World Chess Festival (Orlando & Hawaii)
Tournament Information and Policies

The following apply to both the World Chess Festival - Youth Championship as well as all Side Events.

Spectator & Behavior Policy:

For fun, fairness, and safety for all, the playing halls will be open to the following people while games are in progress:

  • Players with games in progress.
  • Tournament staff
  • One parent of a player who is 6 years old or younger.


    • Parents, coaches and other attendees who do not fall into the above categories must remain outside the playing hall. These hallways have to remain clear for foot traffic to flow through them.

    Next, any unacceptable or destructive behavior will be handled by and at the discretion of the Tournament Committee with possible consequences anywhere from a warning to removal of the tournament. The decision by this Tournament Committee is final. There are no refunds in these situations.

    Cancellation/Refund Policy:

    All refund requests of tournament entry fees will be granted with a fee of $20 per tournament prior to July 8 at midnight EST. No Refunds are offered on July 9 or after.

    Roster & Section Changes:

    Roster or Section changes are allowed and will be granted up to July 8 midnight EST for no fee. A fee of $20 per change is charged if changes are requested on July 9 or after. Once the Festival begins on July 11, there are no longer any roster nor section changes allowed.

    Allowable Electronic Devices:

    There are no longer any electronic devices permitted to keep chess notation. Next, if you have a cell phone, they need to be turned off and left on your bag on the floor. They are not permitted to be taken out of your bag until your game is completed.

    The penalty for violating these rules may be any of the following:

    a. The player is forfeited.
    b. 20 minutes or 75% of the remaining time, whichever is less, is deducted from the player's clock.
    c. 10 minutes or half the remaining time, whichever is less, is deducted from the player's clock.
    d. 10 minutes is added to the opponent's clock.
    e. If no more than 5 moves have been played, the offender may receive a warning rather than a penalty.

    The TD will determine the penalty or combination of penalties, taking into consideration the details of the offense and the scores of the players. A second offense will generally result in forfeit. If there is evidence of cheating the player will be forfeited and usually ejected from the tournament with no refund.

    Required Equipment:

    We will be providing:

  • Boards and pieces for the tournament competition games. We won't have any for practice nor for game review. Please bring your own board and set for this purpose. We will also have a chess equipment vendor onsite in case you wish to purchase.
  • Scoresheets if you are competing in the Youth Championship on Saturday and Sunday. Please have your scorebook for all other tournaments in the Festival.


    • We will not be providing:

  • Chess clocks. Please bring yours. The acceptable and approved are either digital or analog. Wrist watches, Apple watches, or IPAD devices that contain a chess clock (usually downloaded) are not acceptable. Chess clocks will be for sale onsite.


    • All players (ages 7 or higher) in all tournaments with the exception of the K/8 Non-Rated tournaments on Friday, Friday Blitz tournament, and Saturday Puzzle Solving Competition will be required to take chess notation of each game.

    Contact Us:

    Pleae contact Joe Hanley at hanleychessacademy@gmail.com for all questions. Thank you.