MCCS - Chess - Events
US Armed Forces Open
This is a FREE annual event and is conducted during the Columbus Day Weekend (usually hosted in the Washington DC area). Go to http://www.freewebs.com/armfochess2006/ for more information. The Armed Forces Open is for all Active, Reserve and Retired chess enthusiasts. This event is privately hosted; hence participants need to make their own arrangements to attend (leave or permissive TAD).
Inter-Service Championship (ISC)
All branches of service sponsor the Inter-Service Championship. The host for this competition rotates each year from service to service. Here is how it works for the Marine Corps. For the past several years, the Marine Corps publishes a MARADMIN announcing the recruitment for resumes for those wishing to participate on the All-Marine Chess team.This normally occurs around the April time frame.
The process includes the selection of six team members, with one of the six being appointed the team captain. Once the team is established, those members compete for team placement in the overall Inter-Service Championship against all other branches of service. Following the competition, the top-scoring Marine automatically earns a place on the NATO Chess team representing the United States in international competition. If you are interested in future consideration for the All-Marine Chess team there are 2 pivotal steps that must be taken. First, become a member of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and establish your rating through this organization. Without it, you will not be considered for the team. The next step is competing in USCF sanctioned tournaments to improve your skills and rating. This will improve your chances of being considered for the All-Marine Chess team. And, finally, support the program. USCF organizational members may provide rated tournaments. Therefore explore opportunities on your base to provide rated tournaments. This will allow local Marines to improve their rating through local competition, thereby reducing travel and registration costs associated with rated tournaments outside the local area.