We understand that some of the checks issued to prize winners had a misprint that is preventing the banks from cashing them. We are sorry for this inconvenience, if you are impacted by this, please contact us at contact@vegaschessfestival.com so that we may get your hard earned winnings to you ASAP. UPDATE AS OF 6/30, […]
Chess me, out of the bearded barley…
From left to right, the streamers are IM Eric Rosen, Eliana Lopez, GM Ben Finegold, Elayah, Sara Herman and IM Kostya Kavutskiy Our streamers for the National Open were gracious enough to give their time for a panel Q&A followed by a meet and greet. Thank you to Elayah who provided a live stream of […]
I, want to Rock and Chess all Night…
…And Party Every day Friday morning started off with the annual Grandmaster Camps, open to all who are eager to learn from highly trained instructors, or wanting to get some advice before competing in the National Open or the International Youth Championship. Thank you to our wonderful instructors for making this possible: Melik GM Melik […]
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR SATURDAY!!
IMPORTANT NOTE! Due to Stanley Cup parade for the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, there will be various road closures in town, starting at approximately 2:00 pm. This means if you are not staying at the Rio, and traveling each day to the tournament, you should plan to take this into account! There is […]
Watch the streamers Q&A courtesy of Elaynah!
For those that are missing the Live Streamers, check out this feed, courtesy of Elaynah Click Here! Click on the following to links for our following streamers: GM Ben Finegoldhttps://www.youtube.com/@GMBenjaminFinegoldhttps://www.twitch.tv/itsbenandkarenhttps://twitter.com/ben_finegold IM Eric Rosenhttps://www.youtube.com/@eric-rosenhttps://twitter.com/IM_Rosenhttps://www.twitch.tv/imrosenhttps://imrosen.com/ IM Kostya Kavutskiy Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/hellokostya YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IMKostyaKavutskiyOfficial Site: https://www.hellokostya.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/hellokostyaTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/hellokostyaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/KostyaKavutskiy/Blog: www.chess.com/blog/hellokostya Sara Hermanhttps://www.twitch.tv/zefcatthttps://www.instagram.com/zefcatt/https://twitter.com/ZefCatthttps://www.tiktok.com/@zefcatt Elaynahhttps://www.youtube.com/@elaynahhttps://www.twitch.tv/elaynahhttps://www.instagram.com/elaynahbb/https://twitter.com/elehnahhttps://www.tiktok.com/@elaynahhh Eliana Lopezhttps://www.instagram.com/chessxercise/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058194677775https://chessxercise.com/
Day 1: It Started out with a KISS
Welcome to Opening Day of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival at the Rio, a change from our previous home the last few years at the Westgate. The show will go on, and the tracks will keep rolling as we bid adieu to Elvis and welcome KISS. The KISS World Museum has been open since […]
Additional Open Simul Added Thursday
GM Ben Finegold and IM Eric Rosen will both give simuls on Thursday afternoon. If you have already signed up for the simul you will be assigned to one or the other. We can honor change requests on our contact page unless the desired simul is full. At that point you would be put on […]
Meet IM Eric Rosen at the Las Vegas Chess Festival
We are thrilled to have IM and streamer Eric joining us again this year. Eric will be the guest host of our youth events. All of our festival participants will get a chance to meet him as he will also be part of a meet and greet, play blitz against all comers, and be a […]
GM Ben Finegold Simul Announced
Ben Finegold is an American grandmaster, teacher, and streamer. Known for teaching kids and having a unique brand of humor, he is part of a three-generation chess family; his father Ronald, brother Mark, and son Spencer all became master-level players as well. After earning his IM title in 1989, Finegold saw his FIDE rating near 2600 […]
Now Accepting entries for 2023
If you have any problems with our new payment processor or any other problems with entry please contact us.
Day 4: Pawnchained Melody and Battle of the Streamers
You tell your manager you are Out Of Office, but if they know chess, can’t you just say you are Castling Queenside, (O-O-O)? Welcome to Vegas! It all comes together with the Saturday evening merge, all sections chained under the same controls for the main event. The accelerated schedules offer flexibility to people wanting to […]
Day 3: Play you Children, Play your Troubles away
Viewing a child’s limitations is like staring into the trees but missing the forest The Youth Trophy Tournament draws over 200, and the International Youth Championship will soon follow Huge Showing for Youth The King of Rock and Roll also was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame, among his many accolades and talents. When […]
Day 2: Botez has Left the Building, Champions Crowned
Andrea Botez wins her first round match and the crowd in the meet and greet. 2021 US Women’s Open Champion Badamkhand Norovsambuu Trophy recipient on tie-break Step Aside King, the Queen has Arrived For over three quarters of my life, I have been heavily involved in a game where the Queen is the most powerful […]
Day 1: Chess Me Tender
Welcome to Opening Day of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival at the Westgate. We were graced by the presence of Elvis, perhaps to generate interest for the release of the biopic portrayed by Tom Hanks on June 24th. But, that is still a couple weeks away. In the meantime, Rock and Roll to chess! […]
Westgate Sold Out: overflow hotels available.
Our room block at the Westgate is sold out. All the rooms that the Westgate was holding for our group have been sold. We have arranged chess rates at nearby hotels.
Las Vegas Monorail Discounts
The Las Vegas Monorail is offering Las Vegas Chess Festival attendees exclusive fare discounts. Use the Monorail to travel the Strip and to the tournament without the hassles of traffic and wasted time. Be sure to purchase your tickets before the festival as the discounts are available for a limited time! Buy your discounted tickets at tix.lvmonorail.com/VCF22 […]
2022 Covid-19 Safety Protocols
Player safety and confidence is important to us. We will rigorously follow state and local regulations as well as Westgate Resort’s policies.
Now Accepting Entries for 2022 Chess Festival
We are now accepting entries for most events in the 2022 Las Vegas International Chess Festival. Enter Now! Returning players who enter the National Open before January 31 are eligible for a $40 Early Bird Loyalty Discount. Make your hotel reservations early to be automatically enrolled in a drawing to get your room free.
Broadcast Links
We’ll be broadcasting some of the games from the 2021 National Open! Check out the broadcasts at any of the following links: National Open ChessBomb Chess.com Chess24 Lichess Follow Chess US Women’s Open ChessBomb Chess.com Chess24 Lichess Follow Chess Walter Browne Blitz ChessBomb Chess.com
Winner of the Free Stay at the Westgate Hotel
The drawing was held this morning and the winner is L. F. of Franklin Tennessee. L.F.’s stay at the Las Vegas Chess Festival is on us. The recording of the drawing is here.
Zoom Town Hall
We will be holding two Town Hall Meetings where players and parents new to tournament chess or new to our event can have their questions answered. These meetings are open to players, parents, and coaches who have registered or wish to learn more before registering. Recordings of the meetings will be posted here for players […]
Dean of Scholastic Chess to be Guest Host
The Dean of Scholastic Chess, Dewain Barber, was chosen to be the guest host of the International Youth Championship. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan will give the Simul for Kids.
Over-the-Board Chess Returns June 16-20
Nevada is relaxing (but not eliminating) restrictions, and we are confident that we can return to over the board chess with the Chess Event of the Year. We have delayed accepting entries until we were (nearly) certain that we could proceed. Players who have carried their entries over from previous events will be added to […]
2020 National Open Rescheduled
2020 Chess Festival Cancelled
We regret to announce that we must cancel the Las Vegas International Chess Festival scheduled for June 24-28, 2020. The most optimistic opening date for the host hotel is less than a week before our scheduled start, and we cannot be sure that date will be met. We are hoping to reschedule the event in […]
