These tournaments are designed to be welcoming, structured, and educational while still providing real competitive experience.
Weekly rated chess tournaments held at our Scottsdale and Tempe locations. These events offer a fun, competitive environment where students can gain tournament experience and track their improvement over time.
Friday Night Tournaments are organized using a round-robin format. Students are placed into groups of four players and compete against each opponent in their group.
At the end of the event, the student with the strongest overall performance in each group is declared the group winner and receives a trophy for that tournament.
To encourage long-term participation and celebrate continued improvement, students may trade in their Friday Night Tournament trophies for larger milestone trophies at the following benchmarks:
This system rewards consistency, growth, and sportsmanship while giving students clear goals to work toward as they continue competing.
What are the ages for this tournament?
These tournaments are open to students in Kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12).
Is my student ready for this tournament?
If your student knows how the pieces move and understands check and checkmate, they are ready to participate. These are rated tournaments, meaning your student will be paired against players of similar skill levels.
What is an ASCF membership?
An ASCF membership is part of our tournament rating system. When a student plays in rated events, their results are tracked to assign them a rating. As students win games, their rating increases and they are paired against more challenging opponents. If they lose games, their rating may decrease, and they are paired against players closer to their current level. This system helps ensure fair, balanced, and enjoyable competition for everyone.
Have questions or want help registering? Call us at 602-482-4867.