USCF: Both the Ronald Simpson Memorial & NC-OPEN/U.S. MASTERS' tournaments CANCELED

"To my TD (Tournament Director) crew and other chess organizers in North Carolina:

It is with great sadness that I must announce that the 2020 U.S. Masters/North Carolina Open chess tournament has been officially canceled.  We are now at the point where legal restrictions, hotel logistics, and financial uncertainty make it impossible to hold this wonderful event.  The hotel does not believe it will be able to support the event at its facilities and the path towards reopening the North Carolina economy extends so far into the summer that we could not know with certainty that the event would even be permitted until mid-July.  The financials are already impossible for an event that usually struggles to break even.

I greatly appreciate all the players, families, coaches, TDs, and hotel staff who have devoted so much time to helping make this event such a success (in terms of attendance) over the past eight years.  I sincerely hope that we will be back on course in 2021 and we are already talking with the hotel about Aug. 18-22, 2021 dates.  Thank you all for your forbearance and we hope to be back bigger and better than ever!

* We have also canceled the 2020 Ron Simpson Memorial which had been tentative(ly) rescheduled to (for) September.  *

Dr. Walter M. High, Organizer, U.S. Masters Chess Championship, 2012-2020 "