Cincinnati Chess Masters FIDE Open 2026

December 18 - 20, 2026

Register  Entry List

 

Cincinnati Chess Masters FIDE Open

Friday, December 18 – Sunday, December 20, 2026

***FREE ENTRY FOR ALL MASTERS***

 (Into the Open Section Only – see details below)

 

Embassy Suites by Hilton Blue Ash

4554 Lake Forest Dr, Blue Ash, OH 45242.  Call to Reserve: +1 513-733-8900.

  • Reserve by Dec. 1st, before rooms are gone for the Chess Discount Rate
  • 2 Room Suite - 1 King Bed - Balcony - Nonsmoking - $119.00
  • 2 Room Suite - 2 Double Beds - Nonsmoking - $129.00

Click Here to Reserve Online and book your hotel room online at the Embassy Suites

 

5-Round Swiss. 2-Day or 3-Day Schedule.

$15,000 guaranteed prizes!!

  • All chess sets, boards, clocks, and scoresheets will be provided.

  • Organized by Chess Earth; Vending and Tournament Shirt

  •  FREE ENTRY FOR ALL MASTERS

Questions? Changes? Speak to Tournament Director –   admin@chessearth.com 

Prizes, Time Controls and Schedules

Open – FIDE Rated, USCF 1900+ to enter: 1st $2,500, 2nd $1,200, 3rd $600, 4th $300
– Trophy art piece to the Masters 1st Place Champion
Under 2200 – FIDE Rated, USCF 1600+ to enter: 1st $1,200, 2nd $800, 3rd $400
Under 1900 – no unrated: 1st $1,000, 2nd $600, 3rd $400
Under 1600 – no unrated: 1st $1,000, 2nd $600, 3rd $400
Under 1300 – no unrated: 1st $1,000, 2nd $600, 3rd $400
Under 1000 – 1st $1,000 + trophy, 2nd $600 + trophy,  3rd $400 + trophy
– We will use standard USCF tie breaks if there is a tie for any trophy.
Doubles Prizes: Two-player teams, male/female or female/female. Prizes: $300-$200.
 ***Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see additional important information relating exclusively to the Open and U2200 sections.

  • 3-Day Schedule: On-Site Registration is from 4:00PM to 6:00PM, Friday, Dec. 18.
  • 3-Day Time Control for all Rounds: G/90 +30 inc.
  • 3-Day Round Times : #1.) FRI. 7PM.   #2.) SAT. 10AM.   #3.) SAT. 4PM.   #4.) SUN. 10AM.  #5.) SUN. 4PM
    2-Day Schedule: On-Site Registration is from 8:00AM to 9:00AM, Saturday, Dec. 19.
  • 2-Day Time Control for Rounds 1-2: G/60 +10 inc. Then...Rounds 3-5 G/90 +30 inc. 
  • 2-Day Round Times:  #1.) SAT. 10AM.  #2.) SAT.  1PM.   #3.) SAT. 4PM.  #4.) SUN. 10AM.  #5.) SUN. 4PM

Changes to section or schedule:
A player may change sections or schedules before December 18 by email to admin@chessearth.com , or onsite at the Tournament Information Booth at least one hour before the start time of the player’s first game.

Notation required in all sections. Electronic scoresheets are not allowed in any FIDE-rated section. In non-FIDE sections, only USCF-approved electronic score sheets are allowed. No smoking, no computers.

Blitz Tournament: Saturday, Dec. 19 – 9:00 PM 

– Blitz Entry Fee: $20. Reg. by 8:30PM  Saturday Night. (on-site registration only). 

– 5-Rounds. One big Open Section.  Only one section

– Play 2 games per round.  10 games total.  

– Blitz Time Control:  3+2 inc. 

– Prizes based on the number of entries.

Playing up: 

Except for those rated 2200+, players have two options:

(1) the lowest section for which they qualify by rating, and

(2) the next higher section.

Players may play up in the higher section with the payment of a $20 play-up fee.

Play-up options by rating are as follows:

  • Players rated 1900–2199 may play up in Open section.
  • Players rated 1600–1899 may play up in U2200 section.
  • Players rated 1300–1599 may play up in U1900 section.
  • Players rated 1000–1299 may play up in U1600 section.
  • Players rated 100–999 may play up in U1300 section.

Entry Fee:

  • Free Entry for all Masters into the Open Section. 
  • Free Entry for FIDE Titled Players: GM, IM, FM, CM, WGM, WIM, WFM, WCM 
  • Free Entry for Masters Rated 2200+ or USCF National Masters with Title (or Masters designated by USCF)
  • Some USCF Masters have ratings that are below 2200.  They should email  admin@chessearth.com  for a Free Entry. 
  • $125 will be deducted from prize, if you receive a Free Entry Fee. 
  • We use the published ratings as of December 1st, 2026
    FIDE Title Players can register normally into the Open Section online at King’s Registration, no assistance needed. 

    For a Master to enter the Open section without paying an entry fee; 
  • Masters should send an email to  admin@chessearth.com  before attempting to register and request a code. 
    Request a Master’s code from Chess Earth and enter the code online at King’s Registration 
    – Entering the code will zero out the entry fee. 

    Online Advance Entry and Early Bird Entry:
    $125 – Monday, November 30 – Early Bird 
    $135 – Tuesday, December 1 through 9:00am (deadline) Friday, Dec. 18
    $145 – After 9:00am Fri. Dec. 18 and $145 is the on-site entry fee. 

Questions? Changes? Speak to Tournament Director –  admin@chessearth.com 

Register & Pay Online:

https://www.kingregistration.com/register/CincinnatiMasters2026 

See Entry List of Players that have registered so far: 

https://www.kingregistration.com/entrylist/CincinnatiMasters2026 

Onsite Registration at Venue

Register and Pay your entry fee at the Tournament Information Booth:
– 4:00–6:00 pm on Friday, Dec. 18
– 8:00–9:00 am on Saturday, Dec. 19  
– Onsite entry fee is $145.

Re-entry: 

Only players who play the first round of the 3-day schedule (Friday 7:00pm) may re-enter. 

  • The re-entry fee is $65 

  • Deadline to re-enter is 9:00 am on Saturday, Dec. 19

    Ratings and Live Ratings

  • USCF official Regular ratings as of December 1, 2026 will be used for section eligibility and pairing purposes except as noted below.
  • A player whose live Regular rating (most recent Regular rating in his or her tournament history) is higher than his or her official rating may choose to use the “live rating” for tournament purposes, provided that he or she notifies us of this intent before December 18 by email to admin@chessearth.com  or onsite at the Tournament Information Booth at least one hour before the scheduled start time for his or her first game.

Unrated Players

  • If a player is officially unrated as of December 1, the following will apply in the order stated:
  • A player with no USCF Regular rating and no FIDE (or equivalent) rating is unrated (“unr”) and may play only in the U1000 section.
  • If the player has a Regular rating in his or her tournament history, we will use the most recent such rating.
  • If the player has a provisional rating, we will use the provisional rating.
  • If a player has no USCF rating but has a FIDE rating, we will convert the FIDE rating to a USCF equivalent for use in the tournament. 
  • Players must reveal foreign, FIDE or other over the board ratings, and these ratings may be used, adjusted as appropriate.

Byes

  • Players may take up to two half-point byes for any rounds
  • Players may request, change or cancel a bye until 12:30 pm on Saturday, and are committed thereafter.
  • Players who enter in advance should, upon arriving at the tournament, check the list of advance entries to ensure that their bye requests are correctly recorded.

Doubles: 

Two-player teams, male/female or female/female. Prizes: $300-$200.
– Teammates’ ratings must average under 2200.
– Teammates may play in different sections.
– Team score is the sum of the teammates’ Cincinnati Masters Tournament scores.
Register by 5:00 pm Saturday at the Tournament Information Booth; no additional entry  fee to register.

Blitz Tournament:

Saturday, Dec. 19th at 9:00 pm. 5-round double Swiss (ten games in total). Time control 3+2 inc. Entry fee $20. Signup and see Blitz Rules at the Tournament Information Booth by 8:30 pm on Saturday. Prizes based on the number of entries.

Additional information relating exclusively to FIDE-rated sections

FIDE Identification Number: Players do not need a FIDE rating to play in a FIDE section but must have a FIDE Identification Number (FIN) and be current USCF members. If you do not have a FIN, please obtain one before entering the tournament. 
Players who qualify for a FIN under the US Federation may obtain one by completing the FIN application form on the USCF website. Please make sure to apply for a FIN early enough to allow processing to be completed before the tournament. There is no cost for getting a FIN. 

FIN APPLICATION FORM – APPLY HERE
Players who do not qualify for a FIN under the US Federation must obtain their FIN through their national federation before entering the tournament. FIDE Rating Considerations: Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2-day schedule will not be submitted for FIDE rating because the time control does not comply with FIDE requirements.

To earn a FIDE rating, a player needs five games against FIDE-rated opponents at a stipulated time control over a period of 26 months.
FIDE will not list a player on its website unless his or her FIDE standard rating is at least 1400.

Default Time: The default time (the period of time after a round starts that is allowed to a player to arrive at his or her board before forfeiting) is 60 minutes. Be aware that if both players are absent when a round is started, White’s clock will be started, and all the time that elapses until White’s arrival will reduce White’s time, even if Black also arrives late.

Reporting Results: Players are required to use the scoresheets provided by the organizer. At the conclusion of each game, the players are required to submit to the arbiter (tournament director) one copy of their completed scoresheets, signed by both players and correctly indicating the game result. At the time when pairings must be generated for the next round, any missing result will be treated as a double forfeit.

Questions? Changes? Speak to Tournament Director – admin@chessearth.com