About This Tournament
The 2026 Fredericksburg Open
Saturday and Sunday, October 24-25
With Blitz on Friday night at 7 PM on Oct 23rd
A Heritage Event organized by the Virginia Chess Federation
20 US CHESS GRAND PRIX POINTS
US Chess Junior Grand Prix!
A VCF Cup Event
Hotel & Playing Site: Country Inn & Suites Fredericksburg-South, 10358 Patriot Highway, Fredericksburg, VA 22408. Chess Rate is $89/night + taxes for Friday and/or Saturday evenings, plus you can stay on for an extra night on Sunday for an additional $50. Date for lodging rate cut-off is Oct 16th. See our website at www.vachess.org.
Format:
The Main Tournament features 5 Rounds of chess using the Swiss System (this is not an elimination tournament).
The optional Blitz Tournament on Friday night will have 4 double-rounds of play. In other words, you play 2 games each round, one game as White and the other as Black.
Main Tournament Sections: Players can compete in any one of these sections based on their ratings:
Championship: Minimum post-tournament US Chess or FIDE rating of 1600 in the past 12 months (sine Nov 1, 2025). No Unrated players are allowed to compete in the Championship Section.
Under 1800: For players rated 1000 to 1799. Unrated players may play in this section.
Under 1200: For players rated under 1200 or who are unrated.
Notes about these 3 Sections:
The Tournament will use ratings found in the October 2026 Rating Supplement. This document is published by the US Chess Federation around the 19th of September 2026.
An “Unrated” player is someone who does not have a US Chess rating or a rating in a system recognized by the US Chess Federation (e.g., FIDE and many foreign countries). A player with a rating in a recognized system is NOT Unrated. We do not use ratings from Chess.com, Lichess, Chesskid, ICC, Tornelo, etc. A player will NOT be considered as “unrated” if the player has provisional rating with US Chess that was earned after publication of the October 2026 Rating Supplement.
The Chief TD will pair players and award prizes based on the higher of each player’s Over-the-Board and Online Regular ratings from the October 2026 Rating Supplement, including an assessment of the relevance of those ratings. These ratings also determine players’ section eligibility. The Chief TD is the final authority on ratings used.
BLITZ Tournament Sections: Two sections with a Time Control of Game-5 and no time delay or increment. This means each player has 5 minutes of thinking time in each game of the round.
Open: No Unrated players allowed.
Under 1600 & Unrated: For unrated players and players rated up to 1599 as of the October 2026 US Chess Rating Supplement.
NOTE about Blitz Ratings: To determine section eligibility and for pairing purposes in the Blitz tournament we will use the higher of a player’s over-the-board AND online Regular and Blitz ratings.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
Blitz: Friday evening at 7 PM. Onsite registration ends at 6:45 PM for Round 1 of Blitz. We play 4 double-rounds.
Main Event:
Round 1: Saturday, 10 am. Time Control is Game-75 with a 10-second time increment (G/75+10) from move one.
Round 2: Saturday, 2 pm. Time Control is G/90+10 from move one.
Round 3: Saturday, 7 pm. Same Time Control as Round 2, same for all remaining rounds.
Round 4: Sunday, 11 am.
Round 5: Sunday, 4 pm.
Awards: We distribute monetary prizes at the end of the event or by mail. We do not mail trophies/plaques.
Main Tournament Prizes: $4,700 Prize Fund based on 70 paid players. PLACE PRIZES and Top Upset awards are GUARANTEED in all 3 sections, remaining prizes will not be reduced more than 33% if we have less than 70 players. Prize fund increases if we have more players—so PLEASE bring your friends!! Here are the sections of compeition:
• Championship: 1st – 3rd Places $725+plaque, $450, $300; Top Expert $200; Top Class A $180; Top Class B $160; Top Upset Rds 1-5 $120.
• Amateur: 1st-3rd $510+plaque, $325, $200; Top Under 1500 $150, Top Under 1200 $130; Top Unrated player $100; Upset Rds 1-5 $100.
• Novice: 1st-3rd $400+plaque, $250, $150; Top Under 1000/Unrated $100; Top U800 $75; Trophies or plaques to 2nd U1000 and U800, 1st & 2nd U600.
NOTE: Unrated players limited to $300 in winnings in the Amateur Section, limited to $225 in the Novice Section.
Blitz Prizes: We pay out 85% of the entry fees in each Blitz section according to the following scheme: 4-6 players (1st & 2nd places), 7-15 players (1st-3rd places), 16-23 players (1st-4th places); 24 or more players (1st-5th places).
On-Line Registration & Fees: Register online at www.vachess.org, or click here to register now.
• Main Tournament: $95 Early Entry Fee through Sat Oct 17; $110 starting Sun Oct 18; $125 starting Thurs Oct 22 and at the tournament site.
• Blitz: $35, $40, and $45 using the same cut-off dates mentioned for the Main Tournament.
• The VA Chess Federation retains $10 from any player who withdraws from the Main Event or Blitz Tournament before Round 1. Players who withdraw from the tournament will not be eligible for prizes.
On-Site Registration: At the hotel; Credit cards, checks, cash accepted. On-site Registration Fee is $125, so go online now!
• Friday, Oct 23rd, 3—6:30 pm. Round 1 of Blitz starts at 7 pm.
• Saturday, Oct 24th, 7:30—9:15 am. Round 1 of the Main Tournament begins at 10 am.
Optional Half-Point Byes & Re-Entry in the Main Event:
• One half-point bye allowed in any round; must be declared during Registration or 30 min before the start of Rounds 1 or 2. Bye requests after 30 minutes before Round 2 will be Zero-point Byes.
• Players who lose in Round 1 can Re-Enter in Round 2 for $40 and receive a half-point Bye.
• A Zero-point Bye for Round 5 is the same as withdrawal from the tournament with loss of Prize eligibility.
Ratings Used for Sectioning and Prizes: We use the higher of a player’s Over-the-Board Regular and Online Regular ratings from the October 2026 US Chess Rating Supplement. Established ratings trump provisional ratings, and “stale” over-the-board or online ratings will be reviewed by the Chief TD. Players who lack US Chess ratings, but have ratings in other recognized systems, will have their ratings converted by the Chief TD to a US Chess equivalent. An unrated player who attains an official rating with 4 or more games after publication of the October 2026 rating supplement will not be considered “unrated”.
Membership Requirements: All players must be US Chess members in good standing except Foreign GM/WGM, IM/WIM. Check, join, or renew your membership at www.vachess.org. Virginia-based players must be members of the VA Chess Federation. Join or renew during the tournament entry process or at the tournament site. Free entry to any players rated over 2300 in the US Chess Federation or who are FIDE-titled players (GM/WGM, IM/WIM), with half of the Early Entry Fee deducted from winnings.
Mail-in Entries:
• Check payable to VA Chess Federation or “VCF”
• Send us your payment plus the Player’s Name, Address, Email, Phone Number, US Chess ID, Section Playing In, whether you want an Optional half-point Bye, and whether you are playing Blitz.
• Mail by Saturday Oct 17th to Mike Hoffpauir, ATTN: Fredericksburg Open, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown, VA 23693
Chess Equipment: VCF can provide all chess sets and clocks, but you may use your own. If you use your own clock, it must be time-increment capable and you must know how to set it!