Three tournaments, start to finish

One tournament is your first, and three tournaments make you a regular, a player who keeps coming back. Soon you know the room and how the clock works. You also learn to read the pairing list, which shows your board and your opponent. Any real tournament counts. Over the board means a real board and a real opponent, in one room. Online events do not count for this sticker.

Who runs them, and how you find one

Clubs run tournaments, and so do schools, libraries and cities. Some are small, like one afternoon in a school hall, and others are huge. The World Open in Philadelphia once had over 1,500 players. To find one, ask at school or at the library. You can also search online for kids' chess tournaments near you. The people who run tournaments post their events online. FIDE, the group that runs world chess, keeps a calendar of events too.

Your second and third time

At your second tournament, you find your board on the pairing list, shake hands and press the clock. The first international tournament, in London in 1851, was a knockout. In a knockout, a player who lost their match was out. Today you stay and play, even after a loss. If you lose two games before lunch, play the last rounds anyway.

Keep track of your three

Three tournaments are easy to mix up. Keep the results list, or take a photo of the standings, which is the list of scores. Many tournaments also put their results online afterwards.

How you get the sticker

Your grown-up or coach checks it and hands you the sticker. Show them your list of three tournaments, with the results lists or the photos. If you have no club yet, your grown-up at home checks your list. A school event counts too, if it has rounds and a results list. Did you play a tournament before you had the passport? It still counts. Your first tournament also earns the First Tournament sticker.