Arizona Golden Cup 🏆

Arizona's Premier Year - Long USCF Chess Series.

Earn Points. Win Gold. Become a Champion. 🏆

A year-long USCF-rated chess series. Players earn Golden Points at each monthly event. Final standings after December determine the Arizona Golden Cup Champion, 2nd and 3rd Place in each section. Players may enter the series at any time during the year. Tournament is open to everyone. USCF membership is required.

4 Round Swiss G/30; d5 USCF-rated tournament series with cumulative points.

Sections: Open (1800 +). Under 1800. Under 1200. No playing up allowed. Official rating will be used for sections and prizes. Half point Byes available in all 4 rounds (Max 2) and must be requested before round 2. If a player moves to a higher section during the year, points earned in the previous section do not transfer. The player begins earning Golden Cup points in the new section.

Schedule: Round 1: 9:00 AM. Round 2: 10:15 AM. Round 3: 11:30 AM. Round 4: 12:45 PM. Ceremony will follow right after last game is over.

Entry Fee: $35.00 by Wednesday, $40.00 by Friday, $45.00 Same Day. Refund Policy: Full refund if canceling up to 1 hour before the event. No refund after that.

Awards: Top 3 Trophy in each section, Best U1400 and Best U800 in each monthly event.

At the end of the series-After December event: Champion Trophy (in each section) + 7 Months of Free entry for 2027 series. 2nd Place Trophy (in each section) + 5 Months of Free entry for 2027 series. 3rd Place Trophy (in each section) + 3 Months of Free entry for 2027 series. Players are eligible to win only one Arizona Golden Cup prize, awarded in the highest scoring section in which they competed.

Golden Points System:

Golden Points System: 
Finish                 Points 
1st Place              20 
2nd Place            16 
3rd Place             13 
4th Place             10 
5–6                           8 
7–10                        5 
Participation       3 
Bonus Points: 
+3 points — Perfect score (4/4). 
+2 points (only in December) — Played Most consecutive months.

Monthly Event Tie-Handling (Point Splitting): When two or more players are tied for placement in a monthly Arizona Golden Cup event, Golden points are split evenly among the tied positions.

Tie-Breaks (Year-End):

1. Most 1st-place finishes.

2. Head-to-head results.

3. Most tournaments played.

4. Best December result.

TD decisions are final.