Is there a minimum age / grade in school requirement in order to participate in the Denker or Polgar championships? Must all players actually be in high school in order to qualify? Is this up to each individual state association or are there national guidelines?
In other words, if an elementary or middle school kid was somehow able to win the qualifier for a state, would he or she be eligible to play in the Denker or Polgar in Chicago this summer?
Michael Aigner
I suggest you contact Jerry Nash, the USCF’s Scholastic Director.
His e-mail address is jnash@uschess.org
The state official was to have sent the names to the USCF by April 30.
Denker
uschess.org/scholastic/denker.html
which sends you to the 2005 rules:
uschess.org/scholastic/DenkerRules.html
“All players must be under the age of 19 on September 1 of the year in
which the tournament is held, and have been enrolled, during the previous
spring, in the 9th through 12th grade of a school located in the state
they represent. Home schooled students who are under the age of 19 on
September 1 of the year in which the tournament is held and who have
never attended college on a full time basis prior to June 1 of the year
in which the tournament is held, are eligible to represent the state in
which they reside.”
Polgar
uschess.org/scholastic/rules … al2006.pdf
For the Polgar, they can be in a any grade.
Thanks Mr. Martinak for answering my age question. I’m a bit perplexed by the alleged April 30 deadline since the rules website apparently allows changes to be made until June 1. The northern California qualifier (K-12 section of the state scholastics) will be held on May 20-21. However, this did not seem to present a problem last year; I was in the loop on emails last year (we had a tie for the Polgar spot) and I recall hearing that June 1 was the drop dead date.
Michael Aigner
Let me repeat what I said earlier. 
These are questions that should be sent to Jerry Nash, the USCF’s Scholastic Director, not posted here.
Could you tell us why? Is there some reason that we shouldn’t trust the information posted on the USCF website or which was sent to the state affiliate?
I’m not asking my questions in any official capacity but rather as the coach of several players who have a chance at doing well in the K-12 section of the state scholastics. It is more “for my information” rather than anything else. I would feel bad wasting Jerry Nash’s time.
Martinak’s answer, in particular the URL that he pointed out, satisfy me. He also raised a separate issue about dates, but I would assume that has been addressed by the local state affiliate as in past years.
Michael Aigner
There are several reasons why such questions should go through the Scholastic Director.
If the answers should be but aren’t on the website, he needs to know that, so that he can request an update to the website.
Similarly, if the answer is on the website, but members aren’t finding it, then he needs to communicate that to the people redesigning the website.
When the question is non-routine, it should go to the person who can best answer it.
My experience with USCF scholastic regulations is that they tend to be over-long and less-than-clear. It’s often necessary to go to the person in charge of explaining them, sometimes that even results in the next pass through the regulations making them clearer.
Actually, questions regarding the Denker / Polgar tournament should be directed to the chair of the Denker and Polgar committee.
uschess.org/scholastic/rules … al2006.pdf
June 1 is the deadline for the Polgar because that would make Mr. Kantor’s job a lot easier. There were problems in the past when nominations were made very late. However, I am positive that minor exceptions can be made with good reason(s).