is no round November 27th, Thanksgiving)—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes for each player plus a 5-second delay per move)
Entry Fee: $20 (the entire entry fee will be returned in prizes)

Payment: PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12, Zelle: 6504006393
Prizes: Four prize groups based upon November US Chess regular ratings with roughly 8 players per prize group (Group 1: $120, $60, $40; Group 2: $100, $60, $40; Group 3: $80, $40, $20; Group 4: $80, $40, $20, with adjustments as needed based on tournament/group size)
Byes: One half-point bye is available for any round save the last, but the bye must be requested at least two days in advance of the day of play
Register: Please sign up in advance using the ‘Register’ button, above
Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a clock if you prefer your own)
All tournament participants must be current US Chess members
Our tournament chess rules summary is worth perusing if you’re new to tournament play
For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
Join our Facebook group to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

Fourth Menlo Park Chess Club Championship, Round Two
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold our fourth annual club championship beginning Thursday, November 6th, at 7pm, a five-round USCF-rated Swiss system event using the dual-rated G/45;d5 time control over five weeks (there will be no round on November 27th, Thanksgiving). Our championship is aimed at players with at least some tournament experience (one or two rated events, say) and may not be suitable for children under the age of 10, given games could last until almost 9pm on a school night. Details follow:

Format: Five-round Swiss-system tournament in one section, one game per evening
Rounds: November 6th, 13th, 20th and December 4th and 11th (there is no round November 27th, Thanksgiving)—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes for each player plus a 5-second delay per move)
Entry Fee: $20 (the entire entry fee will be returned in prizes)

Payment: PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12, Zelle: 6504006393
Prizes: Four prize groups based upon November US Chess regular ratings with roughly 8 players per prize group (Group 1: $120, $60, $40; Group 2: $100, $60, $40; Group 3: $80, $40, $20; Group 4: $80, $40, $20, with adjustments as needed based on tournament/group size)
Byes: One half-point bye is available for any round save the last, but the bye must be requested at least two days in advance of the day of play
Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a clock if you prefer your own)
All tournament participants must be current US Chess members
Our tournament chess rules summary is worth perusing if you’re new to tournament play
For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
Join our Facebook group to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

Fourth Menlo Park Chess Club Championship, Round Three
2025-11-20 19:00 - 21:00

Fourth Menlo Park Chess Club Championship, Round Four
2025-12-04 19:00 - 21:00

Fourth Menlo Park Chess Club Championship, Round Five
2025-12-11 19:00 - 21:00

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening
2026-01-08 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-15 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-22 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-29 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-02-05 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-02-12 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-02-19 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-02-26 18:00 - 21:00 and 4 more dates
Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our free weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.
