NWC Banner

Northwest Chess — Chess News from Washington, Oregon and Idaho

Northwest Chess is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington State.
Address: NWC c/o Orlov Chess Academy, 4174 148TH AVE NE BLDG I STE M, REDMOND, WA 98052-5164.
See magazine section for subscription and advertising information.
Home Articles Calendar Clubs Games Grand Prix
History Links Magazine Officers Registration Scholastics

Northwest Chess
Guide to Tournament Announcements

ASAP As Soon As Possible, in reference to start time of round (usually final round of the day)
b/ Based on (number of entries), usually in reference to prize funds
Blitz Very fast chess, usually G/5 time control
Booster Tournament section open to players below a certain rating, usually lower than for the Reserve section
Bughouse A chess variant where captured pieces may be put back on the same board or (usually) on a teammate's board; very popular with kids!
Byes Players may request one-half point for one or more rounds where the player doesn't wish to compete
CC Chess Club
Chess 960 A chess variant where the starting position of the pieces is randomly selected from one of 960 different possibilities
Class Rating Class (usually in 200 point intervals, e.g., 1800-1999 is Class A, 1600-1799 is Class B, etc.)
Closed Also "invitational," a tournament only open to invited players, for example the annual state championship and "premier" events
Delay (d) Digital chess clocks may be set to allow a certain delay (usually 5 seconds per move) before a player's time elapses
Dual Rated by USCF in both the Quick and Regular rating systems (for time controls between G/30 and G/60)
Economy Option to enter a tournament for low entry fee if not playing for cash prizes
EF Entry Fee(s)
Ent Contact for tournament entries
FIDE International Chess Federation (usually in reference to ratings)
Format Combination of number of sections, number of rounds, tournament pairing system (e.g., Swiss), etc.
G Game (usually used in time control, e.g., G/60)
GM Grandmasters
Grand Prix See Northwest Chess Grand Prix; discontinued after 2022.
Grp Group (usually for prize purposes)
Gtd Guaranteed (prizes)
HR Hotel Rooms
ICA Idaho Chess Association
IM International Masters
Incr (+) Increment - Digital chess clocks may be set to add a certain increment (measured in seconds) after each completed move
Info Contact for additional information
Jr Juniors (usually below age 21)
Mem'b Req'd Membership Required
Misc. Miscellaneous information/requirements, etc.
NC No Computers (should be assumed unless otherwise stated)
Novice Tournament section open to unrated and/or low rated players
NS No Smoking (should always be assumed nowadays!)
NW Not wheelchair accessible
NWSRS Northwest Scholastic Rating Service (or System)
OCF Oregon Chess Federation
Open Tournament section open to all players unless otherwise stated, e.g., Junior Open/Senior Open)
OSA Other States Accepted (in regard to memberships required)
Plus Score Better than even score in a tournament (e.g., 3 out of 5), may qualify for special prizes
Quads Round Robin tournament with four players per section
Quick Time control of G/29 or faster (also see Dual)
Rating A statistical measure of a chessplayer's playing strength; likelihood of winning (or losing) is directly related to the rating point difference between two players; also see Class
Rd., Rds. Round(s)
Reg. Registration
Reserve Tournament section open to players below a certain rating
RR Round Robin (tournament where each player in a section plays every other player in that section)
SD Sudden Death (final time control for a game, in which all remaining moves must be completed)
Simul Simultaneous Exhibition; a strong player plays against multiple opponents (on different boards) at the same time
SS Swiss System; a popular tournament pairing system where players are paired with other players having an equal or similar score in previous rounds
TC Time Control (the amount of time each player has to complete the game, or a certain number of moves, e.g., 40/90 -- 40 moves in 90 minutes, G/2 -- game in two hours)
TD Tournament Director
Tornado A Swiss System tournament conducted in one day with relatively fast time controls
U1800, etc. Under 1800 rating, etc.
Unr Unrated (not yet rated by USCF, NWSRS, etc.)
Upset Prize(s) for players who defeat (or draw) a higher rated player
US Chess United States Chess Federation
USCF Previous acronym for U.S. Chess Federation
W Wheelchair accessible
WCF Washington Chess Federation
WGM Women Grandmasters