U.S. Junior Open Championship

2024 United States Junior Open Championship -- $10,000 Guaranteed

316% increase over last year's guaranteed prizes.

$10,000 tournament prize fund Guaranteed! Pairings and Results will be available online at www.cavemanchess.com

Playing Site and Room Bookings

Northbrook Hilton, Northbrook, Illinois 60062

• $145 rate per night for 1-4 people
• Includes breakfast ($22 value) for 1-4 people
• Indoor pool with adults only times
• Exercise center
• To phone for accommodations: 833-456-0712
• To book online for tournaments: https://cavechess.cc/Festival-Tourneys-Hotel 
• To book online for the chess camp: https://cavechess.cc/Festival-Camp-Hotel
• To arrange room sharing: https://cavechess.cc/Festival-Room-Travel-Forum

Registration

https://www.cavemanchess.com/festival for links to registration, hotel, camp, etc.

Eligibility:

Players must be under age 21 as of January 1, 2024 (born after January 1, 2003).

U21 section - Under age 21, born after January 1, 2003

U15 section - Under age 15, born after January 1, 2009

U11 section - Under age 11, born after January 1, 2013

U8 section - Under age 08, born after January 1, 2016

Sections 

6 Round Swiss System with 4 sections: (based on age as of 1/1/24): U21, U15, U11, U8. 

FIDE and US Chess Ratings and Rules:

The U21 section is FIDE-rated and US Chess-rated. Other sections are US Chess-rated only. FIDE-rated sections use FIDE rules, while the others use US Chess rules.

FIDE Laws of Chess 2023 FIDE Laws of Chess Summary FIDE Laws of Chess and US Chess Federation rules differences:  Summary of FIDE-US Chess rules differences 2023

Round Schedule and Time Limits

Time Control: G/90+30

Round times: 

» Friday, 7/12: 1:00 , 6:00;

» Saturday, 7/13: 9:00 - 2:30

» Sunday. 7/14: 8:30 – 2:00  

The early round times allow for the start of the Caveman Chess Camp and for early departure, particularly for those taking flights.

Byes

» Two half-point byes available for any round must commit before the end of round 2

Pairings/Reports:  Pairings and Results will be available online at www.cavemanchess.com

Equipment: Boards, sets, & scoresheets and clocks provided by Caveman Chess, LLC.

Entry Fee - Online Only - Do not request discounts after cut-offs.

• $99 through April 28
• $140 through June 2
• $160 through July 1
• $190 through July 12

Onsite entries will be done online at the site. Players registering late will possibly receive an automatic ½ bye in round one. www.cavemanchess.com for more information.

Prizes: $10,000 unconditionally guaranteed!

• U21 (Open) $2,000; $1,500; $1,000; $500; $500 plus $500 to 2025 U.S. Junior Invitational eligible
  qualified (Must be age-eligible, Must finish 1st or tied for first, tie-breaks used if necessary)
  – U2200: $300-200; U2000: $300-200; U1800: $300-200; U1600: $300-$200; U1400: $300-$200;
  – Individual plaques to top ten overall;
  – Plaques for top players aged 18, 17, 16, 15, and under 15.
  – School Teams - 12
  – Trophies to the top three school teams (top 3 scores) in the U21 section only
  – $500 to the first-place school team.
• U15 – 15 trophies/plaques
  – $500 1st
  – Individual trophies/plaques to top 10 overall;
  – Trophies/plaques for top players aged 14, 13, 12, 11, and under 11.
• U11 – 14 trophies/plaques
  – $300 1st
  – Individual trophies/plaques to top 10 overall;
  – Trophies/plaques for top players aged 10, 9, 8, and under 8.
• U8 – 13 trophies/plaques
  – $200 – 1st
  – Individual trophies/plaques to top 10 overall;
  – Trophies/plaques for top players aged 7, 6, and under 6.

Questions

Email: Contact@cavemanchess.com 

Side Events

• Junior Open Blitz (7/13, $1k guaranteed)
• Senior/Medior Open Quick (7/13 $1k)

 Other Events

• Caveman Medior Open ($10k)
• Caveman Beginner Open 1
• Caveman Beginner Open 2
• US Blind Championship ($5k)
• US Senior Championship ($13k)
• Followed by the Caveman Chess Camp

Summary of Key Terms and Conditions

This is a summary of essential Terms and Conditions. To see all Terms and Conditions, go to https://www.cavemanchess.com/terms-conditions

Withdrawals: To withdraw from an event, go to https://cavechess.cc/withdraw and fill out the form. Emails will be ignored.

Refunds: Go to the Terms and Conditions link above for the entire policy. Here are important points:

• Processing refunds is secondary to running the event without a hitch
• While we attempt to pay refunds sooner, our policy is to pay within ten business days following the event.
• In our standard refund policy, refunds incur a fee as follows:
  • For registrations $20 and below, a $5 fee
  • For registrations from $20.01 to $60, a $10 fee
  • For registrations above $60, a $15 fee

Registration Corrections and Changes: Please verify the information before submitting the registration. For example, some browsers with persistent "autofill" tools often overwrite a participant's name with the name of the person completing the registration.

1. To make a change/correction, do not email. Go to https://cavechess.cc/change, to process changes.
2. There is a $5 fee for each (set of) changes.