2027 (59th) Virginia Open & Virginia Women’s Championship

2027 (59th) Virginia Open & 
1st Annual Virginia Women’s Championship

January 8-10, 2027

The VA Open Championship Section & The Women’s Championship Section are FIDE Rated

Hotel & Playing Site: Organized by the Virginia Chess Federation, the Virginia State Chapter for the US Chess Federation at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott Hotel, 45020 Aviation Dr., Dulles, VA 20166. Make your reservation online (click here) or call the hotel at 703-471-9500 to get the Chess Rate for lodging. Reserve your room no later than Friday, December 11th (this is the cutoff date for securing the Chess Rate). If you decide to call the hotel to make your reservation, mention the “Virginia Open Chess Championships” Group Name.

Traffic on Friday evenings in northern Virginia and Maryland can be unpredictable. We strongly advise players to plan their travel accordingly and allow enough time to arrive at the venue.

Conditions for GM/WGM/IM/WIM titled by FIDE: FREE ENTRY for GM, WGM, IM, and WIM titled players. Expect HALF of the $130 Early Entry Fee (e.g., $65) to be deducted from prize winnings. No other conditions. Contact the event organizer (Mike Hoffpauir, see below) for entry instructions.

Tournament Format: 5 Rounds, Swiss System (this is not an elimination tournament). There are no Virginia residency restrictions; the tournament is open to all players.

Sections: There are 3 Sections of competition to choose from. Round 1 at 7 PM on Friday Jan 8th in all sections. A 60-minute forfeit/no-show rule is in effect for all rounds.

There are NO RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS in any section!!

    - VA Open Championship: FIDE and US Chess rated, 20 US Chess Grand Prix Points. Minimum rating to play in this section is an over-the-board regular US Chess or converted foreign rating of 1600 at any time in the US Chess Members Services Area since January 1, 2022 (in the last 5 years). Players with US Chess or FIDE ratings have not reached 1600 in the past 5 years, but have been from 1400 to 1599, can “play up” for an additional $40 fee. We do not consider ratings from online systems such as Chess.com, LiChess, ICC, etc. No unrated players allowed in this section.
    - VA Open Under 1600: US Chess rated. Unrated players welcome.
    - VA Women’s Championship: FIDE and US Chess rated. Unrated players welcome.

Prizes: Over $8,750 in cash prizes based on 140 paid players. The values of the 1st-3rd place prizes are guaranteed in all sections! In the past we have added as much as $1,500 to the prize fund based on attendance! So come out and play … and bring your chess friends!!

    - Virginia Open Championship: 1st–3rd Places $1000, $700, $500 all guaranteed. Top Expert $250. Top U2000 $240. Top U1800 $230. Biggest Upset across Rounds 1-5 wins $150. $200 Bonus and Plaque for the Top Virginian. Plaques to all place prize winners and winners of Top Expert and Top Under awards.
    - Virginia Open Under 1600: 1st-3rd Places $750+Plaque, $500+Plaque, $350+Plaque, all guaranteed. Top U1400 $200+Plaque, 2nd U1400 $100. Top U1200 $180+Plaque, 2nd U1200 $90. Top U1000 $160+Plaque, 2nd U1000 $80. Top Unrated $100. Biggest Upset across Rounds 1-5 wins $125. 
    - Virginia Women’s Championship: 1st-3rd Places $750+Plaque, $500+Plaque, $350+Plaque, all guaranteed. $200 Bonus and Plaque for the Top Virginian. Top U1600 $250+Plaque, Top U1400 $200+Plaque, Top U1200 $150+ Plaque, Top U1000 $125+Plaque, Top U800 $100+Plaque. Top Unrated $100. Biggest Upset across Rounds 1-5 wins $125.

On-Line Registration & Fees: www.vachess.org.
    - $130 through FRIDAY Dec 26th
    - $160 starting SUNDAY Dec 28th
    - $190 starting WEDNESDAY Dec 31st and at the tournament site.
       Notes: The VA Chess Federation will retain $10 of the entry fee from players who withdraw before Round 1. No refunds to players who do not withdraw before Round 1 or who do not show up for the tournament.

On-Site Registration: At the hotel on ...
    - Friday, Jan 8th, from 4 - 6:45 pm. Entries received after 6:45 pm on Friday will be paired for Round 2 on Saturday morning with a half-point Bye for Round 1.
    - Saturday, Jan 9th, 7:30 – 9:15 am. 

Optional Half-Point Bye & Re-Entry:
    - Half-Point Byes: Each player has the option to take one Half-point Bye in any round of the tournament. Half-point Byes must be declared by players during Registration or 30 min before the start of Rounds 1 or 2. Requests for Half-point Byes made less than 30 minutes before the start of Round 2 will be considered Zero-point Byes. Zero-point Byes for Round 5 are the same as withdrawing from the tournament, making the player ineligible for any prizes except Top Upset.
    - Re-Entry: A player who loses in Round 1 can Re-Enter the tournament for $45 after Round 1. Re-Entry must be completed 30 min before the start of Round 2. A player who re-enters the event receives a Half-point Bye for their Round 1 score, but the game that was lost in Round 1 still counts for rating purposes.

Schedule: Round 1 is on Friday at 7 PM, 60-minute default/no-show rule.
    - Round 1: Friday, Jan 8th, 7 PM. Time Control is Game-90 with 30-sec time increment from move one.
    - Rounds 2 and 3: Saturday, Jan 9th, 10 AM and 4:30 PM. Time Control is 40/90, SD/30, with 30-sec time increment from move one. This time control means each player must make their first 40 moves in 90 minutes, then each player receives an additional 30 minutes for all remaining moves.
    - Round 4 and 5: Sunday, Jan 10th, 10 AM and 4:30 PM. Same time controls as on Saturday.

Ratings for Sectioning and Prizes: 
    - Section Eligibility and Prizes: We will use the higher of a player’s Over-the-Board Regular and Online Regular ratings from the January 2027 US Chess Rating Supplement. Established ratings override provisional ratings; “stale” ratings will be reviewed by the Chief TD/Arbiter. 
    - Am I an Unrated Player? Any player who earns a provisional US Chess Regular over-the-board or Regular online rating by Jan 8th, 2027, will NOT be paired as an Unrated Player. That player’s rating will be used for pairing purposes, even if it is not listed in the January 2026 US Chess Rating Supplement. For players with no US Chess rating but who have ratings in other recognized systems (e.g., FIDE, Canada) their rating will be converted and assigned by the Chief Arbiter using the rating conversion formulas approved and published by the US Chess Ratings Committee. 

Pairings: Players will be paired using their US Chess or equivalent converted ratings (see above). FIDE Pairing Rules are in effect for the Championship and Women’s sections. US Chess Pairing Rules are used in the Under 1600 Section.

Membership Requirements: 
    - All players must be US Chess members in good standing except Foreign GM/WGM, IM/WIM. Check the status of your membership, join, or renew it at www.uschess.org.
    - Players in the Championship and Women’s sections require FIDE ID numbers. If you do not have one, we will help you get it; there is no charge for a FIDE ID number.
    - Virginia-based players must be members of the VA Chess Federation. You can join as part of the tournament entry process, join later at www.vachess.org, or join at the tournament.

Mail-in Entries: Mail your entry by Monday, Jan 4th to Mike Hoffpauir, ATTN: VA Open, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown, VA 23693-3356.
    - We STRONGLY recommend players enter online due to the potential for US Mail to be slowed by holiday season mail traffic.
    - Include Name, Address, Email, Phone Number, US Chess ID, Section Playing In, and whether you want an Optional half-point Bye.
    - Make your check payable to VA Chess Federation or “VCF”
Info: www.vachess.org, or Chief Arbiter/TD Mike Hoffpauir, Click here to show mail address, text to 757-846-4805.