The 2026 US Masters Chess Championship will take place from November 25 to 29, 2026, at the Hilton Charlotte University Place in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Organized by the Charlotte Chess Center, this US Chess National Championship gathers Grandmasters, International Masters, titled players, established masters, and qualifying junior players for five days of classical competition.
The tournament features a guaranteed $27,500 prize fund, awards 150 US Chess Grand Prix points, and qualifies for the FIDE Circuit 2026–2027.
All participants compete together in a single elite section and receive complimentary entry into a separate $2,000 Blitz tournament held on Saturday night.
For 2026, the organizers introduced a faster classical time control: 80 minutes per player for the entire game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one (G/80 +30).
FIDE has approved this time control for standard rating calculations, title norm eligibility, and FIDE Circuit points.
Pairings and prize classifications rely on the November FIDE rating list. All games are rated by both FIDE (Standard) and US Chess (Regular). Players can achieve Grandmaster (GM), International Master (IM), Woman Grandmaster (WGM), and Woman International Master (WIM) norms during the nine rounds. Under FIDE regulations for Super Swiss events, the standard federation-diversity requirement for title norms is waived. However, players seeking norms must satisfy all other standard FIDE criteria. FIDE title regulations require players to earn at least one qualifying Swiss norm from an event featuring 40 or more participants.
The 2026 edition increases allocation for female and senior player categories alongside standard place prizes.
Main Open Prizes: $7,000 / $3,500 / $2,000 / $1,500 / $1,400 / $1,200 / $1,000.
