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Northwest Chess — Chess News from Washington, Oregon and IdahoNorthwest Chess is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington State.Address: NWC c/o Orlov Chess Academy, 4174 148TH AVE NE BLDG I STE M, REDMOND, WA 98052-5164. See magazine section for subscription and advertising information. |
 
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Northwest Chess
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| ASAP | As Soon As Possible, in reference to start time of round (usually final round of the day) |
| b/ | Based on (number of entries), usually in reference to prize funds |
| Blitz | Very fast chess, usually G/5 time control |
| Booster | Tournament section open to players below a certain rating, usually lower than for the Reserve section |
| Bughouse | A chess variant where captured pieces may be put back on the same board or (usually) on a teammate's board; very popular with kids! |
| Byes | Players may request one-half point for one or more rounds where the player doesn't wish to compete |
| CC | Chess Club |
| Chess 960 | A chess variant where the starting position of the pieces is randomly selected from one of 960 different possibilities |
| Class | Rating Class (usually in 200 point intervals, e.g., 1800-1999 is Class A, 1600-1799 is Class B, etc.) |
| Closed | Also "invitational," a tournament only open to invited players, for example the annual state championship and "premier" events |
| Delay (d) | Digital chess clocks may be set to allow a certain delay (usually 5 seconds per move) before a player's time elapses |
| Dual | Rated by USCF in both the Quick and Regular rating systems (for time controls between G/30 and G/60) |
| Economy | Option to enter a tournament for low entry fee if not playing for cash prizes |
| EF | Entry Fee(s) |
| Ent | Contact for tournament entries |
| FIDE | International Chess Federation (usually in reference to ratings) |
| Format | Combination of number of sections, number of rounds, tournament pairing system (e.g., Swiss), etc. |
| G | Game (usually used in time control, e.g., G/60) |
| GM | Grandmasters |
| Grand Prix | See Northwest Chess Grand Prix; discontinued after 2022. |
| Grp | Group (usually for prize purposes) |
| Gtd | Guaranteed (prizes) |
| HR | Hotel Rooms |
| ICA | Idaho Chess Association |
| IM | International Masters |
| Incr (+) | Increment - Digital chess clocks may be set to add a certain increment (measured in seconds) after each completed move |
| Info | Contact for additional information |
| Jr | Juniors (usually below age 21) |
| Mem'b Req'd | Membership Required |
| Misc. | Miscellaneous information/requirements, etc. |
| NC | No Computers (should be assumed unless otherwise stated) |
| Novice | Tournament section open to unrated and/or low rated players |
| NS | No Smoking (should always be assumed nowadays!) |
| NW | Not wheelchair accessible |
| NWSRS | Northwest Scholastic Rating Service (or System) |
| OCF | Oregon Chess Federation |
| Open | Tournament section open to all players unless otherwise stated, e.g., Junior Open/Senior Open) |
| OSA | Other States Accepted (in regard to memberships required) |
| Plus Score | Better than even score in a tournament (e.g., 3 out of 5), may qualify for special prizes |
| Quads | Round Robin tournament with four players per section |
| Quick | Time control of G/29 or faster (also see Dual) |
| Rating | A statistical measure of a chessplayer's playing strength; likelihood of winning (or losing) is directly related to the rating point difference between two players; also see Class |
| Rd., Rds. | Round(s) |
| Reg. | Registration |
| Reserve | Tournament section open to players below a certain rating |
| RR | Round Robin (tournament where each player in a section plays every other player in that section) |
| SD | Sudden Death (final time control for a game, in which all remaining moves must be completed) |
| Simul | Simultaneous Exhibition; a strong player plays against multiple opponents (on different boards) at the same time |
| SS | Swiss System; a popular tournament pairing system where players are paired with other players having an equal or similar score in previous rounds |
| TC | Time Control (the amount of time each player has to complete the game, or a certain number of moves, e.g., 40/90 -- 40 moves in 90 minutes, G/2 -- game in two hours) |
| TD | Tournament Director |
| Tornado | A Swiss System tournament conducted in one day with relatively fast time controls |
| U1800, etc. | Under 1800 rating, etc. |
| Unr | Unrated (not yet rated by USCF, NWSRS, etc.) |
| Upset | Prize(s) for players who defeat (or draw) a higher rated player |
| US Chess | United States Chess Federation |
| USCF | Previous acronym for U.S. Chess Federation |
| W | Wheelchair accessible |
| WCF | Washington Chess Federation |
| WGM | Women Grandmasters |