2023 US Blind Championship 

Information

Date(s): Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 23, 20

Eligibility & Sections: Must be legally blind. Proof will be requested. 

Location: Frick Center, Elmhurst University, 190 S. Prospect, Elmhurst, IL 60126

Rounds, Style: US Chess & FIDE rated. US Chess June supplement used for pairings & prizes

Ratings: US Chess & FIDE rated. US Chess June supplement used for pairings & prizes 

Time Control: Game 90, 30 second increment 

Entry Fee: $10 before January 17th, 2023 midnight central time; $20 before June 1st, midnight central time; $30 before July 10th, midnight central time; $40 before July 21st, midnight central time. 

Byes: Up to two half-point byes in rounds 1 to 6, must commit by end of round 2.

Round Times: Fri 1:00 pm & 6:00 pm; Sat 9:00 am & 3:00 pm; Sun 8:30 am & 2:30 pm.

Tournament Check-in: Players should show up 15 minutes prior to each round. 

Tournament Registration: Register online at 

Prizes: $4000 in prizes guaranteed. $1000 for first, $800 for second, $500 for third, and $300 for fourth. $200 first and $150 second place prize for under 1600, under 1400, under 1200, and under 1000. 

Dorms & Nearby Hotels: Discounted dorms will be available for $50 per person. No taxes/tips, and walking distance. Shop for dorm rooms at https://www.cavemanchess.com/dorm-rooms-for-tournaments. There are 10 hotels with 2.5 miles and 45 within 5 miles. 

Airport Transportation: We are working on transport from the airport on Thursday and Friday morning and back to the airport on Sunday. We expect to have the shuttle service name within a week.

Chief TD: NTD/FA Glenn Panner, for all the Festival events (Senior Open, Caveman Medior Open, Junior Open.) Event TDs determined soon.

Equipment: Caveman Chess provides accessible clocks. Please bring sets. 

New US Chess Members: If you don't yet have US Chess membership, put eight zeros, "00000000" in the form for US Chess ID number when registering at King Registration.

Parking: Free parking onsite. 

Side Events: Saturday blitz after R4. Th/Fri: Dinner with GMS, Shopping Excursion, and Yoga/Exercise Class. Blitz registration will be posted online separately.

Terms & Conditions, Including Refunds & Withdrawals: See https://www.cavemanchess.com/terms-conditions.  Also see top of this description.

Caveman Chess Festival 

The 2023 US Blind Championship is part of the Caveman Chess Festival. Below is brief information about other aspects of the Festival, followed by information about the tournament.

Caveman Chess Camp

The Caveman Chess Camp has sections for all ages and strengths.  The Adult Fundamentals section is for Adults only and has a maximum strength of around 1600. The class focuses on chess fundamentals that people may have missed over the years. (Do you know Steinitz's Six Principles?) Another class is Advanced Adult, which does allow juniors rated over 1700. The Master Class is open to players of any age rated 2000 and up. Classes have counselors to assist in keeping class decorum.

We strongly encourage seniors to participate in the camp. If a group of seniors would like to register together, we are willing to consider an additional discount.

Tournaments at the Festival

There will be other tournaments at the same time as the US Senior, which may offer you an opportunity to travel with friends. All events are in separate playing areas.

  1. US Blind Championship
  2. US Senior Open
  3. US Junior Open
  4. Caveman Medior Open (For players who are neither Juniors nor Seniors)
  5. US Junior Blitz (Sat 7/22)
  6. US Senior/Medior Blitz (Sat 7/22)

Non-Chess Events

The Festival includes several non-chess events, for adults, for campers, tournament players, parents, and spouses. These events include:

  1. Dinner and theater with the Grandmasters, Dury Lane Theater, Oakbrook, Thursday July 20
  2. Shopping Excursion (likely Friday, July 21)
  3. Fitness Class (likely Saturday, July 22)

 Other non-chess events may be added. Please reach out to us if you have a suggestion.

Summary of Key Terms and Conditions

This is a summary of essential Terms and Conditions. To see all Terms and Conditions, go to https://www.cavemanchess.com/terms-conditions

Withdrawals: To withdraw from an event, go to https://cavechess.cc/withdraw and fill out the form. Or contact us at contact@cavemanchess.com or 224-985-5245. Please note that you are in the U.S Blind Championship. Players in other events may only withdraw via the form. 

Refunds: To see the entire policy, go to the Terms and Conditions link above. Here are important points:

  • Processing refunds is secondary to running the event without a hitch
  • While we will attempt to pay refunds sooner, our policy is to pay within ten business days following the event. We had some issues with this in 2022 because of medical issues, but we are changing some procedures to simplify the process and stay on track
  • In our standard refund policy, refunds take the following forms:
    • Type 1: A credit of the full fee towards future tournaments or events, or
    • Type 2: A refund of the fee minus the greater of a 10% or $5 service charge. This charge is necessary because entries include processing fees not refunded to us, and time is involved in processing refunds. This is why we also provide a full fee credit alternative.
    • For the Caveman Chess Festival, Early Bird and Early Registrations will receive a full Refund. However, no Early Bird or Early Registration Refunds will be processed until the end of the Early Registration period (June 1.)