Chess is for everyone
The Illinois All Grade, created and sponsored by the Illinois Chess Association, is held during the fall of each year, usually in November. Each grade is held as a separate tournament - each player plays only others in their own grade. To be eligible players must be Illinois residents attending Illinois schools or being home schooled within the state.
The All Grade is held in Central Illinois in odd numbered years, usually in Peoria. It is held in the Chicago metropolitan area in even numbered years.
Team trophies are also given for the top team scores in each grade group. To compete as a team, all players must be from the same school or home schooled but teamed with the school that they would attend if in the public school system. The top 3 individual scores are combined to determine the school's team score. As in all trophy tournaments, it is impossible to plan for ties. When they do happen we provide the trophy to the player who played the most difficult schedule by adding up the scores of his opponents. See the FAQ for more details.
This tournament designates a state champion for each grade, Kindergarten through senior in high school, and so "playing up" in a higher grade is not permitted and probably not even desired.