2026 Southern California Open
Sept. 4-7, 2026 (Labor Day Weekend!)
$60,000 Guaranteed Prize Fund!
LOCATION:
Hilton Los Angeles North/Glendale
100 West Glenoaks Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91202
Reservations: 818-956-5466
ORGANIZER:
Armen Ambartsoumian - 818-640-5974
Email: americanchessacademy@gmail.com
REQUIREMENTS:
****CHESS SETS PROVIDED, MUST BRING YOUR OWN CLOCK****
US Chess Membership required for all sections.
Pay here: https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess
Southern California residents ONLY: SCCF membership required (Regular $25/Juniors U18 $20).
Pay here: https://www.scchess.com/join_sccf.php
FIDE ID Required for Open, U2300 and U2100 Sections. If you do not have one please fill out the the following form prior to tournament:
https://forms.gle/fCCTis7WgtJEb2rv6
****PLAYERS MAY NOT POSSESS PHONES DURING PLAY!****
(Players must leave
phones in hotel room, car or in a backpack by the table, turned off or on silent)
REGISTRATION FEES:
$195 Early Bird by 5/31
$228 Regular Fee by 8/17
$255 Late Fee by 8/31
$285 Last Minute Fee by 6pm on 9/3
(Registration Closed after 6pm on 9/3)
See TD for ALL RE-ENTRIES!
All GMs and WGMs: Entries Free ($228 from prize) register by 8/31. ($228 Entry Fee AFTER 8/31)
All IMs and WIMs: Entry fee $100 less than regular fee until 8/31.
($228 Entry Fee AFTER 8/31).
All: No checks, credit cards OK
1900-2100 FIDE rated can play in open division for an additional $200 to the entrance
fee.
A 10% service charge will apply to refunds requested after 24 hours of
registration.
SCHEDULE (6 ROUNDS):
(4 Day)
Fri. Rd 1 (6pm)
Sat. Rd 2 (10am) Rd 3 (4pm)
Sun. Rd 4 (10am) Rd 5 (4pm)
Mon. Rd 6 (10am)
(3 Day)
Sat. Rd 1 (10am) Rd 2 (1pm) Rd 3 (4pm) (Play rds 1 & 2 G/55;d5, then merge rd 3 with normal time control)
Sun. Rd 4 (10am) Rd 5 (4pm)
Mon. Rd 6 (10am)
SECTIONS+PRIZES:
Open
$6000+3000+1500+1000+500+300 FIDE Rated
U2300
$5000+2500+1250+600+300+300 FIDE Rated
U2100
$4000+2000+1000+500+300+300 FIDE Rated
U1900
$3000+1500+1000+500+300+300
U1700
$3000+1500+1000+500+300+300
U1500
$3000+1500+1000+500+300+300
U1300
$2000+1000+500+500+300+300
ADDITIONAL PRIZES:
Best Unrated 1900+ $300
Best Unrated in u19-u13 $300
Best Over 65y/o $300
Best Under 10y/o $300
Mixed Doubles Bonus Prizes: Best male/female combined 2-player team score in
Rounds 1-6 across all sections: $1000-500-300-200. Team must average under 2200.
Best Woman Result: Open ($400), U2300 ($300), U2100 ($200), U1900 ($200), U1700
($200), U1500 ($150), U1300 ($100).
Best College Team: $1,000 (Best 3 results from each school).
TIME CONTROLS:
G/90;+ 30 second increment
3 day schedule play rounds 1 and 2 G/55;d5, then merge round 3 with normal time control.
BYES:
Half-point byes available.
Max amount of byes; 2
Pre-commitment required:
Need to declare your intention to take a bye before a specific round per US Chess
regulations.
2026 SoCal Blitz Tournament (SIDE EVENT!!)
Monday Sept. 7th, 2026
$2,000 Guaranteed Prize Fund!
(No Equipment Supplied - MUST Bring Clock and Chess Sets!)
USCF Blitz Rated
Higher of Regular or Blitz ratings used for pairings and prizes
($15 service charge for ALL refunds)
5ss, G/3;2+, Double Round, 10 games.
3 Sections:
Open: $500-225-125
Under 2100: $300-175-100
Under 1600: $300-175-100
Schedule: Round 1 starts at 5:30pm. Estimated finish time at 8:30pm.
Registration ends at 4:30pm.
Entry Fee: $50 by 2pm on 9/7. After 2pm, $60 by 4:30pm
IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION
For players winning prize money of $600 or over, and for non-resident aliens
winning prize money of any amount
FOR US RESIDENT PRIZES OF $600 OR MORE, OR WHICH WILL BRING THE
TOTAL PRIZES YOU RECEIVE FROM THE SAME PAYER TO $600 OR MORE FOR
THE CALENDAR YEAR: To receive a check, please bring your US Social Security
card to all tournaments with prizes possibly this large. If you have no US social
security number, the organizer must withhold and send to the IRS 30% of your
prize. Prize checks will be written only to the winners, not to third parties.
FOR ALL PRIZES, IF YOU ARE A NON-RESIDENT ALIEN, the organizer must
withhold and send to the IRS 30% of your prize.
IF 30% OF YOUR PRIZE IS WITHHELD AND SUBMITTED TO THE IRS, you will
receive a 1042 form in the following calendar year, usually in March. You may use
this form to submit a tax return to the IRS, claim expenses, and attempt to
recover some or all of the withheld tax.
WE DEDUCT ENTRY FEE from nonresident alien prizes and base the 30%
withholding on the net total, however no tournament counts as negative income,
so if you win nothing, no fee is deducted from your yearly total, and if you win
less than the entry fee, the prize is not reported.