The Maryland Sweet 16 is an annual, 2-day invitational tournament. Only strong Varsity players (rated 1600+) who qualify for the tournament may compete in it. MCA will issue invitations by email after the final MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier: MCA Poly & Western February on 2016.02.20. Players may not purchase a registration for this tournament.
The March Supplement will be used to determine the Final Rosters, regardless of whether the MD Sweet 16 will be held in February or in March.
16 Qualifiers (MD-Sweet-16 FINAL ROSTER)
01. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
02. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
03. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
04. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
05. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
06. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
07. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
08. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) [*]
09. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
10. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
11. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
12. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
13. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
14. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
15. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
16. | Name | US Chess ID # | Method of Qualification: Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) [**]
[*] If the Qualifier were to withdraw from the MD Sweet 16, then the Qualifier would still retain the Qualifier's place in the roster, but be replaced by an Alternate (in descending order of US Chess rating).
[**] If the Qualifier were to qualify by US Chess rating (the primary path to qualification) and/or were to withdraw from the MD Sweet 16, then the Qualifier would still retain the Qualifier's place in the roster, but be replaced by an Alternate (in descending order of US Chess rating).
2 Alternates (MD-Sweet-16 FINAL ROSTER)
(REQUIRED to be in the Tournament Room at 9:30 AM on the Saturday of the MD Sweet 16 to replace any withdrawn or no-show Qualifiers. MCA will pay for their entrance fee to the UMBC Open, which runs concurrently with the MD Sweet 16.)
1. | Name | US Chess ID # | US Chess Rating
2. | Name | US Chess ID # | US Chess Rating
4 Backup Alternates (MD-Sweet-16 FINAL ROSTER)
(NOT REQUIRED to be on site at any time. MCA will NOT pay for their entrance fee to the UMBC Open. Will be contacted only if needed to replace a withdrawn or no-show Alternate.)
1. | Name | US Chess ID # | US Chess Rating
2. | Name | US Chess ID # | US Chess Rating
3. | Name | US Chess ID # | US Chess Rating
4. | Name | US Chess ID # | US Chess Rating
The Initial Rosters will be updated periodically & renamed as Updated Rosters until they are set as the Final Rosters. (Typically each year there are 1+ Qualifiers and 1+ Alternates who do not commit to the MD Sweet 16. Consequently, typically each year 1+ Alternates becomes a Qualifier, and 1+ Backup Alternates becomes an Alternate.)
Welcome to the 2015-2016 qualifying season for the 2016 Maryland Sweet 16 on 2016.03.05-06. Since 1995 this annual, 2-day invitational tournament has featured 16 of the top K-12 Maryland players competing in a separate section of the UMBC Open at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. (The crosstables of all previous MD Sweet 16s are below.) Players in the Varsity section at MCA's MD-Sweet-16 Qualifiers who are Maryland players (Maryland residents or non-residents of Maryland who attend a school in Maryland) can earn MD-Sweet-16 Varsity Points to qualify for the MD Sweet 16. MCA schedules only 2 rounds of G/90 +30 games in the Varsity section at MD-Sweet-16 Qualifiers (a.k.a. Local Scholastic Tournaments), to give elite scholastic players the opportunity to compete in games with the same time control used at the Maryland Sweet 16, the Denker Tournament of High-School Champions (for which the MD High-School Chess Champion will receive an MCA stipend of up to $500), the Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions (for which the MD Middle-School Chess Champion will receive an MCA stipend of up to $500), & the National Girls Invitational Tournament (for which the MD Girl Chess Champion will receive an MCA stipend of up to $500). MCA sets the Varsity floor at 1600 to keep the sections reasonably sized & competitive. The Top 16 players who compete in at least 1 of MCA’s 9 scheduled MD-Sweet-16 qualifying tournaments from September - February, will qualify for the MD Sweet 16. The first scheduled MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier will be MCA Roland Park September on 2015.09.12 in Baltimore, & the final scheduled one will be MCA Poly & Western February on 2016.02.20 in Baltimore. (The MD-Sweet-16 Qualification Rules & MD-Sweet-16-Qualifier Scoring Rules are below.) The MD-Sweet-16 Champion will receive a MD-Sweet-16 UMBC Chess Scholarship: a fixed-dollar scholarship valued at $44,024, spread over 4 years. (The scholarship covers tuition & fees, but not room & board.) (There are 2 types of UMBC Chess Scholarships for which high-school seniors from any state are eligible.)
The current MD-Sweet-16 Standings are posted in the most recent MD-Sweet-16 article on MCA's home page. The archive of MD-Sweet-16 articles is available via the MD-Sweet-16 tab in the sidebar on the left-hand side of MCA’s home page.
Within 48 hours of being informed by email of their MD-Sweet-16 status, the INITIAL ROSTER of 16 Qualifiers, 2 Alternates, & 4 Backup Alternates must inform MCA by email at tournaments@mdchess.com whether they are willing to commit either to competing in all 4 rounds of the tournament (if they have qualified or were to qualify for it), or to being in the Tournament Room at 9:30 AM on Saturday to replace any withdrawn or no-show Qualifiers (if they are or were to become 1 of the 2 Alternates). (There is no registration fee for the MD Sweet 16.) Any of the 16 Qualifiers or 2 Alternates who is unable and/or unwilling to participate in the MD Sweet 16, must inform MCA by email of the player's declination of MCA's invitation, so MCA can replace the player with an Alternate. Any Qualifier or Alternate who fails to inform MCA of the player's declination of MCA’s invitation within 48 hours of receiving the invitation, will be banned from participating in future MD Sweet 16s—or from MCA’s open tournaments for 2 years, if the player is a high-school senior. If a player accepts MCA’s invitation to compete in the MD Sweet 16, then the player must commit to playing all 4 rounds, because each game will affect tiebreaks & pairings. Absent a medical emergency or other extraordinary circumstance (such as a death in the family), a Qualifier who commits to participating in the MD Sweet 16 but fails to compete in all 4 rounds, will be banned from participating in future MD Sweet 16s—or from MCA’s open tournaments for 2 years, if the player is a high-school senior. The 2 Alternates must commit to being on site by 9:30 AM on Saturday, to replace any Qualifier who withdraws or is a no-show. Absent a medical emergency or other extraordinary circumstance (such as a death in the family), an Alternate who commits to being on site by 9:30 AM on Saturday but fails to fulfill that commitment, will be banned from participating in future MD Sweet 16s—or from MCA’s open tournaments for 2 years, if the player is a high-school senior. MCA encourages the 2 Alternates to compete for free on Saturday & Sunday in the simultaneous UMBC Open in the same building, in case 1+ of the Qualifiers is unable to play on Saturday or Sunday. (MCA will cover the UMBC Open registration fee for the 2 Alternates. Unlike the MD Sweet 16, the UMBC Open offers cash prizes.)
Qualifiers' & Alternates' replies to MCA by email should employ this format:
Player’s name
Player commits to playing all 4 rounds: YES or NO
Player’s grade
Player’s school (include ES, MS, or HS)
Player’s complete mailing address
Player's and/or parent's mobile phone #(s)
Player's and/or parent's email address(es)
(The Director of UMBC’s Chess Program, Alan T. Sherman, requires all of this information.)
After the FINAL ROSTERS of 16 Qualifiers & 2 Alternates are set, MCA will inform those 18 players. They do NOT need to communicate further with MCA.
After the Final Rosters have been posted & emails to the final 16 Qualifiers & 2 Alternates have been sent out by MCA, if a Qualifier or Alternate will not be in the Tournament Room at 9:30 AM on Saturday, then he/she MUST contact everyone below immediately:
Check UMBC's website for a site closing.
MCA will provide boards, pieces, increment clocks, & scoresheets for all players in the MD Sweet 16. (Nonetheless, each player should bring a digital clock that supports increment as a backup, in case the batteries in 1 of MCA's clocks run out of power.) The MD-Sweet-16’s time control is G/90 +30, which differs from the UMBC Open’s time control. MCA thinks it’s valuable for players to play with an increment time control (rather than with a delay time control), as the Denker, Barber, & NGIT use the G/90 +30 time control. Furthermore, increment time controls are the international standard.
MD Sweet 16: Tournament Site
Room 317
The Commons
UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21227
MD Sweet 16: Parking
Commons Drive Garage
UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250
(Free parking all weekend. 10-minute walk to the Tournament Room.)
MD Sweet 16: Campus Maps & Visitor Information
UMBC campus maps & visitor information
(Commons Drive Garage is located on the f7 square, & the entrance to The Commons is located on the f6 square.)
SATURDAY
9:30 AM—Room 317: Mandatory check-in for all 16 Qualifiers & the 2 Alternates who have committed to being on site. A withdrawn or no-show Qualifier will be replaced by the top Alternate. If 1+ of the 2 Alternates will not be playing in the MD Sweet 16, then the Alternate should inform a UMBC Open Tournament Director whether the Alternate plans to compete in the UMBC Open. MCA encourages any of the 2 Alternates who will not be playing in the MD Sweet 16, to compete in the UMBC Open, in case 1+ of the Qualifiers is unable to play either on Saturday or on Sunday. MCA will cover the UMBC Open registration fee of any of the 2 Alternates who decides to compete in it. Unlike the MD Sweet 16, the UMBC Open offers cash prizes. (An Alternate who plays in the UMBC Open should inform a UMBC Open TD whether the Alternate wants a bye for the UMBC Open’s Round 3 at 7:30 PM.)
9:45 AM—Photo taken of participants that will be posted on MCA's home page
9:55 AM—Announcements from a UMBC Open TD
10:00 AM—Round 1
3:00 PM—Round 2 (*)
SUNDAY
(Click here to see whether Daylight Savings Time begins today—that is, whether the time advances 1 hour at 2 AM)
10:30 AM—Round 3 (**)
3:00 PM—Round 4 (***)(*)
* For Rounds 2 & 4 only, players may start their game up to 30 minutes before the scheduled start time, as long as all of the following conditions are met:
** The MD Sweet 16’s Round 3 at 10:30 AM on Sunday does NOT coincide with UMBC Open’s Round 3 at 7:30 PM on Saturday.
*** The MD Sweet 16’s Round 4 starts 30 minutes before the UMBC Open’s Round 5, in case extra time is needed for a playoff to determine the MD-Sweet-16 Champion.
At 12 AM on Sunday the tournament-announcement page for the MD Sweet 16 might disappear from under the category of Local Scholastic Tournaments toward the top of MCA's home page; however, the page can still be accessed. On the lower, left side of MCA's home page, click on the icon for the MCA Calendar. To adjust which events are displayed, click on the following at the bottom of the page: All Categories, Local Scholastic, or Major Scholastic. Then locate & click on the appropriate tournament-announcement page.
Although the ratings in US Chess’s March Supplement will be used to determine the Top 8 Qualifiers & the 2 Alternates, the UMBC Open's BackRoom TD will use the US Chess Supplement of whatever month in which the tournament will be held (February or March) to determine MD-Sweet-16 pairings.
Clocks must be arranged to face in the same direction, in case multiple games are in time trouble and a TD wants to watch the clocks. Therefore, if Black does not wish for the clock to be on Black's right, then Black must rotate the board accordingly.
Spectators (parents & UMBC Open players) will be allowed in the Tournament Room to observe games. However, parents will NOT be allowed to camp out (remain in 1 space) in the Tournament Room for the vast majority of a round, as the room is small and there is limited spectator space. US Chess rules prohibit spectators from making any comments or from distracting any player during a game. If a player considers a spectator to be distracting, then the player should pause the clock and find a TD to handle the situation. If a spectator’s mobile phone makes a disturbing noise in the Tournament Room, then the spectator will be expelled from the Tournament Room for the remainder of the tournament.
16 Awards: 1 Trophy & 15 Plaques
Procedures, Rules, and Etiquette for Players and Spectators at an MCA Scholastic Tournament
P20. If there is a tie for first place, and if the prize can be divided and shared, then it will be. (For example, a title like MD Scholastic Chess Champion or a stipend for travel to a national tournament can be divided and shared.) If there is a tie for first place, and if the prize cannot be divided and shared, then a tiebreak procedure will determine the winner. (For example, trophies, the Maryland-Sweet-16 Scholarship to UMBC, and the opportunity to be Maryland’s sole representative to the Denker Invitational cannot be divided and shared.)
P20A. Format for Determining a Champion, when there is a Tie for First Place at the Maryland Sweet 16
If there is a tie for first place, then the Maryland Sweet 16 Scholarship to UMBC will not be divided and shared between those tied for first place, because there is only 1 scholarship.
If there is a tie for first place between 2 players, then 1 Armageddon Quick game will determine the champion. The player who is ahead on tiebreaks after the tournament’s scheduled final round, chooses color. If the player chooses White, then he plays G/15 +5 (where Black plays with 5 fewer minutes: G/10 +5) and can win only by the standard means of winning: checkmate, winning on time, etc. If Black draws White, however, then White loses, because Black has draw odds as compensation for playing with 5 fewer minutes. If the player chooses Black, then he plays G/10 +5 (where White plays with 5 more minutes: G/15 +5) and can win with a draw against White, because Black has draw odds as compensation for playing with 5 fewer minutes.
P20B. If there is a tie for first place among 3+ players, then a double round robin of a G/5 +3 Blitz playoff will determine the champion. (In a single round robin, each player plays 1 game against each opponent; conversely, in a double round robin, each player plays 2 games [both as White and as Black] against each opponent.)
[US Chess requires Blitz games to be at least G/5 and no more than G/10. But that applies to a Blitz tournament or a tournament with a Blitz section, not to a Blitz playoff at the end of a tournament with longer time controls. So, if there’s a tie for first place after the final round at the Maryland Scholastic Chess Championships, then even a standard FIDE Blitz game (G/3 +2) would be a viable option for determining the Maryland Scholastic Chess Champions.]
How MCA Determines the Individual Winner of a Section when There’s a Tie for First Place
MD-Sweet-16 Qualification Rules
MD-Sweet-16-Qualifer Scoring Rules
MCA's Social-Media Profiles
If MCA's Photographer takes photos of players at the board & in the Skittles Room, then they will be available for purchase at the MCA Photographer's website.
For further information, contact the Maryland Chess Association at tournaments@mdchess.com.