Definition of Terms
10/11/12:30/1:30 - Tells you the round times for the tournament.
G/30 or 40/80 - The time control--how much time you have to play your game. "40/80" means that you will have to make your first 40 moves in 80 minutes. The leftover time gets added on to the next time control, usually something like G/30. When you see a G in front of a foreword slash and then a number such as G/30, it means the entire game must be completed in that amount of time, which in this case is 30 minutes.If the number is small, like 1 or 2, it usually refers to hours, not minutes. It may be the second time control (as in our first example) or it may be the only time control (as in the second example).
EF: $20 - Entry Fee--how much it will cost you to enter the tournament. When you see by followed by a date such as by 3/9 , it means the entry fee must be paid by March 9th or the fee increases. You may also see a dollar amount followed by "at site", such as $40 at site. This means the cost is $40 if you pay on site.
Open Section - Anyone can play in this section
U800 - When a section has this label it means that only players with a rating lower than the number stated are allowed to play in it. In this example, the section is limited to players with a rating under 800.
Quad - A tournament with four players who play in a round robin format with the following pairing system:
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
| 1 v 4 | 3 v 1 | 1 v 2 |
| 2 v 3 | 4 v 2 | 2 v 3 |
If there are more than 4 players, multiple quads are opened, with the players seperated by rating.
REG - Registration Times
Scholastic - Only students in grades K-12 can play
SS - This means that the tournament will be paired in the Swiss System format. The principle behind this is that you will play people with your same score unless there is an odd number with your score. In that case you may play someone with a score one half or one point different from yours. As the tournament progresses, you will be playing with people closer and closer to your skill level. If there is a number in front of this, it tells you how many rounds are in the tourney.