The 2025 South Carolina Senior Championship

Open to players in all states, ages 50+, born before 01/01/1976.

Senior Champion title to top SC player, Senior Champion qualifies to John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions

Hosted at the Columbia Chess Club

6169 St. Andrews Road

Columbia, SC, 29202

Entry Fee: $60 if received online by Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.  $70 online thereafter. $70 on-site. Re-entries $25. Registration ends at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. 

Entry for titled players (National Master and above) is free, standard entry fee deducted from prizes. If you are a titled player, simply use the "Titled Player" entry type at checkout. 

5-Round Swiss, G/75;+15 (2-Day Rounds 1 and 2 are G/45;+5).

1 Open section:  $250-150-100; U1600: $100-75.  

Trophy to top South Carolina player as Senior Champion. 

Tiebreaks: In the event that there is a tie for the best score by a South Carolina player, a series of unrated G/5+3 tiebreak games in a Round Robin format will be played among the players tied (if only 2 players tied, 2-game match of alternating colors is played). If there remains a tie, this format repeats with those players still tied until a winner is determined. For title/trophy only, tiebreaks do not affect distribution of prize money. For blitz tiebreaks, Blitz Rule 7(d) is modified such that a player's first illegal move results in a 1-minute penalty, standard Blitz Rule 7(d) applying on any subsequent illegal move by that player (i.e. a second illegal move is a loss if opponent has sufficient mating material).

Three-day section with a Friday start or Two-day section with start on Saturday morning are offered.  2-day Rounds 1 and 2 will be G/45;+5. All other rounds G/75;+15.  2-day and 3-day sections will merge to a single section beginning with Round 3.

3-day Format:

Round 1 (3-Day): 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 (G/75;+15)

Round 2 (3-Day): 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 (G/75;+15)

2-day Format:

Round 1 (2-Day): 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 (G/45;+5)

Round 2 (2-Day): 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 (G/45+5)

Round 3 (Merged): 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 (G/75;+15)

Round 4 (Merged): 10:00 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025 (G/75;+15)

Round 5 (Merged): 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025 (G/75;+15)

Estimated tournament completion by 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

A single half-point bye is available any round, including the final round. The half-point bye may be requested as a part of the advance entry or on site before the tournament starts. Thereafter the only bye available is a zero-point bye. The chief tournament director shall have the ability to grant a half-point bye for any round on unusual circumstances. 

Top board(s) will be streamed live to Twitch and/or Chess.com and Lichess.org.  Live standings (including current pre-registration information) and pairings are also available below.

The Columbia Chess Club is located near Harbison Boulevard and the Columbiana Mall, with 19 different hotels within two miles of the club.  We have found that you can get the best accommodations and prices by shopping directly rather than using any group rate we could offer.

Email info@columbiachess.org if you have any questions or issues.