After a break this summer, tournament chess returns to the WOCC with the 2026 West Orange Chess Club Back To School Special Tournament, beginning on Tuesday September 15th!
2026 West Orange Chess Club Back To School Special Tournament
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 September 15th, 22nd, 29th and October 13th. There is no game on October 6th due to the Garden State Chess League.
All games begin promptly at 7:00 PM.
Structure
A four round Swiss System tournament in four sections:
Championship: 1600+
Advanced: 1000-1599
Booster: Under 1000
Beginner: Under 600 (age 13 & below only)
Note: If a section has fewer than six players it will be merged with the most appropriate section (at TD Lorimor’s discretion).
The USCF September 2026 published rating list will be used to determine your section eligibility.
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/
Byes
One ½ point bye permitted.
Byes requests must be sent to TD Lorimor via text or phone call to 908-286-0720 by 6:00 PM on the day of a round. If one wishes to request a ½ point bye for Round Four the request must be made before the start of Round Two.
Any late, invalid or extra bye requests will be awarded as 0 point byes.
Registration Cost
$20 for 2026 WOCC Members and $25 for Non 2026 WOCC Members. You can register online here: https://www.zeffy.com/
If not already a 2026 WOCC Member you may join online via this link: https://www.zeffy.com/
Online registration will close at 6:00 PM on September 15th. On site registration will be accepted until 6:45 PM on September 15th.
Late registrations may be accepted at the discretion of TD Lorimor but are not guaranteed and may result in having to take a bye for the round. Also, for those who registered online but are paying the entry fee in cash, failure to pay by 6:45 PM on September 15th may result in a withdrawal of registration at the discretion of TD Lorimor.
Entry fee payment can be made through the online registration process (preferred) or paid in cash at the WOCC before Round One.
We appreciate your cooperation so that we may begin the tournament on schedule. Thank you.
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.
Once registered for the tournament please inform TD Lorimor if you wish to withdraw your registration before the tournament or drop out during the tournament.
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 begin at 7:00 PM each night, and that especially some participants need to register and pay their entry fees shortly before Round One on 9/15, so please make every effort to ensure we can begin each round at 7:00 PM. Also keep in mind that WOCC tournaments have many young kids 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.
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.
Any other tournament related questions should be texted or phoned to TD Lorimor at 908-286-0720 or sent to TD Lorimor via email at sdlorimor@comcast.net. Thank you.
As always, thank you for your interest and participation in this event. We hope to see you on September 15th!