2026 Kentucky Women and Girls Open

The Women and Girls Open is Kentucky's premier Women and Girls event. It consists of two sections:

• an Open section for experienced players
• a Beginner section, which is perfect for first-time tournament players or for moms and coaches playing alongside their daughters and students.

This event is only open to women and girls, but players do not have to be from Kentucky.

This event is free and no US Chess membership is required for the beginner section.

Sections

This tournament has two sections: Open and Beginner.

The beginner section does not require US Chess membership. It is limited to players who either have no official US Chess rating or are rated below 800.
We strongly recommend that new players choose the beginner section.

All women and girls with a US Chess membership can play in the Open section. To join US Chess,
visit https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess .

5 Rounds SS; G/25+5 (25 minutes per player, plus 5 seconds per move).

Entry Fees And registration

This tournament is free, but you must register online in advance to play. Please register as soon as possible, because our number of participants is limited due to space. If you wait, you may not get a spot. You can always un-register at any time without penalty. The final registration deadline is 9:30 AM on the day of the tournament.

Schedule

• Round 1: 10:00 AM (there is no check in - just show up and play!)
• Round 2: ASAP
• Lunch break
• Round 3: 1:30 PM
• Round 4: ASAP
• Round 5: ASAP
• Awards: ASAP after Round 5 (expected around 5 PM)

Prizes

The prize fund is $510 b/50 (b/50 means prizes may be reduced proportionally if we have fewer than 50 players)

Open Section

• 1st - $150
• 2nd - $100
• Top U1201 - $53
• Top U1001 - $51

Beginner Section (<=800 and unrated)

• 1st - $50
• 2nd - $35
• Top U601 - $26
• Top U401 - $20

Special prize: Top Mother-Daughter pair: $25 Target gift card

All Kentucky-resident K-12 girls who finish with four or more points in the Open section will qualify for the Kentucky Girls Championship in the Spring. The Girls Championship will determine Kentucky's nominee for the Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions.

The top two Kentucky-resident finishers in the Open section qualify for the 2027 Kentucky Women's Closed Championship tournament in Summer 2027.

Other Notes

• Players younger than high school age (~14) must be accompanied by an adult on site for the entire tournament.
• Boards, pieces, and clocks will be provided
• Players are expected to take notation in the Open section, but not the beginner section
• For lunch, there is a refrigerator and microwave available on site and there are places to eat within 10 minute drive. We will coordinate a pizza order for interested participants at a low cost.

For questions, contact: Dianna Gabbard, KY Women and Girls Coordinator, women@kychess.org; Include "KY Women &
Girls Open" in the subject line.

Technical Notes

(most people don't need to care about these)

• Unrated players: In lieu of a published regular rating, the tournament director reserves the right to use other USCF ratings for pairing and prize eligibility purposes. Unrated players are eligible for 1st and 2nd prizes in each section, as well as Top Mom/Daughter pair.
• In case of ties for these invitational qualification slots, a two-way tie will be decided by a G/10+5 playoff, though the TD may shorten this to as low as G/5 if circumstances do not permit a longer game. If there is a three-way or more tie, the invite will go to the player with the highest established USCF rating among tied players, then the highest rating (even if not established), and finally to any unrated player.
• Accelerated pairings may be used at tournament director discretion.
• Rule variations 15A (you may write your move prior to making it) and 10I2 (you may touch the rook first when castling) will be used.
• Electronic scoresheets are not permitted.