At The Watauga Chess Club we're making some changes to our tournaments…

When it comes to our tournaments, you've spoken with both your comments and your participation.  We've listened to you, our tournament players, and here's what you've had to say:

"We prefer larger tournaments, with more players."

"A bigger field means a wider range of competition.  That's vital for improving my game."

"I'd be inclined to play in your quads if there were more players of my approximate strength."

"While low entry fees have been attractive, we prefer a chance to win larger cash prizes."

"A $30 class prize is OK (although it barely covers the entry fee), but a $100 prize is more likely to encourage my participation."

We at WCC agree, and your comments haven't fallen on deaf ears.  We're making it our priority to increase player participation and turnout for our events.

Here are just a couple of the things in store:

We're changing the format of our standard monthly Swiss tournaments to offer guaranteed prize funds of $500 minimum!

Our larger Swiss events will include even larger prize funds!

We're changing the payout for our quad events.  Our standard quad will include a "winner take all" prize of $100 for each quad!

Yes, increasing prize funds means a modest increase in entry fees, but we want you to be aware of the following important points:

1) Most entry fees will still be kept at a very modest $25 - $30.

2) The only purpose of an increase in entry fees is to increase prize payouts to you, our players.

3) We believe that you will appreciate the opportunity to win larger cash prizes.

4) We believe that you will appreciate the larger playing field attracted by larger cash prizes.

5) Most of all, more players means more chess gets played, and that's the real mission of the Watauga Chess Club.