http://www.uschess.org/content/view/7865/131/

The US Chess Invitational Requirements can be found at http://www.uschess.org/content/view/11958/710/ 

Introduction.  The following are the general requirements for US Chess Scholastic National and International Invitation Events and Awards. Whenever possible, invitations shall be issued several months prior to the scheduled beginning of the event. Eligibility for US Chess invitations shall be based on several factors including: established rating (not provisional), age (if applicable), activity, and residency. The residency requirements can be found in 1d of the US Chess Invitational Requirements, linked above.  Match points will be excluded in ratings calculations. Players must be US Chess 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 US Chess invitations. The Activity Requirement will be 30 rated games (either US Chess or FIDE-rated—if FIDE-rated, submitted to US Chess for verification) in the 12 months prior to the official date of the Rating Supplement used for the event.  

US Chess reserves the right to use a different post-tournament rating in place of the Rating Supplement rating in the specific case of an incorrectly reported result that was calculated as part of that Rating Supplement.  Members with questions about these requirements should contact the US Chess Office at 931-787-1234. 

1. U.S. Junior Championship (Invitational) Selection Criteria:  U.S. Junior Championship has a maximum of 10 players—the top players Under 20 (as of Jan. 1).

1.1. Selection is based on the average of the:

1.1.1. Rating in the US Chess April Rating Supplement

1.1.2. Peak Post-Tournament (PPT) rating (going back 12 months from the effective date of the April Rating supplement)

1.2. The winner of the preceding U.S. Junior Open and the winner of the preceding Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions shall be directly seeded, if still eligible by age.

2. U.S. Junior Girls Championship (Invitational) Selection Criteria:  The U.S. Junior Girls Championship has a maximum of ten players—the top players Under 20 (as of Jan. 1.)

2.1. Selection is based on the average of the:

2.1.1. Rating in the US Chess April Rating Supplement

2.1.2. Peak Post-Tournament (PPT) rating (going back 12 months from the effective date of the April Rating Supplement)

2.2. The winner of the preceding Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions shall be directly seeded, if still eligible by age. 

3. U.S. Cadet Championship Selection Criteria:  The tournament has a maximum of eight players—the top players Under 16 (as of Jan. 1) based on the April Rating Supplement. The winner of the preceding Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions shall be directly seeded, if still eligible by age.

4. FIDE World Junior Championship Selection Criteria:  The winners of the U.S. Junior Championship and the U.S. Junior Girls Championship are each offered an invitation. 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 Supplement.  Invitational ratings are determined by the ratings in the US Chess February Rating Supplement for the year of competition. If a champion player declines, invitations are offered down to the fifth-highest rated player (top five boys, top five girls) from the ratings in the February Rating Supplement.  Peak published ratings are not used as a criteria for this event.

5. Pan-American Junior Championships Selection Criteria: US Chess usually sends one boy and one girl to the Pan-American Junior Championships.  The invitations are determined using the ratings in the US Chess February Rating Supplement. 

6. Pan-American Youth Festival Selection Criteria: While the Pan-American Youth Festival is an open tournament (and players attending may require a letter from the US Chess Scholastic Office verifying membership status), the official representatives of US Chess in each age category are determined by the ratings in the February Rating Supplement for the year of competition. Subject to the organizer's regulations, players can usually earn a personal right (PR) to compete in the Pan-American Youth Festival by winning a Gold medal in the previous Pan-American Youth Festival competition. If a player who has earned a personal right also qualifies as the top qualified player by rating in their age category, the next player in line will be considered the official representative in that category and will also be entitled to receive financial assistance from US Chess and the organizer are offered towards the cost of participation. 

7. FIDE World Youth (U18, U16 and U14) and World Cadet (U12, U10 and U8) Chess Championships Selection Criteria:  The World Youth and World Cadet are annual tournaments held traditionally between June and November.  Players who attend as part of the U.S. Delegation must be approved to participate by US Chess no later than the deadline established by US Chess (see paragraph 7.5.3 below).  The age categories are currently U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 (subject to change by the host country and FIDE).  The age cutoff is based on January 1st of the year of the tournament. The list of invited players will be published by US Chess along with the announcement of open registration for the event. US Chess and the Scholastic Council shall review the rating history of all qualified players before publishing the final selections. Irregularities in a player's rating history may be grounds for disqualification. 

7.1. If any FIDE rules or regulations are determined to contradict these selection criteria, then the FIDE rules and procedures have precedence.  If the organizer of the event does not limit the number of players who can participate, any US Chess players with “USA” as their FIDE country who meet the age criteria may attend the World Youth or World Cadet as a member of the US delegation.  

7.2. There are four (4) types of players in each delegation:  Official Representative (OR), Personal Right players (PR), Invited Players, and Regular Players.  Those types are defined here.

7.2.1. Official Representative:  The OR is the top invited player in each category based on the Peak Post Tournament rating as of the effective date of the supplement that determines eligibility for invitation.  Each OR is entitled to receive whatever financial assistance is offered towards the cost of participation.  In case of a tie, the player with the highest regular rating in the monthly US Chess Rating Supplement used to generate the list of invited players will be considered the OR.  If two or more players are still tied, the OR will be the player with the most regular rated games in the 12 months preceding the monthly supplement used to generate the list of invited players.  If the player declines the invitation, the next player in line will be entitled to the financial assistance described above.

7.2.2. Personal Right:  Players can usually earn PR to compete in the World Youth or World Cadet in one of the following ways.

7.2.2.1. A gold, silver or bronze medalist at the World Youth or World Cadet may be PR for the World Youth or World Cadet for the next year.  (This depends on the organizer for that World Youth or World Cadet.  It is NOT controlled by US Chess.)

7.2.2.2. A gold medalist at the Pan-American Youth (PAY) Festival will be PR for the World Youth or World Cadet held later the same calendar year.  (As of September 2018, the FIDE Handbook contradicts this criterion.  However, the same-year PR status for PAY gold medalists has been confirmed by the Continental President for FIDE Americas as of that date.)

7.2.2.3. If a player who has earned PR is also an OR, that player will be considered OR. 

7.2.3. Invited Players:  Must meet the minimum rating requirement listed below, as well as the activity requirement of 30 regular rated games in the 12-month qualification period.  The 30 regular rated games can be either US Chess or FIDE-rated.  If the games are FIDE-rated, the player may request US Chess verification.  Invited players are protected from initial delegation reduction (see paragraph 7.3 below), if required.  Invited players are also eligible for certain OR/PR incentives if players ahead of them on the invitation list decline to participate.  A player can earn invited player status based on his/her rating in either the US Chess Rating Supplement used for the tournament, or his/her Peak Post-Tournament (PPT) rating as determined on the effective date of the Rating Supplement used for the tournament. Re-rates are NOT considered in this evaluation.

7.2.3.1. Within each age and gender category, players may be invited to represent the USA.  These players are required to pay the same fees as all other invited players unless they are also OR/PR players for the event in question or are notified otherwise by US Chess.  Players may be invited to represent the USA under any of the following criteria:

7.2.3.1.1. Achieve the minimum rating requirement within the age and gender categories shown in the table below. These are PPT ratings achieved in the previous 12 months before the effective date of the US Chess Rating Supplement used for the event.  The invitations are determined using the ratings in the US Chess February Rating Supplement.  (Please note on the US Chess website the dates that Supplements are run). 

7.2.3.1.2. Players who achieve a perfect 6-0 score or win the first place trophy in any section of the All-Girls National Championships

7.2.3.1.3. Winner of the US Junior Girls Championship preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event 

7.2.3.1.4.  Those who achieve a perfect 7-0 score or win the National Champion trophy in a Championship section of the National Elementary Championship, the National Junior High Championship, or the National High School Championship in the same year of the World Youth or World Cadet Chess Championship.

7.2.3.1.5. Winner of the Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions preceding the World Youth event

7.2.3.1.6. Winner of the Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.2.3.1.7. Winner of the Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.2.3.1.8. Winner of the Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.2.3.2. If an Invited Player is unable to attend, that place will not be offered to a Regular Player.

7.2.4. Regular Players:  This designation is used for all other players who wish to participate.  There are no special benefits or protections for regular players.  Regular players do not need to meet the activity requirement, but they must still be eligible to represent the US under FIDE rules.  US Chess welcomes all regular players to travel and experience an international youth tournament.

7.3. Delegation Reduction or Size Restrictions.  Should FIDE or the tournament organizer in any way restrict our delegation’s overall size, participants will be restricted (or the size of our delegation shall be reduced) using the order shown below.  Any player affected by this situation will have his/her registration fee promptly returned. 

7.3.1. Regular players.

7.3.2. Invited players, starting with the lowest-rated invited player.

7.4. Fees.

7.4.1. Administrative Fees.  US Chess may establish an administrative fee for all players.  When this happens, the administrative fee is mandatory for all players, and helps to defray some of the costs of sending our delegation to an event. The administrative fee charged to "regular players" may be greater.  Only players who fall into one of the following categories are exempt from paying the administrative fee.

7.4.1.1. PR players

7.4.1.2. OR players

7.4.1.3. Winner of the Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions preceding the World Youth event

7.4.1.4. Winner of the Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.4.1.5. Winner of the Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.4.1.6. Winner of the Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.4.1.7. Those who achieve a perfect 7-0 score or win the National Champion trophy in a Championship section of the National Elementary Championship, the National Junior High Championship, or the National High School Championship in the same year of the World Youth or World Cadet Chess Championship.

7.4.2. Coaching Fees.  US Chess may set an optional coaching fee for all players who wish to avail themselves of the services of the coaches in the USA delegation.  Only players who fall into one of the categories listed below are exempt from paying the coaching fee. 

7.4.2.1. Top two invited players by rating in each division

7.4.2.2. PR players

7.4.2.3. Winner of the Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions preceding the World Youth event

7.4.2.4. Winner of the Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.4.2.5. Winner of the Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.4.2.6. Winner of the Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions preceding the World Youth or World Cadet event

7.4.3. Players who do not qualify for free coaching must request coaching services from US Chess at the time of registration for the event and will be invoiced the optional coaching fee.  This permits US Chess to hire appropriate numbers of coaches.

7.5. Other Information.

7.5.1. All players must meet the current qualification requirements.  All players who qualified in the past must still meet the current requirements, regardless of their previous achievements. 

7.5.2. Players who transfer their FIDE country to USA may not represent the US until the date established by FIDE. 

7.5.3. US Chess reserves the right to decline any registration that is not completed by the deadline established by US Chess in the event announcement or in subsequent communication from the US Chess national office.  Please note, the US Chess deadline is usually 3-4 weeks before the organizer’s deadline, as it takes time to verify, communicate and (if necessary) correct information between US Chess and foreign federations.  The US Chess deadline must be met for a registration to be processed.

8. FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad Selection Criteria: The World Youth U16 Olympiad is an annual tournament featuring team play.  Teams are comprised of four players and an alternate.  Players who attend as part of the U.S. Team must be approved by US Chess to participate.  The age cutoff is based on January 1st of the tournament year.  Should any FIDE rule or regulation be determined to contradict these selection criteria, FIDE rules and procedures shall have precedence.  Invited players must satisfy the residency requirements in 1d of the US Chess Invitational Requirements (click here).

8.1. FIDE does not limit the number of teams that can participate. Any group of four or five US Chess players with “USA” as their FIDE country who meet the age criteria can attend the World Youth U16 Olympiad as a member of the U.S. Delegation.  Only the sponsored team members must meet the rating and activity requirements defined in the remainder of Paragraph 8 below.  All other players may be allowed to participate; however, these additional players will not be offered financial assistance by US Chess.  They must pay their own way, to include the administrative fee established by US Chess. These players do not need to meet the activity requirement, but they must be eligible to represent the U.S. under FIDE rules.  Players who transfer their FIDE country to the USA may not represent the U.S. until the date established by FIDE. 

8.2. The sponsored team members (e.g. the team who receives US Chess financial assistance) must meet the rating requirement (see paragraph 8.4) as well as the activity requirement of 30 regular rated games in the 12-month qualification period.  The 30 regular-rated games can be either US Chess or FIDE-rated.  If the games are FIDE rated, the player may request US Chess verification. 

8.3. The sponsored team shall consist of 5 players and one coach/Head of Delegation.  Per FIDE requirements at least one of the players must be female who will play in at least 1/3 of the games.

8.4. The sponsored team will be comprised of the 5 highest rated eligible players based on those players’ highest rating from the three (3) US Chess Rating Supplements published three months before the selection date.  The selection date will be three months before the event, unless the US Chess office deems that a different timeline is necessary.  For example, if the World Youth U16 Olympiad starts in November, then the team selection date will be in August and the 3 US Chess Rating Supplements used to select players will be the May, June and July supplements.

8.5. Only US Chess ratings will count for selection. FIDE ratings will not be averaged in. This will ensure that players from areas without access to FIDE rated events will not be discriminated against.

9. Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions Selection Criteria:  Players must be confirmed by their respective State Affiliate and must meet the general eligibility rules for the event.  For more information, contact the US Chess Office or see https://new.uschess.org/denker/.

10. Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions Selection Criteria:  Players must be confirmed by their respective State Affiliate and must meet the general eligibility rules for the event. For more information, contact the US Chess Office or see https://new.uschess.org/barber/.

11. Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions Selection Criteria:  Players must be confirmed by their respective State Affiliates and must meet the general eligibility rules for the event. For more information, contact the US Chess Office or see  https://new.uschess.org/haring/.

12. Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions Selection Criteria:  Players must be confirmed by their respective State Affiliate and must meet the general eligibility rules for the event. For more information, contact the US Chess Office or see https://new.uschess.org/rockefeller/.

13. All-America Chess Team Selection Criteria:  This is an honorary award to players of U.S. citizenship under age 19 who must meet minimum rating and activity requirements that are reviewed annually by the US Chess Office and the US Chess Scholastic Council. The events included for rating and activity requirements are those from July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the current year. Typically the awards are officially announced at the National K-12 Grades Championships held each December. A student need not be present at the tournament to receive an award.  Starting with the 2019 All-America Team, the following rating minimums will be required for designation to the All-America Team:

14. Scholar-Chess Player Award Selection Criteria:  These annual scholarships awarded by US Chess, the US Chess Trust and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation are intended to recognize and encourage high school junior or senior students who promote a positive image of chess.  Current US Chess members (high school juniors or seniors) who have shown outstanding merit in academics, community service, sportsmanship, and chess are eligible to apply for a National Scholar-Chess Player Award.  Five scholarship awards of equal monetary value in scholarship money are available.  The application process is online and usually begins in December or January.

15. North American Youth Championship Selection Criteria:  Official Representatives (OR) for each section are selected based on ratings from the US Chess February Rating Supplement.  The US Chess OR will be the player in each age/gender group with the highest regular rating per the February Rating Supplement who has registered with the organizers and the US Chess office by the deadline announced on US Chess Online after the organizer releases their information. Only the regular ratings published in the February Rating Supplement shall be considered for selection.  US Chess shall not consider Peak post-tournament ratings or ratings determined by event re-rating after creation of the rating supplement.  For all players, US Chess must confirm to the organizer that the player is a US Chess member.

16. World Schools Individual Championship Selection Criteria:  Players wishing to play in this event need to contact US Chess for Official Representative selection.

17. World Youth and World Cadet Rapid and Blitz Championships Selection Criteria: Players wishing to play in this event need to contact US Chess for Official Representative selection.

18. All other events:  US Chess reserves the right to determine and publish appropriate criteria for all other events.

19. Rating Scale Adjustment:  If the rating scale is raised or lowered at some future date, prior ratings affecting invitations will be adjusted accordingly.  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. 

20. Other Requirements for all Players.

20.1. Age.  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.

20.2. Activity.  Players must play a minimum of 30 US Chess regular-rated games during the twelve (12) month period before computation of invitational ratings. 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 US Chess Quick Chess rating system do not count toward the activity requirement. There is no minimum number of events.

20.3. Residency.  Players without previous international experience and/or FIDE ratings shall usually be given U.S. status immediately by both US Chess and FIDE. If a question arises as to US Chess versus FIDE requirements, US Chess criteria shall be used for national events and FIDE criteria will be used for international events. Before becoming eligible for US Chess invitations, non-United States citizens who have FIDE ratings or have represented another country in a chess competition must fulfill the following residency requirements:

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

20.3.2. A player who has a Green Card or other acceptable proof of permanent US residency must complete one continuous year (12 months) of United States residency, with a US address, immediately prior to the event in question. Candidates may be required to provide a written promise that they will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as legally possible.

20.4. A player who does not have a Green Card or other acceptable proof of permanent US residency must complete two continuous years (24 months) of United States residency, with a U.S. address, immediately prior to the event in question. Candidates may be required to provide a written promise that they will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as legally possible.

20.5. Players must complete and sign a US Chess residency form and a FIDE residency form, and these residency forms must be received by US Chess before the date when US Chess determines the list of invited players. US Chess 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. Blank residency forms can be obtained from the US Chess office.

20.6. Players attempting to fulfill the residency requirements specified above may not represent another country during the waiting period. Playing for another country at any time during the waiting period will require a candidate for invitations to begin the waiting period anew (i.e., one or two years from the time of the infraction for adults; at least one year for players under age 20). Representing another country is defined as:  1) playing in the national championship of another country, and/or 2) playing as a member of another country’s national team in international competition.

21. FIDE IDs and how your FIDE tournament may affect your US Chess rating.  FIDE-rated games played by US Chess members in other countries will be automatically rated by US Chess for all players whose FIDE rating is at least 2200 (or has passed 2200 prior to the event).  If your rating is under 2200 (FIDE), then you must opt in with the US Chess office BEFORE the FIDE event to have any FIDE event such as the Pan Am Youth, World Youth, or World Cadets affect your US Chess rating.  If you opt in for having international FIDE tournaments rated, then you cannot opt out later.  To opt in and/or to obtain a FIDE ID, please contact [email protected].

22. INVITATIONS ARE A PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT.  US Chess invitations are a privilege, not a right afforded to any player by his or her status as a US Chess member. US Chess reserves the right to not issue invitations to any event, or to change these criteria without advance notice. Please note that if a player does not respond to several invitations, that player may lose the privilege of a future invitation. 

Updated on 12/27/2019