Get a US Chess ID at https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess

In the United States, a player obtains a chess rating through the United States Chess Federation (USCF) by participating in rated tournaments. After playing and completing 4 games against other rated opponents in a sanctioned event, the USCF uses the results to calculate an initial rating for the player called a “Preliminary Rating”. This rating fluctuates as one continues to play in rated events, reflecting their performance relative to other players. In addition to the rating, players are assigned a unique US Chess ID, which helps in tracking their progress, tournament history, and rating adjustments over time. After 25 total rated games, they will receive their “Established Rating” which fluctuates less often.

Registration is done on our website and closes 2 hours before the scheduled tournament start time. Players who want to register after this cutoff may receive a first-round bye at the Tournament Director’s (TD) discretion. National Masters (NM) and above play for free in non-FIDE tournaments, please contact us for registration.

Players must be familiar with US Chess rules and have an active US Chess membership. Subject to event limitations, players of all ages and ratings are welcome. By registering, you confirm:
1. Your US Chess membership is active, current, and in good standing
2. You agree to follow all tournament rules.
3. If your membership is expired you cannot play until renewed; if not active by round 1 pairing, the player is provided with bye(s) or withdrawn with no refund.

3.0 Section Terms
-Regular Rating (Monthly) refers to the most recent published US Chess Regular rating.
-Live Rating refers to the current US Chess rating as of the most recently rated event.
-Peak Rating refers to the highest rating ever achieved and is not used for eligibility.
-Section Floor refers to the minimum Regular rating eligible for a section.
-Section Cap (Ceiling) refers to the maximum Regular rating eligible for a section.
-Playing Up refers to entering a section above the one a player’s current rating normally qualifies for.

3.1 Section Placement
Players are placed into sections based on their Regular (Published Monthly) US Chess rating as of the tournament start date. Unrated players are placed in the lowest section by default unless the TD approves alternate placement based on verified evidence of playing strength.

3.2 FIDE to USCF Conversion Formula
Players with a US Chess unrated rating (never played a US Chess rated tournament) may request placement using a verified FIDE or substantiated online rating. If FIDE is 2000 or below, USCF is calculated as −1073 + 1.5667 × FIDE. If FIDE is above 2000, USCF is calculated as 20 + 1.02 × FIDE.

3.3 Scholastic Tournaments
Only students in grades K–12 are permitted to play in scholastic tournaments. Scholastic players may only play up within their own grade category.

3.4 Live Rating Cap Enforcement
Any player whose Live Regular rating exceeds a section’s cap by 150 points or more must automatically play up.

Players must notify staff as soon as possible if unable to play a round. Half-point byes must be requested before the start of the preceding round. Late requests receive zero-point byes. Round 1 bye requests must be made before registration closes or before pairings are posted.

If there’s an odd number of players, then someone has to sit out. You’ll still get a win in the tournament, but no ratings change. Byes are given to the lowest-scoring player in the section, with the exception of players for whom it’s their first tournament or players who have a scheduled zero or half-point bye coming up. Refunds are not given or expected for byes.

Playing-Up allows players to compete in a higher section than their rating would normally place them in.

4.1 Rating-Based Eligibility
A player may request to play up if
(1) their Regular or Live rating is within 150 points of the next section’s floor, in which case a play-up fee applies, or
(2) their Regular or Live rating meets or exceeds the next section’s floor, in which case no play-up fee applies. Peak ratings may not be used for playing-up eligibility.

Examples for a tournament with Open and U1800 sections are as follows:
A) A player with a Monthly rating of 1620 and Live rating of 1739 is eligible to play up.
B) A player with a Monthly rating of 1620 and Live rating of 1647 is not yet eligible.
C) A player with a Monthly rating of 1620 and Live rating of 1809 is eligible with no play-up fee.

4.2 Blitz & Quick Tournaments
Pairings and section placement are always based on Regular ratings. A Blitz or Quick rating may be used only to waive the play-up fee if it is at least 150 points higher than the player’s Regular rating and meets the higher section’s floor.

4.3 Alternate Ratings
FIDE, Chess.com, Chesskid.com, lichess.org, or other foreign federation ratings may not be used to play-up if the player already has a US Chess rating. Alternate ratings may be considered only if the player is unrated with US Chess; if a player has a FIDE ID then the conversion formula in 3.2 is used. Substantiated online ratings must come from established accounts with sufficient game history, at TD discretion.

Unrated players must disclose any FIDE or foreign ratings at registration, and the TD may verify and reassign sections accordingly based on our policies. Failure to disclose relevant ratings may result in reassignment, forfeiture of prizes, or removal without refund.

4.4 TD Discretion
Tournament Directors reserve the right to deny any playing-up request or reassign a player to a different section for competitive balance or tournament integrity.

In the first round, players are ranked by their monthly rating. The top half competes against the bottom half. In subsequent rounds, winners face off against each other, as do the losers. This pattern continues throughout the tournament. There is no elimination in swiss style tournaments.

Tournament Refund Policy: For FIDE-rated and championship tournaments, participants are eligible for a full refund if they cancel more than 48 hours before the tournament begins. If cancellation occurs between 48 hours and 2 hours before the start time, a 50% refund will be issued. No refunds are provided for cancellations made within 2 hours of the tournament start time or for no-shows.

For scholastic, blitz, and weekly Swiss tournaments, a full refund is available if cancellation is made at least 2 hours before the start time. No refunds are issued for cancellations within 2 hours of the start time or for no-shows.

To cancel your registration, please send an email before the applicable deadline. Refunds are typically processed within five business days.

Norm tournaments follow separate refund policies, which are listed on their respective registration pages.

For players on a subscription plan, missing a tournament without prior notice will result in a warning for the first offense. A second offense will lead to a suspension of the subscription. Missed tournaments are not eligible for refunds.

You DO NOT have to bring anything. We provide notation sheets, pencils, chess boards, and clocks. It is recommended that you bring water bottles. We have snacks and drinks for sell onsite.

Among median tiebreak methods, this approach is widely used. It evaluates a player's competition strength by summing the scores of their opponents. Players with an even number of wins and losses discard both the highest and lowest opponent scores. Those with more wins discard the lowest score, while those with more losses discard the highest. In tournaments with nine or more rounds, the top two, bottom two, or all four scores are omitted, depending on the player's win/loss ratio. Unplayed games are counted as half a point each. If a tied player has unplayed games, those are treated as games against opponents with a score of zero.

FIDE-rated tournaments differ from US Chess-rated events in their rating systems and international scope. FIDE uses the Elo system globally, while US Chess focuses on American players. To get a FIDE ID, play in a FIDE tournament and complete the registration form. We’ll handle the rest.

To participate in FIDE tournaments, players must complete the registration form and obtain a FIDE ID, or contact US Chess to request one. An official FIDE rating requires at least five games against previously rated FIDE players, a minimum score of 0.5 points, and a performance rating of 1400 or higher.