National Open

National Open Championship Online

November 21 – 22, 2020

at Internet Chess Club.

Walter Browne Memorial National Open Blitz – Friday November 20 5 p.m PST

5 Sections – 6 Round Swiss – Game/70 +10

$20,000 Guaranteed Prize Fund

Plus Score automatically wins a prize!

10 free entry prizes, and a few surprises. 

OPENU2200U1900U1600U1300
1st2,0001,0001,0001,000500
2nd1,000500500500350
3rd600350350350250
4th400250250250200
5th300200200200100
Top U2300
800
400
Top U2000/unr
600
300
Top U1700/unr
600
300
Top U1400/unr
600
300
Top U1100
200
100
Top U800
125
75
$3,000 Plus-Score Bonus: score 3.5 points and win a $25 gift certificate in addition to any other prize.
1st place in the Open Section is the 2020 National Open Champion and wins a mini replica of the Edmundson Cup.
Free entry to either 2021 or 2022 National Open for the winner of each section and each “top” prize.
Unrated players may not win more than $400 in any under section, $200 in U1300.

Entry Fees

Open Section: $99 by 11/9, $129 by 11/18, $159 later. $50 surcharge if not rated USCF 2100+ or FIDE 2000+.
Under 2200, 1900, 1600: $99 by 11/6, $129 by 11/18, $159 later.
Under 1300: $49 by 11/6, $69 by 11/18, $99 later.
$15 service charge for refunds.

Round Times (PST)

Saturday
Round 1: 9:30 a.m. PST
Round 2: 1:00 p.m. PST
Round 3: 4:30 p.m. PST

Sunday
Round 4: 9:30 a.m. PST
Round 5: 1:00 p.m. PST
Round 6: 4:30 p.m. PST

Log on at chess.vegas/play 30 minutes before each game.
You must log in and remain logged in before pairings are made at start of each round or you will not be paired.

You must be on Zoom with your real name (see chess.vegas/fair-play), side or rear view preferred. Zoom links will be posted at chess.vegas/zoom the night before the tournament starts.

Half Point Byes

are available in any round (limit 2) if requested with registration. Byes cannot be removed after the tournament starts.

US Chess Membership is Required

you may join or renew at new.uschess.org/join-us-chess.

Online Regular rated (will not affect OTB ratings). US Chess Online Regular rating used for section and prize eligibility, however, OTB Regular, FIDE, or other ratings may be used if higher.

Internet Chess Club Membership

If this is your first Vegas Chess Festivals Tournament on Internet Chess Club you will receive a coupon to extend your ICC membership for 2 months. If you are not already an ICC member you may use the coupon to join.

94 thoughts on “National Open Championship Online

  1. Hi I am Michael
    Placed in the 2020 Las Vegas National Open under 2200.

    How can we find out the result of the prize raffle? Is there a website to the all the results?
    Many thanks.

  2. Also, my and my brother’s usernames are not showing on the pre-advanced page. (Gabriel White=”Lowish-Monkey” and Adriel White=”Sandwich-monkey)
    Thank you for your time.

    • Your usernames will be updated after you use the coupon code that was included in your email receipt. Each of you must use the coupon assigned to you at register.chessclub.com/lvc/login if you already have a username and register.chessclub.com/lvc/create if you need to create one.

      The update is semi-manual so it won’t show up immediately.

  3. Hi Alan,

    When I signed my daughter up, she didn’t have an ICC account but i filled in “delenn kier” as her ID. Afterwards I signed her up on ICC and made her user ID “delennkier” because it didn’t allow a space. Do I need to notify anyone about the different user ID?

    Thanks!
    Judy

  4. I just downloaded ICC so I am not familiar with it. Once I log onto it, how do I indicate to the software that I want to be playing the vegas national tournament?
    The link https://play.chessclub.com/lvc doesn’t allow me to change the board color and piece settings, so I’d rather play on ICC if that’s an option. I’m a bit confused. To play, should one go to https://play.chessclub.com/lvc, or go to ICC, or are both ways valid options?
    Thanks

  5. I have a question regarding the zoom meeting tomorrow and Sunday, for the National Open. I have a camera that has a rear/side angle that shows myself and my screen, however, the screen does not show up well on the camera. (The screen looks mostly white and the chess board is hardly visible.) Should I share my screen on zoom just to be safe? (I want to be 100% transparent i.e. show that I am not cheating.)

    • Sharing your screen won’t work. As long as we can see you and the screen (however poorly) it should be fine. A large part of our fair play checking is done by the fair play algorithms.

  6. Alan.

    When are we going to get the zoom link and tournament detail? Are we supposed to get an email if we signed up for the tournament?

  7. Are we required to use the browser to play the games or can we use the ICC software? The browser tends to be a bit glitchy at times.

  8. May I use the touchscreen feature on my laptop for the blitz tournament? I usually play chess on my phone, so I’m not very good with a mouse.

  9. I know we need to have zoom set up behind the player so that everything can be monitored. My son is only 9 and does not have a zoom account, he uses mine for his online chess classes. Do I need to get him his own zoom account? He has no idea how to even use most of this stuff, I set up all the electronics for him.

    • You don’t need a zoom account — you just need to follow the zoom link on chess.vegas/zoom. You will need to have the zoom app installed on the device you use.

      If he’s using your zoom account that’s fine — you just need to change the name during the session (click on the 3 dots in your picture in the grid view). The change only affects the one session.

      Zoom can be running on the computer he is using, a separate device (like a phone or tablet) to the side, or both.

  10. Are we allowed to use physical boards in this tournament? If so, I’m assuming that we would have to make our moves first on the computer and then make the move on our board.

    • We prefer that you do not use an additional board. If you have a side/rear view zoom camera that CLEARLY shows you, your board, and the computer screen it would be acceptable.

      It has to be clear to the section chief and your opponent that you are not using the side board for analysis. As you say, you must make the move first on the computer.

    • One device is acceptable but not optimal. All we would see is your face and the room behind you. Ideally you have a phone or tablet set up behind and to the side so we can see you, your screen and the area around it. If you run zoom on your computer or laptop it can be in the background.

  11. If i’ll join this afternoon to US federation, i will have a USCF ratings (I have only fide ratings in this moment) to play the 20-21 Nov. Tournament as “rated” player?

  12. Hi! Quick question. I’m also wanting to participate in another USCF event on Chess.com this Saturday and my first game would start at 5pm eastern time. I noticed the 3rd round for this tourney will be at 4:30 PM so there may be some overlap. Am I allowed to play two games at once if it comes down to it? I will of course zoom call my monitor/room and do whatever it takes. Thanks!

  13. I requested a 1/2 point bye (for my son) at registration. When/how do I indicate which match he’ll be taking the bye?

  14. Hi Alan, After our game is done, Do we still have to stay in the zoom or not? If no do we have to say in the chat that we are done and leave?

    • You can leave, but most players just turn off the video and stay logged in. If you do that, don’t forget to turn it back on at the start of the next round.

      We strongly recommend that you stay logged in to ICC throughout the event.

      • Zoom on the same computer where the game is played or do you need a separate camera pointing to the player and screen? Asking as we don’t have an additional device to join zoom separately

  15. Hi Dear VegasChess Club,

    I was wondering how I will get my prize money if I win any?
    I am about 1750 player in chess.com account, but I joined USCF very recently.

    • Prize winners will receive an email instructing them on how to receive the prize by PayPal or Zelle. There is a 2-3 week delay to allow for fair play analysis of all games.

      Your chess.com rating is not used at all. If you have no USCF (or other national federation) rating you are considered “unrated”.

  16. Hello sir , my daughter Aadya Ranganath is 71/2 years old , she is not a member of USCF neither has FIDE rating still , can she register for the tournament if she becomes a member of USCF .
    Regards
    Dr Ranganath

    • Yes of course. New members are always welcome. Join US Chess at new.uschess.org/become-member and use the USCF ID assigned when you enter our tournament at chess.vegas/enter

    • No, you receive the coupon after you register. The coupon lets you register for Internet Chess Club or extend your existing membership for 2 months free.

    • Each player gets 70 minutes and 10 seconds is added after each move. If both players use all their time, a 60 move game would take 160 minutes, but most games finish quicker than that.

    • Online Regular rated (will not affect OTB ratings). US Chess Online Regular rating used for section and prize eligibility, however, OTB Regular, FIDE, or other ratings may be used if higher.

    • See my reply to Shripad.

      There is no under 800 section, there is just an prize in the under 1300 section for the top scoring player in the under 1300 section. The entry fee for a player under 800 is the same as the under 1300 section entry fee.

      There are only 5 sections: Open, Under 2200, Under 1900, Under 1600 and Under 1300. There are “class” prizes for top scoring players at the low end of each category.

  17. Hello, I’m an italian Player.
    I don’t have a USFC membership yet, but I have the rating fide.

    Can I join to US CHESS and play the tournament “National Open Championship” with a USFC rating or there are not enough time now?

    • Yes, you can join. If you put your FIDE ID into the entry form it will look you up and convert your FIDE rating to the equivalent US Chess rating. You will need to join the US Chess Federation. There is a discounted online membership for foreign players, but I’m not sure if you can join on the website — you may need to email membership@uschess.org.

      If you can’t get your membership by the time of the tournament we will be able to handle it for you. The cost is around $20.

      Alan

    • Hello Shripad,

      There is no U1100 section. There is an under 1100 prize in the U1300 section. If you enter the U1300 section you will be eligible for the top under 1100 prize as well as the top prizes in that section.

      Sorry if this wasn’t as clear as it might be.

  18. Zoom side rear view is preferred

    Does that mean not required so can just use laptop used for playing. —meaning Zoom will use front view only from laptop camera?

    • You CAN use a single laptop with zoom running in the background. This would show your face while you are playing and the room behind you. It is better however, to have a second device (phone or laptop) set up to the side and a little behind you so we can see your computer and you as you play.

      Best is to have both, however Zoom is a CPU hog so it may interfere with your ICC connection. I haven’t had any problem on my 3 year old computer but my 5 year old laptop can’t handle it.

  19. Hi Allen
    I need to renew my US Chess membership . Do I need to be a paid member of ICC as well ?

    Also I play online chess on my phone . Can I do this during the tournament on Zoom ?

    Much respect
    David S

    • Hi David,

      Every player gets a 2 month ICC membership as part of the entry.

      Be sure to renew your USCF membership early, there is sometimes a delay in posting it.

      We require that you play on a computer — not a phone or tablet. If you have a second phone or tablet and can show a rear view of you playing that clearly shows you and the device you are using this would be acceptable (but non-optimal) in the lower sections.

  20. Hello, I registered under the name David James Mohn VI. The application auto-filled my ICC username. Could you change my registration information to reflect this? Thank you.

    • We will be double checking everyone’s username. If you use the coupon code that was either emailed or appeared on your receipt after you entered it will be done (sort of) automatically.

  21. This is my 1st time register for Vegas Chess Festival tournament. When do I get the coupon to extent my ICC membership? And how to use the coupon to extend the membership?

    • We require all players to be visible on a Zoom camera. We do not allow players who are ineligible for prizes because this raises the possibility of collusion.

    • Yes, you can play from anywhere in the world!

      You will need to join the US Chess Federation if you are not already a member. A 2 month membership in Internet Chess Club is included in the entry fee.

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