CONTINENTAL CHESS PRIZE INFORMATION

 

1. How do I get my prize? 
WE RECOMMEND THAT ALL OVER THE BOARD PRIZEWINNERS WAIT TO RECEIVE
THEIR PRIZES AT THE TOURNAMENT!
Prizewinners may receive prize checks right at the tournament, after the amount of their prize has been determined! The IRS also requires that anyone who wins $600 or more show proof of their Social Security Number to the Tournament Director, in order to receive their check.

Those prizewinners who choose not to receive their prize at the tournament may instead provide us with a cellphone number or email address to send the prize through Paypal or Zelle. These prizes will be sent first after the tournament, though it stilI might take a few weeks.

For online tournaments, there is often an additional delay of up to three weeks for fair play checking before final standings are official.


2. Where do you send my prize? 
We use the information you provided when you entered the tournament in advance.  Most people enter online with our shopping cart, and we use that address, unless you email us and give us a different address.  If you didn't provide an address when you entered, you can send us your address by email to:  Prizes@Chess.US   or  Director@Chess.US  and include your name, which section of which tournament you played, how many points you scored, and your USCF ID number.  DO NOT send your Social Security number by email because it is not secure. 

3. What if I left the tournament, and I am supposed to win a prize of $600 or more, or which brings my total for the year in tournaments held by Continental Chess to $600 or more, and I didn't give you my Social Security Number?
DO NOT SEND US THIS NUMBER BY EMAIL!  CLICK HERE INSTEAD FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DO THIS SECURELY.
 

4. What if I don't have a U.S. Social Security Number, such as foreign player?  CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONSNote that 30% tax is withheld from the net winnings (prize minus entry fee) of nonresident aliens, even for winnings of under $600.
 

5. My child is a minor. Shouldf I provide my social security number instead?

No. Most children have their own Social Security Number (this is also needed for a child to be claimed as a dependent on a tax return).  Even if you could do this, it would usually not be advantageous, because children usually have little or no other income, so pay no tax, while many parents would have to pay tax on chess winnings.
 

6. Is there anyone I can contact about this?  You could try to contact the IRS.  Click here for the IRS website, which has more details.
 

7. Why do I have to wait to get my prize?
It can take a while to send out all prizes for players who didn't get them at the tournament.  Furthermore, we often have big tournaments which begin right away, after another big tournament has ended.  Once the first tournament has ended, we have to interrupt paying the prizes for the first tournament so we can instead focus on running the second tournament.  Sometimes we have a number of tournaments like this in a row.
 

8. What if I leave early,  but I don't want to wait to get my prize?  Do you have an option where I can leave, so I don't have to wait in line to get paid at the tournament, and still get my own prize immediately?
Sorry, we don't offer this option at present.
 

9. Can't you just send me my prize right now, so I don't have to wait, and then send everyone else's prize later on?
Sorry, we don't offer this option either.
 

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