Category: Information
ROCHESTER CHESS: APRIL 13-19 + REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE ROCHESTER CHESS FESTIVAL.
Monday, April 13. Poker and chess at LTS Brewery at 6 PM. https://www.ltsbrewing.com/
Tuesday, April 14. April USCF-Rated Slow Swiss Round 1. Membership in USCF is required (https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess). Games start at 6:30 PM. Half-point byes are available for schedule conflicts. Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each section. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLbdE_ua7FsHrR7MChXO9KqYCHcVWAqpjDUCs48ifVcM-BAQ/viewform?usp=pp_url.
Casual chess and kids’ chess at the club. Doors open at 6 pm.
Wednesday, April 15: Free casual chess at Novios Cafe, 1 – 3 pm. https://www.novioscafe.com/
MSCA and Rochester Chess are partnering for the 2026 Rochester Chess Festival, which will be held on July 10-12 in the Mayo Civic Center. Friday, July 10 at 7 PM will feature the popular Tandem Simultaneous Chess Exhibition by International Masters John Bartholomew and Sean Nagle. The Midwest Women and Girls Championship will run concurrently with the Rochester Open on Saturday and Sunday, July 11 -12, G/60 +30s. Over $7,000 in prizes are projected for the two events. A complete description and links to registration can be found on the MSCA website: https://www.minnesotachess.com/rochester-chess-festival.
FREE SCHOLASTIC (K-12) USCF-RATED SWISS CHESS TOURNAMENT ON SATURDAY, APRIL 11 WITH FREE COACHING BETWEEN GAMES.
Saturday, April 11: Free Scholastic Chess Tournament (K12): Four rounds of Game/30, d5s in a Swiss Style format will be played. All participants will play 4 games. No elimination. Participating in the K-12 rated sections requires a USCF membership (https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess). A separate K3 unrated section will be held. Chess sets and clocks will be provided. Half-point byes are available for schedule conflicts.
Free coaching by experienced chess coaches will be offered between games. A girls club room will be available for female players.
Parent/coach volunteers are needed. Contact Dennis Mays (dennismays101@gmail.com) for more information.
Trophies/medals will be awarded to the top finishers in each section.Site: Mayo Clinic Harwick Cafeteria, 205 Third Ave. SW, Rochester, MN. Online pre-registration is required to reserve your spot in the tournament. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIM-Hv1pC4tuCodNZVRWVAUcRf6OuW8MshAqB2objTI3mzew/viewform?usp=pp_url
Live analysis of the Minnesota State Championship playoff on April 11!
Matt Jensen is excited to invite you to join him for a live analysis of the Minnesota State Championship playoff! He’ll be live-streaming commentary on the ChessGoals YouTube channel, Saturday, April 11 at 2:30 PM CDT.
You can set a reminder and view your time zone here: Live Stream Link
Matt will also be giving away at least one free course to those watching live! Even if you can’t make it live, please fill out the form, as there will be other promotions in the future.