🍎 Minnesota Scholastic Chess 🍎
March 8-9 🗓️
Join the biggest scholastic event of the year...
🔵 K-12 🟠 K-8 🟣 K-5 🟢 K-3
⬇️ Denker / Barber / Rockefeller Playoffs April 12-13 🗓️
⬇️ MN Girls K-12 State Championship April 19 🗓️
🌱 The MSCA holds the Minnesota Scholastic Championship and supports other scholastic events and pursuits. 🍎
🔄 See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for guidance and advice to players, parents, and educators, particularly if you’re just getting started. The FAQ won’t cover everything, of course, so please feel free to send us an email with your questions. 📧
🏫 Scholastic Grand Prix @ The Chess Castle 🏰
The final of six monthly rated scholastic tournaments is on April 6!
🔗 See all the details at the Castle’s site.
MSCA affiliate event; not an MSCA event.
🏆️ Denker / Barber / Rockefeller Scholastic Playoffs ⚔️
🗓️ April 12-13, 2025
Bethel University 🏫 Room 468
3900 Bethel Dr, St Paul, MN 55112 (map)
Room 468 was one of the MN Open rooms. Park in the East Lot, and enter through Brushaber Commons. (Short outdoor walk through the campus, shown in green line in map below.)
Free entry, by invitation only! 📧 Three round-robin tournaments: The top six high school players in the 🔵 K-12 section of the State Scholastic Tournament, the top six middle school players in the 🟠 K-8 section, and the top six elementary players in the 🟣 K-5 section. Players must play all 5 games in this format.
5 Rounds
⌛️ Time Control
US Chess rated Round-Robin
G/90 +30s
🎬️ Tournament Director
Round Times ⚪️
Saturday 9am • 1:30pm • 6pm 🕙️
Sunday 10am • 2:30pm 🕙️
🎁 Prizes
🥇🥇 Winners earn the right to represent Minnesota at the National Denker Tournament of K-12 Champions, the National Barber Tournament of Grade K-8 Champions, and the National Rockefeller Tournament of K-5 Champions July 28-31, 2025 in Middleton, Wisconsin. 🚗
Each invitee must commit in writing that they will attend the national tournament if they win their round-robin playoff. In the event of a tie, a second playoff will occur according to MSCA Tiebreaker Rules.
💵 The winners of each of the playoff sections also receives a $400 stipend to help offset the cost of attending the national chess events in Wisconsin. Stipends are paid at the time of the events.
🗺️ Location
MN Girls K-12 State Championship 🏆️
🗓️ April 19, 2025
14800 34th Avenue North, Plymouth, MN 55447 (map)
🚗 Haring National Qualifier
🥇 Winner qualifies to represent Minnesota at the Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions in Middleton, Wisconsin July 28-31, 2025. 🚗 Winner also eligible for $400 travel stipend if attending National Tournament. 💵
4 Round Swiss
⌛️ Time Control
Round Times ⚪️
Byes
🎟️ Entry Fee
US Chess rated
G/45 delay 5
10am • 12pm • 2pm • 4pm 🕙️
one ½ pt bye, by request
$30
🎬️ Tournament Director
🔥
Results for scholastic tournaments can be found on our events page. From 2023, we have news articles, team standings, and other goodies. US Chess has crosstables on their site for all MSCA events going back to 1990. The School Chess Association (SCA) also holds many scholastic events.
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