2026 Utah State Championship (Utah Closed)
Friday, November 20, 2026 – Sunday, November 22, 2026
UTAH STATE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
“The Utah Closed”
November 20-22, 2026
Warnock Engineering Building (“WEB”)
72 Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
5 Round Swiss – One Section
Rounds: Friday, 6:30 pm
Saturday 10:30 am and 3:30 pm
Sunday 10:30 am and 3:00 pm
Time Control: All rounds G/90 +30 second increment
Prizes: $200 (plus trophy)-$100. U2000 - $75.
Winner (or highest placed Utah resident) is the 2026 Utah State Champion. Only Utah residents are eligible for title and trophy; out-of-state players can play and win prize money.
Entry Fee: $25 if registered and paid by Wednesday, November 18th (at www.utahchess.com), $40 late/onsite. GM/IM/FM/WGM free.
Advance Registration: Register online via link at utahchess.com.
Onsite Registration: Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Players who have not pre-registered and pre-paid prior to the close of registration will be paired at the TD’s discretion, but should expect to receive a half point bye.
This is a closed Tournament. The eligibility requirements to play in this tournament are:
· Be rated over 1800 US Chess Regular at some point during the year or
· Be currently rated over 1800 FIDE Classical with at least 4 games of activity within the past two years or
· Score at least 3.5 points without requested byes in the Open Section of the 2026 Utah Open or
· Be the winner of the 2026 Utah Amateur Championship or
· Be the winner of either of the past two Utah State Championship editions (2024 or 2025)
Those with questions about eligibility are encouraged to either consult the actual requirements or to email utchess@gmail.com.
Byes: Half-point byes – Players may request half-point byes for up to two (2) rounds but such byes must be requested prior to pairing of Rd 2. Last round bye requests are irrevocable. (See US Chess Rule 22C.)
If there is a tie, Utah players will share the title and the two highest finishing Utah players (using standard tiebreaks) will playoff for the Utah Championship trophy. First, a double round of rated blitz playoff (G/5 +2), followed by a second double round (if necessary), and if still tied then an Armageddon game will be played.
Questions? Send an email to utchess@gmail.com.