2025 (86th) Virginia Closed

2025 (86th) Virginia Closed Chess Championships

A Heritage Event! A State Championship Event!

Saturday Aug. 30 – Monday Sept. 1, Virginia

Including BLITZ at 7:30 pm Friday, Aug 29

$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 $6,000 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 22nd and request the "Virginia Chess Federation" rate. The chess tournament rates are $118/night-King and 128/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. There are Virginia residency requirements, see “Eligibility” below. Current VA Chess Federation membership and US Chess Federation membership is required of 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 for out-of-state players. 
   - Blitz Tournament: Friday evening, Aug 29th at 7:30 pm. 4 or 5 double-rounds depending on the number of players. Blitz is open to ANYONE, there are no Virginia residency requirements to play Blitz. See the Tournament Announcement for Blitz on our website at https://www.vachess.org/.

Player Eligibility: 
   - Championship and Amateur Sections: 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 2025 school enrollment). 
   - Novice Section: This section is open to all players, there are no Virginia residency requirements.

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! The Chief TD is the final authority on who is allowed to play in any of these 3 sections.
   - Championship: 1st-$900+2025 VA State Champion's Plaque;  2nd-$650+Plaque;   3rd-$450+Plaque;   Top Expert and Top Class A and Top Class B, $200 + Plaque;  Top Upset-$125. Players rated below 1800 in the August 2025 US Chess Rating Supplement are required to pay a $50 premium to play in the Championship Section unless they have had a post-tournament rating of at least 1800 in the player’s Member Services Area record or in a US Chess Rating Supplement in the past two years (e.g., since Aug 2023). Unrated players cannot compete in this section. Players without US Chess ratings may not be “unrated” if they have an over-the-board rating in another country’s system or the FIDE system. Online ratings in any other rating system other than US Chess are not considered.
   - Amateur (Under 1800): 1st-$600+2025 VA Amateur Champion's Plaque;   2nd-$400;   3rd-$300;  Top Class C & Class D, $150 each + Trophy.  Top Unrated-$125.  Top Upset=$110.  Winnings for an Unrated player are limited to $300 (does not include Top Upsets, if awarded).
   - Novice (Under-1200): 1st-$400+2025 VA Novice 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.  Top Upset-$100.  Winnings for an Unrated player are limited to $250.

Entry Fee:
   - $100 through Saturday Aug. 23rd. 
   - $125 starting Sunday Aug. 24th.
   - $150 starting Thursday Aug. 28th and at the Tournament Registration Desk at the hotel on Friday and Saturday.
   - The VA Chess Federation will retain $10 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. 23rd to Mike Hoffpauir, ATTN: VA Closed, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown, VA 23693
   - Onsite: Friday, Aug 29th, 3-7 pm. Registration also is open on Saturday, Aug 30th 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 allowed per player. Bye(2) must be declared during Registration or at least one hour before the start of Rounds 1 and 2. Requests made after this one-hour limit will be Zero-point Byes. After this, a zero-point bye request for the final round is considered as a withdrawal and the player will not be eligible for prizes. Byes are not allowed for both Rounds 5 and 6.
        + Re-Entry: Players who lose in Round 1 can Re-Enter the tournament for $40 after Round 1 and the player will receive a half-point Bye as their Round 1 score. 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: One (1) half-point bye allowed per player. Bye 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).

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/1, 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 4 pm; only one half-point Bye allowed on Monday. A zero point Bye for Round 6 that is requested after the Round 2 Bye Request deadline (see “Optional Byes” above) will be considered the same as a tournament withdrawal.

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: Rounds 1 and 2 at 5 pm and 8 pm. Optional half-point Byes for Rounds 2-6 for players in the Short Schedule 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 Round 3 and 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 2025 US Chess Rating Supplement. Established ratings have priority over provisional ratings, and the recency of players’ OTB and ONL ratings will be assessed by the Chief TD. Players who do not have a US Chess rating, but 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, and 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 (go to https://www.vachess.org) to renew either or both memberships. Virginia offers Virginia residents a discount on US Chess memberships.

What to Bring: Chess Clock, pencils/pens. We will supply chess sets and clocks for 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 and clocks if they comply with US Chess specifications.

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 immediate loss of game. The Chief TD will impose a 10-minute penalty for a phone or iWatch that rings 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.

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 1-2 weeks before the tournament. Keep an eye on the VA Chess Federation website for details.