Chess tournament information
PO Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577-0249
845-496-9658,
but it's MUCH better to use email! It reduces the
possibility of error, is more likely to be noticed in time than a
phone message, and many phone messages are inaudible.
For withdrawals or section switches, please email us
at least 2 hours
before your first round.
Email us at: Chesstour At Aol.com (use "@" instead of "At"), with a copy to Chesscentr At Aol.com (use "@" instead of "At")
See bottom of page for reader surveys on schedules/time controls and locations.
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Welcome to Continental Chess!
We have organized
tournaments from coast to coast since the 1960s, open to players of all
ages, from Grandmasters to beginners. Most include sections in which less
experienced players play only each other.
We are not a membership organization, but are affiliated with the US Chess Federation . Our events award USCF ratings and require USCF membership, available through us. We presently plan events in California, Connecticut, DC, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. For tournaments in other states, see uschess.org. If you're not ready to enter, please visit any of our tournaments; there is no fee for spectators.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OF OUR UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS.
For results, see CROSSTABLES. For your latest USCF rating, click here. Note that only "official ratings" are used at our events, unless you would otherwise be unrated. "Unofficial ratings" are NOT used if you have an official rating.
Click here to enter a tournament online.
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PHILADELPHIA
INTERNATIONAL
and WORLD OPEN SENIOR AMATEUR, WORLD OPEN GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP,
WORLD OPEN UNDER 13 CHAMPIONSHIP, WORLD OPEN QUADS
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IMPORTANT NOTICE: WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL PRIZEWINNERS WAIT TO RECEIVE THEIR PRIZES AT THE TOURNAMENT! Prizewinners may receive their prize checks right at the tournament (except for World Open Under 1600, Under 1400 & Under 1200), as soon as 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 prizes at the tournament may instead provide us with their addresses (and social security numbers if necessary) so we can mail these prize checks after the tournament. However, especially during our busy periods, it may take up to four (4) or more weeks for us to process all the outstanding prizes, for you to then receive your prize by mail, instead of just receiving it on site, at the end of the tournament.
REFUND POLICY: If you cannot attend any of our tournaments, send us an email at least 2 hours before the first round. If this is not possible, call the tournament site and ask for the chess tournament. You can apply the entire fee to future tournaments, or obtain a refund of the fee minus a $15 service charge ($10 for 2008 North American Open and previous events). You may also give notice of withdrawal by writing us at least 8 days before the first round. NO REFUND, full or partial, is EVER given once you have started playing your game in the first round.
PLEASE ALLOW at least four weeks to receive your refund!
Especially during busy periods such as June-August or November-January, we tend to have a large backlog of work: entries, refunds, prizes, rating reports, memberships, invitations, questions, hotel contracts & setup, travel to tournaments, etc. If four weeks elapses and your refund does not arrive, it has probably been overlooked- send us an e-mail pointing this out and we will give it priority.
ONLINE
ENTRY using a
secure server is available for all CCA tournaments that offer advance entry!
Online entry is also available at
www.entry.cc,
which you can use if you ever have problems accessing chesstour.com.
Immediately after you enter online, you should see "Thank you for your order" on
the screen. This means your entry is confirmed. NO FURTHER CONFIRMATION
IS NECESSARY and
YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE AN EMAIL.
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SPECIAL FOR MOST TOURNAMENTS!
1 year USCF dues with monthly Chess Life if paid with entry: if paid online $30. By mail, phone or at site, $40. Cost
of reduced dues borne by CCA. USCF membership is required for all our
tournaments.
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ONLINE ENTRY ALERT: Please disregard any message which states "Network Unreachable" or "Could Not Send Email." Once you receive the message "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ORDER," that means your order has been processed (DO NOT re-purchase the same order again, or you will be charged twice!).
We ask that you print out your confirmation, showing your order number, and bring it with you to the tournament, as it will make things easier for us in the unlikely event there is a problem with your entry. If you failed to print it out, bring your order number if possible. NOTE: If you have no printout and didn't record your order number, don't worry and PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT US ASKING FOR THEM; we will NOT look them up as on the average this is far more difficult for us than having players arrive at the tournament without order numbers.
If your online entry is "timed out" and you try again but get "Please do not reload this page, your order has already been processed," this means that YOUR ORDER HAS ALREADY BEEN PROCESSED! Do not enter again or you will be charged twice! "Your order has already been processed" is a confirmation that your entry went through. In general, most entries that are "timed out" after entering credit card info go through OK.
Occasionally your internet connection or our website may be down temporarily. If you can't access online entries, try again an hour or two later. If you still can't get through after a few tries, send us an email and let us know. Do not go to the tournament expecting to say "online entry didn't work, so I will pay the advance entry fee at the door." NO ADVANCE ENTRY FEES ARE ACCEPTED AT THE DOOR!
URGENT!
USCF EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTION
by Bill Goichberg
Please vote in this crucial election for four members of the seven person USCF
Executive Board. Ballots are in the June issue of Chess Life and the
TLA Newsletter, and any member age 16 or over, who was also a member on April
30, may vote. Members who do not receive a ballot may request one from the
USCF office.
The Executive
Board currently includes a member who has sued USCF, the organization she has a
fiduciary duty to support and protect, for $25 million (later reduced to $10
million), a lawsuit I believe is totally without merit. Her husband,
who has refused to deny under oath charges that he made many anonymous and
defamatory internet posts, is also on the Board. If two candidates are
elected who support or tolerate the outrageous conduct of these two, I believe
that the Federation will be in great peril. See
www.uschess.org/legalupdates
for details regarding numerous USCF issues and
www.uschess.org/forums for member
discussion of the latest legal developments.
See
www.checkmate.us for my detailed
commentary on the election. I am a candidate for re-election to the Board,
but am not eligible to continue as President due to a term limit. The
Board elects the President, so with the support of just two more Board members
out of the four to be elected, the next President of USCF could actually be
someone who has an active lawsuit against the Federation which, if successful,
would bankrupt the organization! Don't let this
happen! Please vote for BILL GOICHBERG, JIM BERRY, RUTH
HARING, AND MIKE ATKINS.
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2009 CHICAGO OPEN NEWS AND GAMES:
www.chicagoopen.net
www.monroi.com
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2009 FOXWOODS OPEN NEWS AND GAMES:
www.foxwoodsopen.com
www.monroi.com
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2008 NORTH AMERICAN OPEN NEWS
AND GAMES:
www.northamericanopen.com
www.monroi.com
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2008 WORLD OPEN REPORTS
PhiladelphiaChess.com: Philadelphia International Final Standings
Monroi.com:
World Open games
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Our next tournament is the World's Biggest Open Tournament, the 37th Annual World Open ($250,000 GUARANTEED PRIZE FUND!), July 1-5, 2-5, 3-5, or June 29 - July 5, (4th of July Weekend), at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel in downtown Philadelphia! The complete list of all advance entries received through June 28th is now posted here!
CCA minimum ratings as of June 30th are now posted. They will be used, if above USCF ratings, at all CCA tournaments effective immediately.
We will be posting the advance
entries for our next few tournaments here.
We expect to update the entry lists occasionally.
PLEASE
NOTE! These advance entries are posted
so that players will know they are correctly entered, NOT for the purpose of
showing how many entries there are likely to be! The great majority of
entries for most tournaments come in the last few days before the event or at
the door. Often a few weeks before the event, entries are only 5% to 10%
of their ultimate total, and even a few days before, there are sometimes just
one or two entries in a section/schedule only to have it wind up with ten or
more.
Latest Update:
June 28, 2009
If you are not listed and
the entry deadline has not been reached, please wait for further updates.
If the final post is up and you are omitted, please send us an email.
Please do not report misspellings or
rating changes to us. Misspelled names and changed ratings are
automatically corrected when we import the player's info from the USCF database
using the ID number. We use the July official ratings and if they are too
high for the section requested, the player is automatically moved up.
The advance entry list is not used
for any purpose once the tournament starts, so misspellings and incorrect
ratings on the advance entry list are generally never corrected on that list,
only on the pairing sheets and wall charts.
World Open,
July 1-5, 2-5, 3-5 or June 29-July 5:
Advance entries received by
June 28.
Pacific Coast Open, July 16-19, 17-19, or 18-19: Advance entries received by June 17.
Chicago Class Championships, July 17-19 or 18-19: Advance entries received by June 17.
Bradley Open, July 24-26 or 25-26: Advance entries received by June 17.
Southern Open, July 31-Aug 2 or Aug 1-2:
Advance entries received by June
17.
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We hold four of the five largest prize fund tournaments in the USA:
The 2008 World Open was held at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in downtown Philadelphia, with 5-day schedule July 2-6 and others July 3-6, July 4-6, and June 30-July 6. The prize fund was $320,000, largest for any open tournament in the world. The 2009 World Open will be held at the same location July 1-5, 2-5, 3-5 or June 29-July 5. Guaranteed prizes total $250,000, entry fees are lower than last year, and the event now has class prizes for the lower half of many rating classes. See the old World Open website with results and games from 1998-2006. Over 1500 games may be viewed or downloaded there. See www.monroi.com for games from the 2007 or 2008 World Opens, and for 2009 games beginning July 1.
The $100,000 guaranteed Chicago Open was held as a 7 round Swiss May 23-26, 24-26 or 25-26, 2008 at a magnificent new location, the Westin North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, IL. The 2009 Chicago Open was also held at the same location May 22-25, 23-25 or 24-25, and the 2010 event will be there May 28-31, 29-31 or 30-31.
The 2008 North American Open, a 7-round Swiss, was held at Bally's Las Vegas December 26-29. The 2009 event will again be 7 rounds, Dec 26-29 at Bally's, with alternate schedule option Dec 27-29. This event is always Dec 26-29 each year, regardless of the days of the week those dates are.
The 2009 Foxwoods Open was held April 8-12. This tournament was always held over Easter weekend (no other weekend was available at Foxwoods), with 9 rounds in the Open Section (5 days, GM & IM norms available), and 7 rounds in the lower sections (choice of 4-day or 3-day schedule). The Foxwoods Open is not planned for 2010 due to a requested huge increase in guest room rates. A new event, the Philadelphia Open, will be held at the Philadelphia Sheraton Hotel over Easter weekend, March 31-April 4, April 1-4 or 2-4, with details similar to the Foxwoods Open.
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SURVEY 4/30/09: TOURNAMENT DATES & LOCATIONS
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