Event Invitation Requirements: The US Chess Federation is the official sanctioning body for tournament chess in the United States, and for US participation in international chess events. It has over 80,000 registered members. It rates "over the board" tournaments, and supports and promotes chess activities in scholastics and correspondence chess.

The following are the general requirements for USCF national and international invitations. Contact the USCF business office for more details.

Timing of Invitations:

In general, invitations shall be issued not less than three nor more than five months prior to the scheduled beginning of the event.

General Eligibility Requirements:

Eligibility for USCF invitations shall be based on several factors, including: rating, age (if applicable), activity, and residency.

USCF MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Players must be USCF members in good standing at the time of invitation. Reasonable efforts shall be made to accommodate players with expired memberships who would otherwise qualify for USCF invitations.

RATING REQUIREMENTS

Note: specific requirements for 1999 events, with an explanation of which rating lists will be used, was published on November 25, 1998, and is available as 1999 Rating List Calculations.

Players shall be ranked by invitational rating, calculated as follows:

1. U.S. Championship, U.S. Women's Championship, U.S. Junior Championship:

2. FIDE Women's Olympiad:

3. FIDE Olympiad:

4. World Under-26 Team:

5. World Team Championship:

Should any of these players decline to play, additional players shall be selected by applying the FIDE Olympiad criteria.

6. U.S. Cadet Championship, FIDE World Junior Championship, Pan-American Youth Championship:

Exception: USCF traditionally sends two players to the FIDE World Junior Championship (one boy, one girl). The winner of the U.S. Junior Championship is usually offered one invitation; the remaining spot is allocated according to rating.

If the scheduling of the FIDE World Junior Championship is such that this method is not feasible, both candidates shall be determined by the February Rating List.

7. FIDE World Youth and U16/U18 Championships:

a. Qualify by peak post-tournament rating in the previous 12 months, ending with events included in the April rating supplement.

b. Play in at least four open tournaments advertised in Chess Life within the previous calendar year.

The rating history of the top candidates shall be reviewed by the U.S. Scholastic Committee chair. Additional steps, such as an application or essay, may be required.

The top candidate in each age and gender category will be given a choice of either: 1) attending the FIDE World Youth Championships, or 2) attending the FIDE Disney/Mickey for Kids Rapid Chess World Championship (see below).

The next candidate in each age and gender category will receive an invitation to the remaining event. The third candidate will be the first alternate.

In cases where a player has won a medal in the immediately preceding event, FIDE traditionally deems that the player shall have a personal right to attend the next year's event as an additional player.

8. FIDE World Senior Championship

Official players receive support from USCF and the local organizers. Additional players may, however, attend this event as unofficial players. Interested persons are encouraged to contact the USCF office.

9. FIDE Disney/Mickey for Kids Rapid Chess World Championship:

The top candidate in each age and gender category will be given a choice of either 1) attending the FIDE World Youth Championships, or 2) attending the FIDE Disney/Mickey for Kids Rapid Chess World Championship.

The next candidate in each age and gender category will receive an invitation to the remaining event. The third candidate will be the first alternate.

In cases where a player has won a medal in the immediately preceding event, FIDE traditionally deems that the player shall have a personal right to attend the next year's event as an additional player.

10. Denker Tournament of High School Champions:

11. All-America Chess Team:

12. All-Star University Team:

13. All other events:

14. Changes in the rating scale:

14. Ties:

15. Ties will be broken by the number of games played since invitations to the previous event (generally 12 months). It is the responsibility of the tied players to provide evidence of games played.

16. Additional spots will be offered as follows:

b. U.S. Junior Championship: The previous year's U.S. Junior Open Champion shall be directly seeded (if still eligible by age).

AGE REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for national and international competitions with age requirements, candidates must meet those age requirements as of January 1 of the year of competition.

ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS

Games played to satisfy the activity requirement must be played under the rating system used to select players for a particular event (see above). Thus, games played under the USCF's Quick Chess rating system do not count toward the activity requirement. There is no minimum number of events.

1. U.S. Women's Championship:
Players must play a minimum of 20 USCF-rated games in the 12 months prior to invitation. Games played in the previous U.S. Women's Championship will count toward this total, even if they fall outside the one-year time period.

The 20-game requirement becomes effective for the 2000 U.S. Women's Championship and all subsequent years. For 1999, the 10-game requirement shall apply (see below).

2. FIDE Women's Olympiad:
Players must play a minimum of 40 USCF-rated games during the 24- month period prior to invitation.

3. All other events:
a. Play at least 10 USCF-rated games (including games played in the FIDE World Championship cycle, or other recognized world championship competition).

b. For the U.S. Championship or FIDE Olympiad, players may satisfy the activity requirement by their participation in the immediately preceding event.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

Before becoming eligible for USCF invitations, non-United States citizens must fulfill the following residency requirements:

1. For national invitations: Complete three continuous years (36 months) of United States residency, with a U.S. address, immediately prior to the event in question.

Players under age 20 are considered eligible upon proof of full- time enrollment in a U.S. school.

2. For FIDE invitations: Complete three continuous years (36 months) of United States residency, with a U.S. address, immediately prior to the event in question. In addition, for FIDE team competition (Olympiad, World Team, etc.), candidates must provide a written promise that they will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as legally possible.

Players under age 20 are considered eligible upon proof of full- time enrollment in a U.S. school. However, FIDE may still, at its discretion, require that such individuals fulfill a waiting period of up to three years.

3. Zonal events: In years in which the U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship are also Zonal tournaments, any qualification spots allotted by FIDE from these events for the respective Interzonals or other world championship competition will be offered only to the highest-scoring players who also fulfill all FIDE requirements. If a question arises as to USCF versus FIDE requirements, FIDE's criteria shall be used.

4. Change of Affiliation Code: Players must provide a written declaration of their intention to remain a U.S. resident for the foreseeable future. The USCF shall then contact FIDE to arrange for the player's national affiliation code to be changed to reflect the player's status as a U.S. player.

5. Representing Other Countries: Players must refuse to represent other countries within the waiting period as specified above. Playing for another country at any time requires a candidate for invitations to begin the waiting period anew (i.e., three years from the time of the infraction for adults; at least one year for players under age 20).

Representing another country is defined as playing in the national championship of another country, and/or playing as a member of another country's national team in international competition.

6. Players without previous international experience: Players without previous international experience and/or FIDE ratings shall usually be given U.S. status immediately by FIDE. Players seeking to change their national affiliation code generally must satisfy the full waiting period. If a question arises as to USCF versus FIDE requirements, FIDE's criteria will be used.

Players shall, in general, suffer no penalty for simply participating in a FIDE-rated event under their current national affiliation code (such as in futurities or other norm-granting events not listed above), until such time as their code is changed to reflect their status as a U.S. player.

Note: USCF invitations are a privilege, not a right afforded to any player by virtue of his or her status as a USCF member. USCF reserves the right to not issue invitations to any particular event, or to change these criteria without advance notice.