U.S. Championship Online Qualifier Kicks Off Friday
The U.S. Championship Online Qualifier will kick off on December 11 with thousands of dollars and a spot at the 2021 U.S. Chess Championship on the line. Chess.com is proud to host this event that brings the quality and excitement of U.S. Chess tournaments to chess lovers around the world while also respecting social distancing measures.
Play will commence at 2 p.m. Pacific time on December 11-18 with the exception of the rest day on December 15. The event will feature a round-robin format, meaning every player will play each other once.
The time control will be 90|30 with a total of 30 minutes time away from the camera being allowed players each game.
With six pre-selected players and two qualifiers from Chess.com, a total of eight players will be competing in the U.S. Championship Online Qualifier. Of the six pre-selected players, four have been determined by U.S. Chess and two wild-card players have been selected by Chess.com from the top 20 rated US-based players as of September 2020.
Rounds will begin at 2 p.m. Pacific time and will be streamed at Chess.com/tv.
A total of four games will be played every round, and the pairings will be as follows.
Round 1
December 11, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Aleksandr Lenderman | Robert Hess |
| Timur Gareyev | Elshan Moradiabadi |
| Christopher Yoo | Andrew Tang |
| Daniel Naroditsky | Dariusz Swiercz |
Round 2
December 12, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Robert Hess | Daniel Naroditsky |
| Dariusz Swiercz | Christopher Yoo |
| Andrew Tang | Timur Gareyev |
| Elshan Moradiabadi | Aleksandr Lenderman |
Round 3
December 13, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Elshan Moradiabadi | Robert Hess |
| Aleksandr Lenderman | Andrew Tang |
| Timur Gareyev | Dariusz Swiercz |
| Christopher Yoo | Daniel Naroditsky |
Round 4
December 14, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Robert Hess | Christopher Yoo |
| Daniel Naroditsky | Timur Gareyev |
| Dariusz Swiercz | Aleksandr Lenderman |
| Andrew Tang | Elshan Moradiabadi |
Round 5
December 16, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Andrew Tang | Robert Hess |
| Elshan Moradiabadi | Dariusz Swiercz |
| Aleksandr Lenderman | Daniel Naroditsky |
| Timur Gareyev | Christopher Yoo |
Round 6
December 17, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Robert Hess | Timur Gareyev |
| Christopher Yoo | Aleksandr Lenderman |
| Daniel Naroditsky | Elshan Moradiabadi |
| Dariusz Swiercz | Andrew Tang |
Round 7
December 18, 2 p.m. PT
| White | Black |
| Dariusz Swiercz | Robert Hess |
| Andrew Tang | Daniel Naroditsky |
| Elshan Moradiabadi | Christopher Yoo |
| Aleksandr Lenderman | Timur Gareyev |
The eight players in the U.S. Championship online qualifier will be competing for a total prize fund of $10,000, and the winner will also secure a spot in the 2021 U.S. Chess Championship.
Along with the U.S. Championship Online Qualifier, Chess.com will also be hosting five side events in the U.S. Chess Members Only club. The events will consist of seven-round 5|0 Swiss tournaments with each event having a prize fund of $500.
The side events schedule will run as follows:
- Friday, December 11, 6 p.m. Pacific time
- Saturday, December 12, 6 p.m. Pacific time
- Sunday, December 13, 6 p.m. Pacific time
- Thursday, December 17, 6 p.m. Pacific time
- Friday, December 18, 6 p.m. Pacific time
In addition, one randomly selected participant of the U.S. Championship Online Qualifier and its side events will be gifted a trip (flight, hotel, entry fee) to the 2021 U.S. Open. All players who have been active Chess.com and US Chess members, have participated in a qualifier event, and have passed Chess.com's Fair Play check will be eligible to win this prize.
The entirety of the US Championship Online Qualifier can be viewed at Chess.com/tv.
All players must abide by all rules and site policies found at Chess.com/agreement and cooperate fully with Chess.com's fair play detection team. For a full breakdown of the U.S. Championship Online Qualifier rules and regulations, click here.
To ensure fair play, players in the U.S. Championship Online Qualifier will be expected to always be on a Zoom call with the arbiter and have dual-angle camera feeds on during that time. Besides that, players will also be required to share their screen via Zoom during each round and be prepared to adhere to any requests made by U.S. Chess tournament directors before or after each round.
