Chess players 50 or older, and under age 21, will travel to Chicago in late July 2025 to earn spots in the 2026 U.S. Senior Championship, 2026 U.S. Senior Women’s Championship, and 2026 U.S. Junior Championship. Chess players between the ages of 21 and 50 will travel to Chicago too, as excellent prize money is offered for that age group!
Saint Louis Chess Club and Other Sponsors
The chess capital of the United States is St. Louis, because of Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield and the Saint Louis Chess Club. Their sponsorship has created new chess events and amplified the prize funds for existing tournaments. While the 2026 invitationals aren’t yet scheduled, they will likely be similar to the 2025 invitationals, which Saint Louis Chess Club has announced.
The first U.S. Senior Chess Championship was held in 2019 as a 10-player round robin, sponsored by the Saint Louis Chess Club. Its prize fund was $50,000. In 2025, its prize fund will be $100,000.
The U.S. Junior Open began in 1946. Twenty years later, in 1966, an invitational for top U.S. juniors began. Its first edition was won by GM Walter Browne. It became known as the “U.S. Junior Championship.” The 2009 U.S. Junior Championship, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had a prize fund of $1,800.
The Saint Louis Chess Club began hosting and sponsoring the U.S. Junior Championship in 2010, with a prize fund of $10,300. The 2025 U.S. Junior Championship has a prize fund of $75,000.
Other sponsors brought the U.S. Senior Women’s Championship into existence. The first U.S. Senior Women’s Championship was held in 2023, sponsored by Jim Eade with a prize fund of $8,000. Berkeley Chess School and its founder Elizabeth Shaughnessy hosted. The second U.S. Senior Women’s Championship was held in Utah in 2024. Its main sponsor was Precision Tune Auto Care, and its prize fund was $8,400. David and Maureen Grimaud were the driving forces behind the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Championship. A 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Championship has not yet been announced.
Qualification
The paths for qualifying for these invitationals (U.S. Senior Championship, the U.S. Senior Women’s Championship, and the U.S. Junior Championship) are similar. Most spots are by invitational rating, which is a combination of US Chess and FIDE ratings, with deductions for inactivity. Here are the invitational rating lists.
Some spots in invitationals are awarded via qualifiers. The 2025 Caveman Chess Festival has three qualifiers.
2025 Caveman Chess Festival
The Caveman Chess Festival includes tournaments and a chess camp. The Caveman Chess Camp runs from July 20–25, 2025, at the Hilton Chicago/Northbrook, less than 20 minutes from O’Hare airport.
The camp is followed on July 25–27 by the US Junior Open, US Senior Open, US Blind Open, Caveman Medior Open, Caveman Beginner Open I (July 26), Beginner Open 2 (July 27), Senior/Medior/Quick (July 26), and Junior Open Blitz (July 26). The tournaments offer $40,100 in prizes, including $10,000 for the US Junior Open and $13,100 for the US Senior Open.
If you are not a senior or a junior, consider entering the Caveman Medior Open, which has a $10,000 Guaranteed Prize Fund. At the 2024 Caveman Medior Open, only 10 players entered! As of June 19, 8 players have preregistered for the 2025 Caveman Not JR Not SR (Medior) Open. Excellent chances to win prize money!
Age and Gender Restrictions
Players must be under age 21 as of January 1, 2025 (born after January 1, 2004) to play in the US Junior Open. The Caveman Medior Open is for players who are either:
1. Rated above 2199, or
2. Between age 21 or over as of 1/1/2025 & under age 50 as of 7/25/2025
The US Senior Open is for players aged 50 and older as of July 25, 2025.
The winners of the US Junior Open and the US Senior Open qualify for 2026 championships hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club or for the 2026 U.S. Senior Women’s Championship. Some of the Caveman Chess Festival tournaments additionally offer hundreds of dollars of prizes for women.
2024 versus 2025
As of June 19, 2024, the top player preregistered for the 2024 US Senior Open was IM Sal Matera. Ultimately that year, two GMs tied for first: GM Alex Fishbein and GM Dmitry Gurevich. On tiebreaks, Fishbein qualified for the 2025 U.S. Senior Championship.
The winner of the 2023 US Senior Open, GM Jesse Kraai, finished second in the 2024 U.S. Senior Championship. One of his 2024 wins was over 2019 U.S. Senior Champion GM Alexander Shabalov.
As of June 19, 2025, Kraai was the top player preregistered for the 2025 US Senior Open. If Kraai wins the US Senior Open, he qualifies for the 2026 U.S. Senior Championship.
