# U.S. Open Chess Championship

The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900. The top American player usually qualifies for the U.S. Chess Championship.

## History

The tournament was originally the championship of the Western Chess Association, and was called the Western Open. In 1934, the Western Chess Association became the American Chess Federation and the tournament became the American Chess Federation congress. In 1939, that organization merged into the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and the tournament became the U.S. Open.
In early years the tournament was usually small, and most years play was conducted as round robin. In some years it had to be divided into preliminary and final sections. It grew larger starting in 1934, necessitating use of different formats. In 1946, the Swiss System was used for preliminary rounds, and in 1947 and subsequent years the tournament was held as a single section paired by the Swiss System.
For many years, the tournament had 12 or 13 rounds and lasted two weeks. After experimentation with various less-demanding formats, in recent years it has usually been nine rounds; the 2015 tournament was nine rounds in nine days.
Tournament participation grew through the 1950s and 1960s. Milwaukee 1953 had 181 entrants, setting a new record for the tournament. Cleveland 1957 had 184 players, and San Francisco 1961 set another attendance record with 198 players. The 1963 Open at Chicago had 266 entries, making it the largest chess tournament held in the United States to that time. The tourney was slightly smaller at Boston in 1964, with a field of 229.
The 1983 Open at Pasadena was the largest ever, at 836 official entries; it also featured the participation of Viktor Korchnoi, who had played in the last two World Championship matches.
In the 2000s, the fields were over 400 to 500 entries. The tournament began in some editions to decline both in attendance and importance, and often many winners are involved in a tie for first, especially since the mid 1990s.
The cash prizes awarded were large for their time and added to the tournament's popularity. In 1962, the entry fee was $20, with a first prize of $1,000, second prize $500, third $300, fourth $200, fifth $100, sixth through tenth $50 and eleventh through fifteenth $25. The Women's Open Champion won $200, and the women's runner-up $100. Additional cash prizes were awarded to the top women, the top junior, and for the best scores in the Expert, A, B, and C classes. The 2024 guaranteed prize fund was $60,000, with $10,000 for first place.

## Winners

    No.YearLocationChampions 11900Excelsior, MinnesotaLouis Uedemann 21901Excelsior, MinnesotaNicholas MacLeod 31902Excelsior, MinnesotaLouis Uedemann 41903ChicagoMax Judd 51904St. Louis, MissouriStasch Mlotkowski 61905Excelsior, MinnesotaEdward F. Schrader 71906ChicagoGeorge H. Wolbrecht 81907Excelsior, MinnesotaEinar Michelsen 91908Excelsior, MinnesotaEdward P. Elliot 101909Excelsior, MinnesotaOscar Chajes 111910ChicagoGeorge. H. Wolbrecht 121911Excelsior, MinnesotaCharles Blake 131912Excelsior, MinnesotaEdward P. Elliot 141913ChicagoBradford B. Jefferson 151914Memphis, TennesseeBradford B. Jefferson 161915Excelsior, MinnesotaJackson Showalter 171916ChicagoEdward Lasker 181917Lexington, KentuckyEdward Lasker 191918ChicagoBora Kostić 201919CincinnatiEdward Lasker 211920Memphis, TennesseeEdward Lasker 221921Cleveland, OhioEdward Lasker 231922Louisville, KentuckySamuel Factor 241923San FranciscoStasch Mlotkowski, Norman Whitaker 251924DetroitCarlos Torre 261925Cedar Point, OhioAbraham Kupchik 271926ChicagoLeon Stolzenberg 281927Kalamazoo, MichiganAlbert Charles Margolis 291928South Bend, IndianaLeon Stolzenberg 301929St. Louis, MissouriHerman H. Hahlbohm 311930ChicagoSamuel Factor, Norman Whitaker 321931Tulsa, OklahomaSamuel Reshevsky 331932MinneapolisReuben Fine 341933DetroitReuben Fine 351934ChicagoReuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky 361935MilwaukeeReuben Fine 371936PhiladelphiaIsrael A. Horowitz 381937ChicagoDavid Polland 391938BostonIsrael A. Horowitz, Isaac Kashdan 401939New York CityReuben Fine 411940DallasReuben Fine 421941St. Louis, MissouriReuben Fine 431942DallasHerman Steiner, Daniel Yanofsky 441943Syracuse, New YorkIsrael A. Horowitz 451944BostonSamuel Reshevsky 461945Peoria, IllinoisAnthony Santasiere 471946PittsburghHerman Steiner 481947Corpus Christi, TexasIsaac Kashdan 491948BaltimoreWeaver W. Adams 501949Omaha, NebraskaAlbert Sandrin Jr. 511950DetroitArthur Bisguier 521951Fort Worth, TexasLarry Evans 531952Tampa, FloridaLarry Evans 541953MilwaukeeDonald Byrne 551954New OrleansLarry Evans, Arturo Pomar 561955Long Beach, CaliforniaNicolas Rossolimo, Samuel Reshevsky (Rossolimo awarded title on tie-break) 571956Oklahoma CityArthur Bisguier 581957Cleveland, OhioBobby Fischer, Arthur Bisguier (Fischer awarded title on tie-break) 591958Rochester, MinnesotaEldis Cobo Arteaga 601959Omaha, NebraskaArthur Bisguier 611960St. Louis, MissouriRobert Byrne 621961San FranciscoPal Benko 631962San Antonio, TexasAntonio Medina Garcia 641963ChicagoWilliam Lombardy, Robert Byrne 651964BostonPal Benko 661965Río Piedras, Puerto RicoPal Benko, William Lombardy 671966SeattlePal Benko, Robert Byrne 681967AtlantaPal Benko 691968Aspen, ColoradoBent Larsen 701969Lincoln, NebraskaPal Benko, Arthur Bisguier, Milan Vukcevich 711970BostonBent Larsen 721971Ventura, CaliforniaWalter Browne, Larry Evans 731972Atlantic City, New JerseyWalter Browne 741973ChicagoNorman Weinstein, Duncan Suttles, Walter Browne, Greg DeFotis, Ruben Rodríguez (Weinstein awarded title on tie-break) 751974New York CityPal Benko, Vlastimil Hort 761975Lincoln, NebraskaPal Benko, William Lombardy 771976Fairfax, VirginiaAnatoly Lein, Leonid Shamkovich 781977Columbus, OhioLeonid Shamkovich, Andy Soltis, Timothy Taylor 791978Phoenix, ArizonaJoseph Bradford 801979ChicagoFlorin Gheorghiu 811980AtlantaJohn Fedorowicz, Florin Gheorghiu 821981Palo Alto, CaliforniaFlorin Gheorghiu, Larry Christiansen, Jeremy Silman, Nick de Firmian, John Meyer 831982St. Paul, MinnesotaAndrew Soltis, William Martz 841983Pasadena, CaliforniaLarry Christiansen, Viktor Korchnoi 851984Ft. Worth, TexasRoman Dzindzichashvili, Sergey Kudrin 861985Hollywood, FloridaYasser Seirawan, Boris Spassky, Joel Benjamin 871986Somerset, New JerseyLarry Christiansen 881987Portland, OregonLev Alburt 891988BostonDmitry Gurevich 901989ChicagoLev Alburt 911990Jacksonville, FloridaYasser Seirawan 921991Los AngelesMichael Rohde, Vladimir Akopian 931992Dearborn, MichiganGregory Kaidanov 941993PhiladelphiaAlexander Shabalov 951994ChicagoGeorgi Orlov, Dmitry Gurevich, Ben Finegold, Smbat Lputian, Leo Kaushansky, Albert Chow 961995Concord, CaliforniaAlex Yermolinsky 971996Alexandria, VirginiaGabriel Schwartzman 981997Kissimmee, FloridaAlex Yermolinsky 991998Kailua-Kona, HawaiiJudit Polgár, Boris Gulko 1001999Reno, NevadaAlex Yermolinsky, Alexander Goldin, Eduardas Rozentalis, Alexander Shabalov, Gabriel Schwartzman, Michael Mulyar 1012000St. Paul, MinnesotaAlex Yermolinsky 1022001Framingham, MassachusettsAleksander Wojtkiewicz, Joel Benjamin, Alexander Stripunsky, Fabian Doettling 1032002Cherry Hill, New JerseyGennadi Zaichik, Evgeniy Najer 1042003Los AngelesAlexander Shabalov 1052004Ft. Lauderdale, FloridaAlexander Onischuk, Rodrigo Vásquez, Aleksander Wojtkiewicz, Ildar Ibragimov, Andranik Matikozian [hy], Renier González, Marcel Martinez 1062005Phoenix, ArizonaVadim Milov, Joel Benjamin 1072006Oak Brook, IllinoisYury Shulman 1082007Cherry Hill, New JerseyBoris Gulko, Sergey Kudrin, Benjamin Finegold, Alexander Shabalov, Michael A. Rohde, Michael A. Mulyar, Anton Paolo Del Mundo 1092008DallasAlexander Shabalov, Rade Milovanović, Enrico Sevillano 1102009IndianapolisDmitry Gurevich, Sergey Kudrin, Alex Lenderman, Alex Yermolinsky, Jacek Stopa, Jesse Kraai 1112010Irvine, CaliforniaAlejandro Ramirez 1122011Orlando, FloridaAleksandr Lenderman 1132012Vancouver, WashingtonManuel León Hoyos, Dmitry Gurevich, John Daniel Bryant 1142013Middleton, WisconsinJosh Friedel, Mackenzie Molner, Julio Sadorra 1152014Orlando, FloridaConrad Holt 1162015Phoenix, ArizonaAlexander Shabalov 1172016Indianapolis, IndianaAlexander Shabalov 1182017Norfolk, VirginiaAleksandr Lenderman 1192018Middleton, WisconsinTimur Gareyev 1202019Orlando, FloridaIllia Nyzhnyk 1212021Cherry Hill, New JerseyAleksandr Lenderman 1222022Rancho Mirage, CaliforniaAleksey Sorokin, Elshan Moradiabadi 1232023Grand Rapids, MichiganAndrew Tang, Aleksey Sorokin 1242024Norfolk, VirginiaSemen Khanin, Jianchao Zhou