2024 (86th) Virginia Closed Chess Championships

A Heritage Event! A State Championship Event!

Aug. 31 – Sept. 2, Virginia

$5,000 in prizes based on 90 paid players, with 1st-3rd places guaranteed in all three sections!
Last Year we increased the Prize Fund to $6,800 based on strong player turn-out!!

Hotel & Playing Site: Hilton Garden Inn Innsbrook, 4050 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA. Call the hotel at (804)521-2901 by Friday August 16th and request the "Virginia Chess Federation" rate. The chess tournament rates are $116/night-King and 126/night-Double Queen, plus taxes. You also can reserve your room online as advertised on the VA Chess Federation’s home page (https://www.vachess.org).

Format: Swiss System (this is not an elimination tournament). All sections are US chess rated.

    - Championship and Amateur Sections: 6 Rounds of play with two event Schedules, a Long Schedule for players wanting to start at 1 pm on Saturday, and a Short Schedule for players whose other commitments do not allow them to start until 5 pm on Saturday. Virginia Residency requirements, see “Eligibility” below. Current VA Chess Federation membership required for all players.

    - Novice Section: 5 Rounds, with all games on Saturday and Sunday only. Click here to learn about a Swiss System chess tournament. This section does NOT have Virginia residency requirements, anyone can play. VA Chess Federation memberships are not required of out-of-state players.

Eligibility: The Championship and Amateur Sections are open only to Virginia residents, military stationed in Virginia, and students attending any Virginia school or college (must be ready to show student ID or other proof of Fall 2024 school enrollment). The Novice Section does NOT have Virginia residency requirements, anyone can play. The Blitz tournament on Friday evening is open to ANYONE, see the separate Tournament Announcement for the Blitz tournament at https://www.vachess.org/.

Sections and Prizes: Choose 1 of these 3 Sections based on your playing strength and your competitive desires. Each Section crowns a “state champion” and ensures your name becomes part of Chess History in the Commonwealth!

    - Championship: 1st-$900+Champion's Plaque;   2nd-$650;   3rd-$450;  Top Expert and Top Class A, $200 each + Plaque. Minimum US Chess rating to play in this section is 1500—e.g., the player must have been rated 1500 or higher as shown in any post-tournament result in the player’s Member Services Area records or in a US Chess Rating Supplement since August 2023. Unrated players cannot compete in this section. The Chief TD is the final authority on who is allowed to play in the section.

    - Amateur (Under 1800): 1st-$600+Champion's Plaque;   2nd-$400;   3rd-$300;   Top Class C & Class D, $150 each + Trophy. Unrated winnings limited to $350.

    - Novice (Under-1200): 1st-$400+Champion’s Plaque;   2nd-$300+Trophy;   3rd-$200+Trophy;   Top Unrated-$100;   Trophies also to Top and 2nd place U-1000, U-800, and U600. Unrated place winnings limited to $250.

Entry Fee:

    - $100 through Saturday Aug. 24th.

    - $120 starting Sunday Aug. 25th.

    - $140 starting Thursday Aug. 29th and at the Tournament Registration Desk at the hotel on Friday and Saturday.

    - The VA Chess Federation will retain $5 from any player who withdraws before Round 1.

3 Ways to Register for and Enter the Tournament:

    - Online: www.vachess.org

    - US Mail: Check payable to VA Chess Federation or “VCF”, please include Name, Address, Email, Phone Number, US Chess ID, Section Playing In, Long Schedule or Short Schedule, and your Bye selections if any. Mail by Saturday Aug. 24th to Mike Hoffpauir, ATTN: VA Closed, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown, VA 23693

    - Onsite: Friday, Aug 30th, 3-7 pm. Round 1 of Blitz starts at 7:30 pm Friday evening (see separate TLA for Virginia Closed Blitz). Registration also is open on Saturday, Aug 31st from 8 am – Noon. Long Schedule entries received after 12-noon may have to wait until Round 2 to play. Short Schedule players can register from 1:30 pm to 4 pm on Saturday afternoon.

Optional Byes & Re-Entry:

    - Championship & Amateur Sections:

         + Byes: Up to two (2) half-point byes are allowed per player, must declare bye(s) during Registration or at least 60 minutes before the start of Rounds 1 and 2. Requests made later than 60 minutes before Round 2 are treated as Zero-point Byes. After this deadline, a zero-point bye request for the final round is considered a withdrawal and the player will not be eligible for prizes. Only one Bye is allowed on Day 3 of the tournament.

         + Re-Entry: Players who lose in Round 1 can Re-Enter the tournament for $40 after Round 1 and the player gets a half-point Bye. As an alternative, a player in the Long Schedule who loses in Round 1 can also opt to enter the Short Schedule for the same re-entry fee. The Short Schedule’s players merge with the Long Schedule players for the Sunday morning round of the tournament.

    - Novice Section: Only one (1) half-point bye is allowed, must be declared during Registration or at least 30 min before Round 2.
Click here to learn more about Byes and Bye Requests. Re-Entries also are available in this section for $40 (see above). REMEMBER, the Novice Section DOES NOT have Virginia residency requirements.

NOVICE (Under 1200) Section Schedule: All games are on Saturday and Sunday only. No games on Monday

    - Saturday: Rounds 1, 2 and 3 at 10 am, 1 pm, and 5 pm. Time control is Game-60, delay 5 (each player has 60 minutes to complete all moves, with 5-seconds of time delay for each move)

    - Sunday: Rounds 4 and 5 at 11 am and 3:30 pm. Time control on Sunday is Game-90, delay 5.

LONG Schedule (Championship & Amateur Sections only): Time Control is 30/90, SD/60, d5 (e.g., 30 moves in the first 90 minutes per player, then complete the game in 1 hour per player, with a 5-second time delay throughout the game)

    - Saturday: Rds 1 and 2 at 1 pm and 7 pm. Optional 1 or 2 Half-point Byes for Rounds 2-6 must be "locked in" by 6 pm

    - Sunday: Rds 3 and 4 at 11 am and 5 pm

    - Monday: Rds 5 and 6 at 10 am and 3:30 pm; only one Bye allowed on Monday.

SHORT Schedule (Championship & Amateur Sections only): 2 rounds on Saturday evening, then players merge with the Long Schedule sections for Sunday morning. Time Control for the Saturday games is G/60, d5 (e.g., 60 minutes per player, with 5-second time delay).

    - Saturday: Rds 1 and 2 at 5 pm and 8 pm. One or two optional half-point Byes for Rounds 2-6 must be locked in by 7:30 pm Saturday.

    - Sunday and Monday: Players from the Short Schedule “merge” with the Long Schedule on Sunday for all remaining rounds.

Ratings for Sectioning, Pairings, and Prizes: For section eligibility, pairings, and prizes we will use the higher of each player’s Over-the-Board (OTB) Regular and On-line (ONL) Regular ratings from the August 2024 US Chess Rating Supplement. Established ratings have priority over provisional ratings, and the recency of players’ OTB and ONL ratings will be considered by the Chief TD. Players with no US Chess rating, but who have ratings in other recognized systems will have those ratings converted by the Chief TD into a US Chess equivalent for sectioning and prize purposes. We do not recognize or consider ratings from online platforms outside of a player’s US Chess Online Regular rating (e.g., ratings from Chess.com, Chesskid.com, LiChess, ICC, etc., are not considered).

Tie-break Systems We Use: To determine winners of non-cash prizes (e.g., plaques and trophies) the Chief TD will use the tiebreak systems shown below. Click here to learn more about Tie-break systems used in chess (warning, requires some math skills).

    - Championship and Amateur Sections: Cumulative, Modified Median, Solkhoff, Cumulative of Opposition.

    - Novice Section: Modified Median, Solkhoff, Cumulative, Cumulative of Opposition.

Membership Requirements:

    - US Chess and VA Chess Federation memberships are required for all players in the Championship and Amateurs Sections, and for Virginia residents in the Novice Section. Please join or renew your membership(s) before the tournament and avoid the need to pay onsite.

What to Bring: Chess Clock, pencils/pens. We will supply all chess sets, but we do not have enough clocks to provide to all games. US Chess-approved Electronic Notation Devices are allowed (e.g., ChessNoteR, PlyCount, and Monroi). Players are welcome to use their own chess sets as long as they comply with US Chess specifications for size and color.

Cell Phone and iWatch Policy: Players who bring cell phones or iWatches into the playing hall must turn them off and place the phone face down at the player’s table or store the phone in a chess bag or purse. A cell phone or iWatch on a player’s person during play is grounds for loss of game. The Chief TD will impose a 10-minute penalty for a phone or iWatch that ring or buzzes. The penalty shall be half of your remaining time if you are within 10 minutes of the first or second Time Control. A second ‘phone/iWatch ringing or buzzing’ violation results in the loss of your game. See the Chief TD if you have a medical need or other reason to leave your phone on.

Chess Bookstore: The Hammer family will be our Book vendor. If you have a special request for a book or chess item you would like Todd to bring to the tournament for you, please email Todd at Click here to show mail address.

Info: Go to www.vachess.org or contact Mike Hoffpauir by email to Click here to show mail address, text to 757-846-4805. We also will schedule and hold two (2) Information Meetings using Zoom on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the tournament. Keep an eye on the VA Chess Federation website for details.