30 Grand Prix Points!     A VCF Cup Event!!

FIDE Rules will be in effect, with US CHESS RATINGS used to pair players

Hotel & Tournament Site:  Washington Dulles Marriott, 45020 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA 20166.

Chess Rate at the Hotel:  $89+taxes per night if you reserve by FRIDAY OCT 20th.  Contact the Hotel directly at 703-471-9500 or 800-228-9290 and tell them you or with the group called “Northern Virginia Open Chess Tournament.”

 UPDATED    Format:  5 Rounds, Swiss System.  US Chess (USCF) and FIDE rated.  All players play in one Section.  FIDE RULES, with Pairings made using US CHESS RATINGS.

• On October 31 I had a conversattion with US Chess about "FIDE Rules" and pairings.  I was concerned that several highly-rated US Chess players would have to be paired as "Unrateds" because they didn't have FIDE Ratings.  I was told that because this tournament is NOT a norm-producing event (e.g. a player cannot earn a title through this tournament), FIDE allows the Organizer / Arbiter to apply either the FIDE ratings or a National Federation's rating system for the purposes of Pairings.  The choice of method needs to be consistent.  So, for this tournament, because almost all players have US Chess ratings, we will use those ratings for the purposes of pairings. 

Round Times and Time Controls:

·   Saturday, 3 Rounds of chess at 9:30am, 2:00pm, 7:00pm.  G/90, with 30-second time increment.

·   Sunday, 2 Rounds of chess at 10am and 4:30pm.  40/90, SD/30, with 30-second time increment.

·   One 1/2 pt bye is available for Rounds 1-4, must declare during Registration or 30 min before start of Round 2 on Sat.  Zero-point Bye available for Round 5, must declare no later than 30 min before the start of Round 2.

·   30-minute Default Rule is in effect ... if EITHER PLAYER is 30-or-more minutes late, that player will be declared to be in forfeit.

Download our Flyer and share it with your fellow players!! 

Prizes:  $3,500 payout ... all guaranteed (a 25% increase from 2016!).  More if we have over 100 paid players!!

·   1st-4th Place Prizes:  $800, $550, $375, $250 … all guaranteed!! 

·   Class and Under Prizes:  Expert, A, B, C, and D … $225 each, guaranteed!! CLASS Awards will be determined using USCF Ratings, not FIDE.

·   Top Under 1200 / Unrated Player … $200, guaranteed!!! CLASS Awards will be determined using USCF Ratings, not FIDE.

·   Top Upset on Saturday $100 (from Rds 1-3) and on Sunday $50 (From Rds 4 and 5) … guaranteed!!  TOP UPSETs will be determined using USCF Ratings, not FIDE.

Entry Fees:  Entry Fee through November 11 is $80, increases to $95 starting Nov 12th and on-site.  Checks payable to Virginia Chess Federation.  Credit Cards accepted on site.  Current USCF Membership is required.  Virginia residents must be members of the VA Chess Federation (VCF).  We will honor other state’s chess federation memberships for non-VA residents.  Renew your USCF membership before the tournament at www.uschess.org.  VCF and USCF memberships will be available at the tournament site. 

• RE-ENTRY is possible after Round 1 for players who wish to re-enter the tournament for Round 2.  The Re-Entry cost is $35 and secures a Half-point Bye for Round 1.  For a re-entering player, their Round 1 loss is a game that counts for "rating" purposes; however, for Round 1 the player's tournament score would is recorded as a Half-point Bye and the player receives 0.5 points for Round 1.

Registration:  Three ways to Register:  Online at www.vachess.org, by US Mail, or On-site.  AVOID THE LAST MINUTE LINE BY ENTERING EARLY ONLINE OR THROUGH THE MAIL.  No email entries.

1.  OnLine:  www.vachess.org, with payment through PayPal.  OnLine entry increases to $95 on Sunday, November 12th.  Online Entry will be available until midnight on Friday Nov 17th.

Click the button below to enter online now ...

or Click Here.

2.  Mail-In Entry Form (DO NOT USE after Nov 11th):  MS-Word version.   PDF version.  Send your entry to the address at the bottom of the form.

3.  On-Site (at the Tournament, $95):  Registration on site will be open from 7-10 PM on Friday evening, Nov 17th.  On Saturday morning, Registration opens at 7AM and closes at 8:45AM.

Players who have not paid their Entry Fees by 8:45am on Saturday Nov 18th will NOT be paired for Round 1!!

INFO:  Andy Rea (andrerea2@yahoo.com), or Chief TD Mike Hoffpauir (mhoffpauir@aol.com).  No email entries.