The 2025 US Chess Championship will take place in Saint Louis, October 12 to October 25, 2025. It is the most prestigious closed chess events in the country, and it will crown the national champion. The US Chess Championship is also among the top events of The Chess Calendar and the North America Chess Calendar.
Where to follow: Live games / Participants and information / Video broadcast
The event will be followed by Clutch Chess with Carlsen, Nakamura, Gukesh, and Caruana
2025 U.S. & U.S. Women’s Championships Regulations & Schedule of Events
- Conduct: Participants are required to maintain a professional demeanor throughout this competition and adhere to the US Chess Code of Ethics, US Chess Safe Play Policy, and FIDE Laws and Regulations. Any violations of these policies or established decorum will prompt the Saint Louis Chess Club to take necessary actions. This may involve reporting the incident to FIDE and US Chess, potentially affecting the player’s eligibility for future invitations.
- Format: The Event shall be a 12-player tournament paired as a Round Robin.
- Prompt Arrival: Players are expected to arrive promptly for their games. Players not at their board at the beginning of each round may receive a fine of $1,000 to be deducted from their prize for each occurrence. Players more than 10 (ten) minutes late for a round shall forfeit that round. Players who withdraw or forfeit a game may not receive any prize money.
- No Personal Items: No “unauthorized devices” or personal items are permitted in the tournament area without prior approval of the Chief Arbiter. Violation of this policy will result in forfeit of the round and may lead to expulsion from the event.
- Draw Offers: No draw offers before the completion of Black’s 60th move. In the event of a claim for the draw before the completion of Black’s 60th move, Article 9.2 of the FIDE Laws of Chess (three-fold repetition) shall be verified by one of the Event Arbiters.
- Schedule of Events: Each round shall begin at the start times listed in the Schedule of Events attached hereto (the “Schedule of Events”).
- Pairings & Scoring:
- Round Robin: Players will be randomly seeded and paired according to the standard FIDE Berger Tables.
- Games shall be worth one point for a win, half a point for a draw, and zero points for a loss.
- Time Control:
- The time control shall be forty moves in 90 minutes, followed by the rest of the game in thirty minutes with a 30-second increment from move one (40/90,SD/30;+30).
- Prizes: The total prize funds shall be distributed according to the table below and the terms described herein.
| U.S. Women’s Championship | |||
| 1 | $35,000 | 7 | $7,000 |
| 2 | $30,000 | 8 | $6,000 |
| 3 | $20,000 | 9 | $5,500 |
| 4 | $13,000 | 10 | $5,000 |
| 5 | $9,000 | 11 | $4,500 |
| 6 | $8,000 | 12 | $4,000 |
| Winner’s Bonus | $5,000 | ||
| Total Prize Fund | $152,000 | ||
| U.S. Championship | |||
| 1 | $55,000 | 7 | $11,000 |
| 2 | $43,000 | 8 | $10,000 |
| 3 | $35,000 | 9 | $9,000 |
| 4 | $25,000 | 10 | $8,000 |
| 5 | $20,000 | 11 | $7,000 |
| 6 | $14,000 | 12 | $6,000 |
| Winner’s Bonus | $7,000 | ||
| Total Prize Fund | $250,000 | ||
* There are two bonus prizes available:
- There will be a “Fischer Bonus Prize” with up to $64,000 available. The player will be awarded the bonus prize consistent with the top consecutive win streak achieved, based on the following consecutive win streaks (eligible only with a consecutive win streak starting at Round 1):
Five (5) consecutive wins: $1,000
Six (6) consecutive wins: $2,000
Seven (7) consecutive wins: $4,000
Eight (8) consecutive wins: $8,000
Nine (9) consecutive wins: $16,000
Ten (10) consecutive wins: $32,000
Eleven (11) consecutive wins: $64,000
- There will be a “Finish Strong Prize” with up to $5,000 available. This prize is a $5,000 bonus to the player or players with the highest score in the second half of their tournament, starting in Round 6. In case of a tie, the prize will be split between all players with the winning score. This prize will be in addition to the placement prize the player(s) receives in the Event.
- Where there is a tie for any position, the Event prize money shall be divided equally amongst all the tied players.
- For any indivisible prizes, the following math tiebreaks will be used: Most wins, most blacks, direct encounter, Sonneborn-Berger, Tournament Performance Rating.
- The Winner’s Bonus is awarded to the outright winner of the event or the winner determined by playoffs.
- Arbitration
- The tournament shall be played according to the FIDE Laws of Chess. Games shall be submitted for rating to FIDE, US Chess and URS.
- The tournament shall be supervised by the Chief Arbiter (the “CA”).
- The CA shall be responsible for ensuring fair play and implementing any anti cheating measures.
- Any player wishing to appeal a decision made by an arbiter must notify the CA of their intention to appeal no later than 15 minutes after the end of their game impacted by the decision and before the start of any subsequent rounds scheduled for the same day. A written appeal must then be submitted no later than 30 minutes after the end of the last game on the day of the decision. There shall be no fee unless the Appeals Committee considers the appeal to have been frivolous or vexatious.
- The Chief Organizer (the “CO”) shall appoint a three (3)-person Appeals Committee consisting of at least two (2) arbiters and one (1) players representative. The CO shall be Richard Pointer, IA, IO.
- Decisions of the Appeals Committee are final.
- In the event of an unexpected occurrence, the CA reserves the right to make all decisions in conjunction with or on behalf of the CO.
- Playoffs
- In the event of a tie for first place in the Event, there shall be a playoff amongst all the players involved in the tie. The playoff shall determine the winner of the Event.
- The playoff shall take place on the day immediately following the end of the last scheduled round.
- If at any stage there are only two players in a remaining tie, they shall contest a Double Round Robin (a mini-match consisting of two games) at the relevant time limit specified below.
- The players in the tie(s) shall initially contest a Rapid Round Robin, with the pairing numbers determined in the following tie-break order, with player 1 having the best tie-breaks: Most wins, most blacks, direct encounter, drawing of lots. The time limit shall be game in 15 minutes with a 10 second increment per move from move 1 (G/15;+10).
- If there is still a tie or ties after the Rapid Round Robin is complete, the players in the remaining tie(s) shall contest a further Rapid Round Robin at the above time limit.
- If all the players in the second Round Robin are the same as in the first Round Robin, then the second Round Robin shall take place with colors reversed. Otherwise, new pairing numbers determined by lot will be used.
- If there is still a tie or ties after the second Round Robin is complete, the players in the remaining tie(s) shall contest a Blitz Round Robin, with the pairing numbers determined by lot. The time limit shall be game in 5 minutes with a 2 second increment per move from move 1 (G/5;+2).
- If there is still a tie after the Blitz Round Robin is complete, further Blitz Round Robins shall take place with the players still in the remaining tie(s), until every tie has been resolved, subject to the provisions of Regulation 11.7 below.
- If all the players in the subsequent Round Robin are the same as in the previous Round Robin, then that Round Robin shall take place with colors reversed. Otherwise, new pairing numbers determined by lot will be used.
- If any tie remains unresolved after four Round Robins have been held (two Rapid and two Blitz), the Chief Arbiter shall be empowered, after consulting with the players, to direct that the tie be resolved by other means.
Schedule of Events
| Day | Date | Time | Event |
| Friday | 10/10/25 | Player Arrival (By 6:00PM) | |
| Saturday | 10/11/25 | 10:00AM – 4:00PM | Player Photos & Interviews |
| 5:00-5:30PM | Player Meeting | ||
| 5:30-6:00PM | Opening Reception | ||
| 6:00-7:30PM | Opening Ceremony | ||
| Sunday | 10/12/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 1 |
| Monday | 10/13/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 2 |
| Tuesday | 10/14/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 3 |
| Wednesday | 10/15/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 4 |
| Thursday | 10/16/25 | Rest Day | |
| Friday | 10/17/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 5 |
| Saturday | 10/18/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 6 |
| Sunday | 10/19/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 7 |
| Monday | 10/20/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 8 |
| Tuesday | 10/21/25 | Rest Day | |
| Wednesday | 10/22/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 9 |
| Thursday | 10/23/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 10 |
| Friday | 10/24/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Round 11 |
| Saturday | 10/25/25 | 12:00-5:00PM | Playoff (if necessary) |
| 6:00-10:00PM | Closing Ceremony & Dinner | ||
| Sunday | 10/26/25 | Player Departure |
