Texas Chess Association

Invitationals Policy

1. Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to provide for selecting national invitational representatives.

2a. General. The Texas Junior Invitational shall be held in April of every year. This event may be held online or in-person. There shall be no entry fee. Accelerated pairings may be used. There shall be at least six Swiss system rounds and at least half of the rounds shall have a time control of at least G/60.

2b. Sections. The tournament shall have one section for each national scholastic invitational tournament of the U.S. Open. Only Texas residents who are TCA members and meet the requirements to play in the corresponding national invitational shall be eligible to play in a section.

2c1. State Qualifiers. The two highest placing players in each championship section of the North Scholastic Championship and South Scholastic Championship (or, in a Superstate year, the four highest players) shall be entitled to participate in the Texas Junior Invitational. This right only applies to the K-1 and Primary sections when corresponding national invitationals have been created. The highest placing female player in the high school, middle school and elementary championship sections of both events (or, in a Superstate year, the two highest female players in each section) shall also have the right of representation.

2c2. Regional Representatives. Each regional director shall be responsible for securing a representative for each section of the tournament who is a resident of the region. Regional directors shall have discretion to determine the method of selecting regional representatives, provided that such method has been approved by the President or Vice President and a list of regional representatives is submitted to the elected officers no later than March 10 if possible. 

2c3. Girls Qualifier. The four highest placing players in the Texas Girls Championship shall be entitled to participate in the girls section of the tournament. If the Girls Championship is divided into grade-based sections, the oldest section shall have one representative, the second oldest section shall have another and so on until all seats are taken. If there is any excess, it shall be allocated to the oldest section. 

2c4. Qualifying Points. The four eligible players from each group represented by a section who earned the most qualifying points in the preceding calendar year shall have the right to play in said section. In the case of the girls section, only two eligible players shall be selected through qualifying points. Only players who participate in the State Scholastic Championship shall be eligible under this subsection.

2d. Prizes. The highest placing player in each section of the Texas Junior Invitational shall have the right to represent Texas at the corresponding national invitational tournament at the U.S. Open. The Denker and Haring representatives shall also receive a $2,000 scholarship and the title of Texas Candidate Master (if not already so titled). Trophies, plaques and similar awards may also be awarded at the discretion of the President. Scholarships shall be paid to an educational institution designated by the awardee for the sole purpose of defraying qualified tuition and related expenses. Any amounts of scholarships not paid by the 22nd birthday of the recipient shall revert to the Association. 

3. Irwin Qualifier. The highest placing resident of Texas in the Texas Senior Championship shall have the right to represent Texas in the Irwin National Tournament of State Senior Champions.

4. Other. Alternates shall be selected in descending order from first place when representatives decline to attend or cease to be eligible. Representatives who fail to respond to invitations within a reasonable time may be deemed to have declined attendance. Tiebreaks shall be used for all purposes. If a player is entitled to more than one invitation, all but the first invitation mentioned herein shall be deemed declined, except that a player entitled to play in more than one section may choose between invitations. The Vice President may assume the functions of a regional director under this policy who misses the deadline in Sec. 2c2. The Association reserves the right to amend or revoke this policy at any time without notice and it may not be construed to create contract rights in any person.

5. Transitional Provisions. The following rules shall apply for the 2025 Texas Junior Invitational and shall be removed thereafter:

  1. Sec. 2c3 and Sec. 2c4 shall not apply.
  2. In Regions I, II and III, the highest placing player in the high school, middle school and elementary championship sections of the North Scholastic Championship who is the resident of the region at the time of the tournament shall be the regional representative for the corresponding sections of the Texas Junior Invitational. Similarly, the highest female player in the high school championship who is a resident of the region shall be the regional representative for the girls section. The same or similar rules may be applied in any other region at the option of the regional director.