Sponsored by the Oregon Chess Federation (OCF) and Portland Chess Club (PCC)
FORMAT: The tournament is a 6-round Swiss paired event with two rounds per day and is open to everyone, regardless of residency or age. Up to two half point byes are available if requested before round one.
SECTIONS: There are five sections, 2000+, U2000, U1700, U1400, and U1100. Players may play up one section for a $25 play-up fee (can’t play up more than one section). The official September US Chess over-the-board regular ratings are generally used for section eligibility, pairings, and prize eligibility. Unofficial US Chess over-the-board regular ratings, US Chess online regular ratings, or converted foreign ratings are generally used for players with no official US Chess over-the-board regular rating.
TIME CONTROL: G/100;inc30 (one-hour forty minutes per player with thirty seconds added for each move). Bring an increment capable digital clock as none are supplied (sets, boards, notation sheets, and pens/pencils are provided for tournament play only). Players are responsible for knowing how to set their clock.
SCHEDULE: A players meeting is at 9:45am on Saturday. There is no need for registered players to “check-in” prior to round 1. The rounds start at 10am and 3:30pm each day.
RATED: All the sections are US Chess regular rated. The 2000+ and U2000 sections are also FIDE standard rated.
ENTRY FEE:$130 if registered by Friday, August 11; $140 from August 12 until Friday, September 1 at noon. Free entry for GM’s and IM’s with up to $130 deducted from any prize won. US Chess membership is required for all players. Oregon Chess Federation (OCF) membership is required for Oregon residents. See the OCF Membership page for instructions on obtaining an OCF membership.
PRIZES: $13,000 total prize fund based on 150 players. The prize fund is adjusted proportionally if there are a different number of players except $6500 is guaranteed.
2000+ Section: 1st-$1550, 2nd-$1250, 3rd-$900
U2150: 1st-$400, 2nd-$300, 3rd-$200
U2000 Section: 1st-$500, 2nd-$400, 3rd-$300
U1850: 1st-$400, 2nd-$300, 3rd-$200
U1700 Section: 1st-$500, 2nd-$400, 3rd-$300
U1550: 1st-$400, 2nd-$300, 3rd-$200
U1400 Section: 1st-$500, 2nd-$400, 3rd-$300
U1250: 1st-$400, 2nd-$300, 3rd-$200
U1100 Section: 1st-$500, 2nd-$400, 3rd-$300
U950: 1st-$400, 2nd-$300, 3rd-$200
Unrated players are eligible for all the prizes in their section except the U950 prizes in the U1100 section. Prizes are combined and/or split if there is a tie. Players winning $600+ must complete an IRS form with their Social Security number before receiving their prize. Foreign players may be subject to withholding taxes. Prizes are paid via check or PayPal.
QUALIFIERS: The 2000+ section is a qualifier for both the Championship and Challengers sections of the Oregon Closed and all the sections are a qualifier for the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation (OSCF) State Championship.
LOCATION: Lloyd Center DoubleTree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, OR 97232. There is free parking in the hotel parking garage (parking passes to be able to leave the parking garage for free will be available at the tournament), Hotel rooms for any of the nights of September 1-4 are available at a special chess rate of $149 plus tax per night for either a room with one queen bed or two queen beds. The hotel chess rate is not guaranteed to be available after August 14, or even earlier if the rooms are sold out. Use this link or call 1-800-996-0510 to reserve a room.
REGISTRATION: Register online at onlineregistration.cc (no mailed or on-site registrations are allowed). The deadline to register is Friday, September 1 at noon. Email [email protected] if you encounter any issues while trying to register online, need to withdraw after having already registered, or are unable to pay the entry fee online via credit card, debit card, or PayPal.
TOURNAMENT RULES: The FIDE rules are used in the 2000+ and U2000 sections while the US Chess rules are used in the U1700, U1400, and U1100 sections. The following applies to all sections: 1) Players are not allowed to have a phone or other electronic device capable of chess analysis or communication on their person during their games. Any such device a player has with them must be turned off and stored in the player’s bag (backpack, chess bag, etc.). The penalty for possessing such a device is at the discretion of the chief tournament director. 2) You must let the tournament staff know at least thirty minutes prior to the start time of the next round if you decide to withdraw from the tournament or skip that round. Any player who forfeits a game without a valid reason in the judgement of the chief tournament director will not be allowed to play in the Oregon Open next year. 3) As a courtesy to your opponents, please show up on time for the rounds. However, a player is not forfeited for a no-show until one hour after the round has started. If both players are late but arrive before the one hour forfeit time, the first player to arrive splits the elapsed time on the clock.
SIDE EVENTS: Rapid-starts at 8:30pm on Saturday, September 2 Blitz-starts at 8:30pm on Sunday, September 3. See detailed information in the pdf flyer at pdxchess.org.
QUESTIONS: Send an email to [email protected] if you have any questions. During the tournament, if you decide to withdraw or skip a round and are not on-site, send us an email via this email address letting us know.