--- title: "Open tournament in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/open-tournament.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/open-tournament" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "An open tournament accepts any entrant who meets the basic entry rules, whatever their rating or title, so that beginners." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/invitational-tournament.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/scholastic-tournament.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Open tournament in chess > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. An open tournament accepts any entrant who meets the basic entry rules, whatever their rating or title, so that beginners. An open tournament accepts any entrant who meets the basic entry rules, whatever their rating or title, so that beginners and grandmasters can sit in the same section. The word open describes who may enter, not how strong the field is. In an open event you do not need an invitation or a qualifying result: register, pay the entry fee and you are in. Many events run several sections at the same time, with an open section at the top and restricted sections below, so a player rated 1400 can compete for prizes against similar players while the open section carries the main prize list. A [grandmaster](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/grandmaster.md) may still play the open section of a weekend Swiss, which is why prize funds there can be large. For the player, the draw is the main [attraction](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/attraction.md): a chance to be paired with much stronger opponents, to earn a rating gain for good results, and in some FIDE events to make progress toward a [title norm](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md). FIDE's own title series uses the label open for the titles available to everyone, with the women's titles alongside. When you read an announcement, check the entry cut-off and any rating limits. See [invitational tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/invitational-tournament.md), [swiss system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) and [rating category](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md). Also called: open section. A neighboring idea is [Scholastic tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/scholastic-tournament.md). A scholastic tournament is an event for school-age players, usually organized in sections by grade or age, with prizes for individual students and often for school teams as well. Also worth reading is [Sectional](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sectional.md). A sectional is a tournament section limited to players inside a set rating range, so that each competitor mostly faces opponents of similar strength and prizes are fought for fairly. Rating and title terms like "Open tournament" matter once you know your next step, and the [improvement plans by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) set out a weekly routine for each rating range. ## Related terms - [Invitational tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/invitational-tournament.md) - [Swiss system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) - [Rating category](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md) - [Norm](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md) - [Scholastic tournament](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/scholastic-tournament.md) ## Guides that go further - [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.md): What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ. - [FIDE chess titles](https://georgelichess.com/titles.md): How the Candidate Master, FIDE Master, International Master and Grandmaster titles are earned, with every Handbook clause. - [How to get a FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-get-a-fide-rating.md): The Handbook rules for a first FIDE rating: five rated games, the 1400 floor, the two 1800 draws and a worked example. ## Sources - FIDE Handbook B.01 FIDE Title Regulations, effective 1 January 2024 (Clause 0.3), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B012024 [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [Invitational tournament in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/invitational-tournament.md) - [Swiss system in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) - [Rating category in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rating-category.md) - [Norm in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/norm.md) - [Scholastic tournament in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/scholastic-tournament.md) - [Chess terms: Tournaments, ratings and titles](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)