What Conditions do you offer Grandmasters
All Grandmasters receive
- Free entry to the Open Section of the National Open
- Free entry to the Walter Browne Memorial Blitz Championship, played on Saturday at 9:00 p.m.
- Entry fees are not withheld from prizes
- You may enter at vegaschess.com/registration/entry-form/ without charge
- Free entry is only available by May 26 – entry fee is $199 after May 26
In addition, Grandmasters who register before May 26 are eligible for the following minimum prizes based on FIDE rating
- 2600 and up $1,000
- 2550 – 2599 $750
- 2500 – 2549 $600
- 2450 – 2499 $450
- 2400 – 2449 $300
- 2300 – 2349 $150
In order to qualify for the guarantee you must
The guarantee is increased by $250 for players who stay at the Westgate in our group. To qualify
- You must reserve and pay for your own room in our group
- Reserve at vegaschess.com/hotel – reservations made at other sites are not eligible
- Your name must be on the hotel reservation
- Notify chess control of your room number and roommate, if any
- If you share a room with another GM only one will receive the increase.
- If both names are on the reservation, you may choose a $125 increase for each instead
Players who win more than the guaranteed amount will not receive additional payment. Players who win less than the guaranteed amount will be paid the difference between the prize won and the guarantee via PayPal within 5 business days of the end of the tournament. Prizes won are paid on site.
We sometimes offer the opportunity to take a bye in round 2 to teach our chess camp or give a simul. This counts as a played round for purposes of the prize guarantee. GMs who have taught before and early entrants get priority.
Do you make accommodations for players with disabilities?
Accessibility for all players is very important to us. We follow the U.S. Chess Accessible Chess Events Guidelines whenever possible.
If you need special accommodations please contact us in advance at 702-930-9550 or by email at accessibility@vegaschessfestival.com.
Do I need to take notation?
All players are required to notate in US Chess rated events. The younger players who may not know how are encouraged to make their best effort.
Are games in the 2-day and 3-day schedules FIDE rated?
The rounds played at faster time controls in the 2-day and 3-day schedules of FIDE rated sections cannot be FIDE rated. They are reported as byes in the report submitted to FIDE.
What is your policy on electronic devices?
What are the dates for next year?
National Open June 10-14 2026, June 16-20, 2027
U.S. Women’s Open June 10-11 2026, June 16-17, 2027
How are FIDE ratings used?
Verified foreign ratings may be used if reliable conversion is possible.
We convert FIDE ratings to USCF by the following formula from the USCF rating committee
- USCF = 20 +1.02 x FIDE, if FIDE greater than 2000
- USCF = 932 + 0.564 x FIDE, if FIDE less than or equal to 2000
June FIDE ratings will be used for the Open section, official June US Chess ratings will be used for all other sections. Other ratings, including US Chess online ratings, may be used if higher. If your rating changes in the June supplement you will be moved up automatically or down on request. Players rated more than 100 points higher than the section limit during the last year may be moved to a higher section.
For a US player US Chess ratings are usually used even if the player has a FIDE rating. For foreign players the highest of US Chess, FIDE or other national ratings is used. The Chief Tournament Director may use whichever rating he believes most accurately reflects the player’s true strength.
I need an invitation to your event in order to request a visa.
Visa requirements for entry into the United States depend on your country of residence. All players are required to make their own arrangements for procuring a visa. A review of the procedures for applying for a US visa may be found at travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas.html
If you require an invitation, you must register for the tournament first and submit your invitation request with invoice number to VegasChess@gmail.com or on our contact page. Please place “Request for invitation for visa application” in the subject line and include all relevant details including legal name, date of birth, passport number, and mailing address. If the player will be accompanied by a coach or family member that person’s information should also be included.
You may register online at https://www.vegaschess.com/registration/entry-form/
If your visa application is denied you may request a full refund. You may be asked to provide proof that the application was turned down.
As we receive and answer questions through our contact page we will add them to this list.
