2026 West Orange Chess Club Championship

That time has almost arrived. The 2026 West Orange Chess Club Championship gets underway on Tuesday March 17th!

Below is the tournament information taken directly from the online registration form.

2026 West Orange Chess Club Championship

Chief Tournament Director – Steve Lorimor

Location
All games will take place at the West Orange Chess Club, located at the Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange (turn off of Pleasant Valley Way onto Alisa Drive and follow the road past the first parking lot on the left, tennis courts and ball field all the way to the TKCC building).

Dates and Time
One game per week on March 17th, 24th; April 14th, 21st, and 28th. There are no games on March 31st and April 7th. All games begin promptly at 7:00 PM.

Structure
A five round Swiss System tournament in four sections: Open, Under 1800, Under 1200 and Under 600. There is no minimum rating for any section. Note that the Open Section is likely to be quite advanced.

All sections require a minimum of six players. If a section fails to attract six players it will be combined with the most appropriate neighboring section. In the case of the Under 1800/Under 1200 sections this may be either higher or lower.

Time Control
G75/d5 (75 minutes per game with a 5 second clock delay before each move)

USCF Membership
This is a United States Chess Federation rated tournament. All players must have a valid USCF Membership through the end of the tournament. If you do not have a USCF Membership either click https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess or email Tournament Director Steve Lorimor at sdlorimor@comcast.net for assistance.

Requested Byes
Two half point byes per player are available for the first four rounds. Any half point bye for Round Four must be requested by the start of Round Two. Only zero point byes are available for Round Five.

Bye requests, questions and/or notices that one cannot attend a round should be phoned or texted to TD Lorimor at 908-286-0720 or sent via email at sdlorimor@comcast.net. Byes must be requested no later than 6:00 PM on the day of a round. Late bye requests may result in a forfeit/zero point bye.

Registration Cost
$20 per entry. You can register through Zeffy or in person at the WOCC before Round One.

Online registration via Zeffy will close at 6:00 PM on March 17th. On site registration will be accepted until 6:45 PM on March 17th. Late registrations may be accepted at the discretion of TD Lorimor but are not guaranteed. Also, for those who registered via Zeffy but are paying the entry fee in cash, failure to pay by 6:45 PM on March 17th may result in a withdrawal of registration or a half point bye for Round One at the discretion of TD Lorimor.

Payment can be made via Zeffy (heavily preferred) or paid in cash at the event. We appreciate your cooperation so that we may start the tournament on schedule.

Being the WOCC Championship, players must also be 2026 West Orange Chess Club Members. 2026 WOCC Membership dues are as follows: $6 unless between the ages of 18 and 49, not a college student and not a West Orange resident, in which case the Membership is $12. Membership dues can be paid through Zeffy here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/west-orange-chess-club-voting or in person at the WOCC.

Prizes
75% of entry fees will form the prize pool for each section. The exact prizes and method of distribution will depend on the amount of players in each section and will be determined after the beginning of the tournament.

Club Champion
The winner of the Open Section will become the 2026 West Orange Chess Club Champion. This title cannot be split (no co-champions). Tiebreakers for this title will be as follows:

• Two rated G30/d5 games will be played on May 5th. Players will play each color once.
• If still tied two rated G15/d5 games will be played on May 12th. Players will play each color once.
• If still tied one (unrated) “Armageddon” game will also be played on May 12th. Color assignment for the Armageddon game is randomly determined. White is G5, Black is G4, both have no increment or delay. A draw is a victory for Black.

In the event there is more than a two way tie a similar tiebreaker will be instituted.

If you cannot make it for a round please let TD Lorimor know as soon as possible. Even if something comes up last minute still please inform TD Lorimor as that way your would be opponent can perhaps be paired with someone else without a game, either counting for the tournament or as an extra game. Or at the very least they are not forced to wait around.

And keep in mind that the round is expected to start at 7:00 PM each night, and that especially some participants need to register and pay their entry fees shortly before Round One on 3/17, so please make every effort to ensure we can start each night at 7:00 PM. Also keep in mind that WOCC tournaments have many young children participating and round start time delays may be difficult for them and their parents, who would like to get home as early as possible, especially on a school night.

Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Here is the link for online registration: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-west-orange-chess-club-championship.

And for an alternative to clicking the above link here is the scannable event QR code:

If there are any questions or issues with the Zeffy online registration site please email the WOCC at wochessclub@gmail.com.

For any other tournament related questions please either email TD Lorimor at sdlorimor@comcast.net or text him at 908-286-0720.

As always, thank you for your interest and participation in this event. We hope to see you on March 17th!