The World Open chess tournament is an annual open chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 tournament played in most editions in Philadelphia and some editions in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. The inaugural event was a huge success played in New York in 1973 with 732 participants, and was won by Walter Browne.

The tournament is divided into different sections, with typically 100-200 players in the top section. The 1986 edition had as many as 1507 participants, arguably a world record for a chess tournament. The 2009 edition had 1350 players divided in nine sections. The total prize fund was 250,000 USD (first prize in the top section 15,200 USD). It is usually played in the first week of July, sometimes beginning at the end of June. All editions have been organized by the Continental Chess Association.

Winners

All players finishing equal first are listed; the winners after tie-breaks are boldfaced.

#	Year	Location	Winner	Score
1	1973	New York		9 /10
2	1974	New York		8.5 /9
3	1975	New York		8 /9
4	1976	New York		8 /9
5	1977	Philadelphia		8 /9
6	1978	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
7	1979	Philadelphia		8 /10
8	1980	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
9	1981	New Paltz, New York New Paltz (village), New York New Paltz is a village in Ulster County in the U.S. state of New York. It is about north of New York City and south of Albany. The population was 6,818 at the 2010 census.The Village of New Paltz is located within the Town of New Paltz...		7.5 /9
10	1982	Philadelphia		6 /8
11	1983	New York		7 /8
12	1984	Valley Forge Valley Forge, Pennsylvania The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, United States. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Township of Chester County, but once...		7 /9
13	1985	Philadelphia		7 /9
14	1986	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
15	1987	Philadelphia		8 /10
16	1988	Philadelphia		9 /11
17	1989	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
18	1990	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
19	1991	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
20	1992	Philadelphia		8 /9
21	1993	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
22	1994	Philadelphia		7,5 /9
23	1995	Philadelphia		8 /9
24	1996	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
25	1997	Philadelphia		8 /9
26	1998	Philadelphia		8.5 /9
27	1999	Philadelphia		7 /9
28	2000	Philadelphia		7 /9
29	2001	Philadelphia		7 /9
30	2002	Philadelphia		7 /9
31	2003	Philadelphia		7 /9
32	2004	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
33	2005	Philadelphia		7.5 /9
34	2006	Philadelphia		7 /9
35	2007	Philadelphia		7 /9
36	2008	Philadelphia		7 /9
37	2009	Philadelphia		7 /9
38	2010	Valley Forge		7.5 /9
39	2011	Philadelphia		7 /9

Details

• 1973 - The 1st World Open was held from June 30 through July 4 at the Hotel McAlpin (34th Street and Broadway) in Manhattan, New York City. It had a $15,000 prize fund (1st place $2,000), a world record for an open tournament. There was an Open section and a Booster section open to players rated under 1800. It was sponsored by the Continental Chess Association and directed by Bill Goichberg, Jerry Bibuld, Bob Moran, Larry King, and Barbara Taylor. There were 369 players in the Open (44 masters) and 356 players in the Booster, for a total of 725 players. At the time, it was a new U.S. attendance record for an open (non-scholastic) tournament. GM Walter Browne, age 24, scored 9-1 (8 wins and 2 draws) to take first place. IM Julio Kaplan, age 23, took 2nd place with an 8.5/10 score. The Booster section was won by Michael Lau, scoring 9.5-0.5. Bill Wall came the farthest to play in the event, coming from Thailand on leave from the Air Force (8,600 miles).

• 1974 - The 2nd World Open was held from July 1–7 at the Hotel McAlpin. It had a $17,000 prize fund (1st place $3,000). The total prize fund and top prize were new records for open tournaments. There were 373 players in the Open (4 GMs and 48 masters) and 418 players in the Booster, for a total of 791 players, a new U.S. attendance record. GM Bent Larsen of Denmark took 1st place with 8 wins and 1 draw (with Walter Browne). GM Walter Browne took 2nd place with an 8/9 score (7 wins and 2 draws). The Booster section was won by Marco Silva of Columbia, scoring 8-1 (7 wins and 2 draws).

• 1975 - The 3rd World Open was held from July 2–6 at the Hotel Roosevelt (Madison Ave & 45th Street) in Manhattan. It had a $20,000 prize fund (1st place $3,000). There were 372 players in the Open section and 443 in the Booster section, for a total of 815 entries. GM Pal Benko (Elo 2504) and Alan Trefler (2045), age 19, tied for 1st place with 8/9 score. Trefler's first place finish was the biggest upset of any World Open and the lowest rated player to tie or win first place. He was a student of Dartmouth College and was ranked 115th in the tournament. He lost his first game, then won 8 in a row. His rating after the tournament was over 2300. Benko won 7 games and drew 2. Nicholas Rossolimo took 3rd place, with 7.5-1.5. The Booster section was won by Eddy Vildoso with 8.5 out of 9.

• 1976 - The 4th World Open was held from July 1–5 at the Hotel Roosevelt. It had a $24,000 prize fund (a new world record for open chess tournaments), 1st place prize was $4,000. There were 362 players in the Open section (6 GMs and 4 IMs) and 408 in the Booster section, for a total of 770 players. GM Anatoly Lein (Elo 2515) and IM Bernard Zuckerman tied for 1st with an 8-1 score. The Booster section was won by Frank Romano, with an 8-1 score.

• 1977 - The 5th World Open was held June 30-July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a $27,000 prize fund (1st place $2,000). It now had 8 sections, with 367 players in the Open section (3 GMs and 2 IMs) and 922 players total, setting another U.S. attendance record for open tournaments. IM John Fedorowicz (2350), age 18, and IM Ron Henley (2323), age 20, tied for first with an 8-1 score.

• 1978 - The 6th World Open was held June 30-July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $40,000 prize fund, at the time the largest ever for an open tournament in the world. 1st place prize was $5,000. There were 1,063 entrants, a new record for open tournaments. It had 7 groups, with 428 players in the Open section (6 GMs and 5 IMs). Eight players scored 7.5-1.5. IM Peter Biyiasas (who was awarded the GM title later in the year) was first on tiebreak, followed by GM Florin Gheorghiu, IM Bernard Zuckerman, GM Heikki Westerinen, Yasser Seirawan, Javier Lozano Sanz, Inguar Asmundsson, and Jean Hebert. Boris Baczynskyi scored 5.5-3.5 (with a performance rating of 2444), becoming the first player ever to make an IM norm in an open tournament in the USA.

• 1979 - The 7th World Open was held June 30- July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $46,000 prize fund (1st place $5,000). It had 8 sections, with 893 players total. Seven players scored 8-2 in the Open section. Haukur Angantysson of Iceland was first on tiebreak, followed by GM Anthony Miles, GM Florin Gheorghiu, GM Walter Browne, GM Arthur Bisguier, IM Bernard Zuckerman, and IM John Fedorowicz.

• 1980 - The 8th World Open was held July 2–6 at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $52,000 prize fund (1st place $4,000). It had 7 groups, with 776 players total. The event attracted 10 GMs and 18 IMs, with 100 players rated over 2200, a new U.S. record. Five players scored 7.5-1.5. GM Roman Dzindzishasvili was 1st on tiebreak, followed by Larry Christiansen, Tony Miles, Florin Gheorghiu and Lawrence Day.

• 1981 - The 9th World Open was held July 1–5 at the State University of New York
  State University of New York
  The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
  
   at New Paltz. It had a $53,000 prize fund (1st place $5,000). It had 6 groups, with 702 players, the lowest number of any World Open. The Open section had 290 players, with 98 masters (5 GMs and 12 IMs). Four players scored 7.5-1.5. IM Igor Ivanov was 1st on tiebreak, followed by FM Dmitry Gurevich, IM Joel Benjamin, and IM Michael Rohde. John Jarecki earned a master rating at this World Open, making him at the time the youngest master in American history at age 12 years and 6 months.

• 1982 - The 10th World Open was held July 2–5 at the Philadelphia Centre Hotel. It had a $55,000 prize fund (1st place $5,000). It had 7 sections, with 906 players. In the Open section four players tied for 1st with a score of 6-2: Nick de Firmian, John Fedorowicz, Dmitry Gurevich and Eugene Meyer.

• 1983 - The 11th World Open was held July 1–4 at the New York Statler Hotel. It had a $57,000 prize fund (1st place $6,000). There were 1,257 players in five separate events (World Open Congress), and 840 players in the Premier tournament, with 112 masters, a new record. Four players tied for 1st with a score of 7-1. The winners, in tiebreak order, were IM Kevin Spraggett, GM Miguel Quinteros, IM Kamran Shirazi, IM Leonid Bass.

• 1984 - The 12th World Open was held June 20-July 4 at the Sheraton-Valley Forge Hotel in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
  King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
  King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...
  
  . It had a $60,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). There were 500 players in this event. Four players tied for 1st with a score of 6-2. The winner, after a playoff, was Joel Benjamin, followed by Yehuda Gruenfeld, Kevin Spraggett, and Boris Kogan.

• 1985 – The 13th World Open was held July 4–7 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $150,200 prize fund (1st place $15,000). There were 1,251 players in this event. Three players tied for 1st with a 7-1 score. The winner, after a playoff, was IM Maxim Dlugy, followed by GM Dmitry Gurevich and GM Yehuda Grunfeld.

• 1986 – The 14th World Open was held July 2–6 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $188,500 prize fund (1st place $20,931). It had six sections with 1,506 players. The Open had 237 players, including 23 GMs, 1 WGM, and 29 IMs. The winner was GM Nick deFirmian with a score of 7.5-1.5.

• 1987 – The 15th World Open was held June 26-July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $181,000 prize fund (1st place $25,000). There were 1,293 players in this event. The Open had 99 players, including 16 GMs and 20 IMs. GM Tony Miles and GM Boris Gulko tied for 1st with a score of 8-2. Gulko won the title in a playoff.

• 1988 – The 16th World Open was held June 26-July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia, It had $200,000 prize fund (1st place $25,000). The Open had only 64 players, including 17 GMs and 14 IMs. The winner was GM Maxim Dlugy with a score of 8.5-2.5.

• 1989 – The 17th World Open was held June 30-July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $220,000 prize fund (1st place $20,000). It had 10 sections with 1,127 players. The Open had 226 players, including 30 GMs. In the Open section, 10 players tied for 1st with a score of 7.5-2.5. GM Mikhail Gurevich of Russia received the title of 1989 World Open Champion, defeating GM Lev Alburt in the final of blitz (5-minute game) match. The other players were GM Alexander Chernin, GM Vladimir Epishin, GM Michael Rohde, GM John Fedorowicz, GM Walter Browne, GM Larry Christiansen, IM Alexander Ivanov and IM Gildardo Garcia of Colombia.

• 1990 – The 18th World Open was held June 30-July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $178,600 prize fund (1st place $17,870). It had 5 sections with 1,158 players. The Open had 212 players, including 18 GMs and 26 IMs. The winner was IM Igor Glek of the Soviet Union with a score of 7.5-1.5.

• 1991 – The 19th World Open was held July 1–7 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $200,000 prize fund (1st place $20,000). It had 5 sections with over 1,200 players. 4 players tied for 1st with a score of 7.5-1.5. The winner was GM Gata Kamsky after a playoff with Semion Palatnik, IM Alex Yermolinsky, and GM Jóhann Hjartarson,

• 1992 – The 20th World Open was held June 29-July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $150,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). It had 6 sections with 1,125 players. The Open section was won by GM Gregory Kaidanov with an 8-1 score.

• 1993 – The 21st World Open was held June 29-July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $150,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). It had 5 sections with 1,127 players. The Open section was won by GM Alex Yemolinsky with a 7.5-1.5 score. A player named John Von Neumann was accused of cheating by using a computer to defeat a 2300 player and draw against GM Helgi Ólafsson. He scored 4.5 points in the Open section for a prize. But after the result of two tests, demonstrating he didn't see a back-rank mate problem that any beginner could solve quickly and a casual game with a stronger player, it was decided that the player did not have sufficient knowledge of the game to achieve his 4.5 points without assistance.

• 1994 – The 22nd World Open was held June 28-July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $160,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000). It had 7 sections with 1,267 players (1,368 with re-entries). The Open section had 231 players with 41 GMs (32 rated over 2600) and 17 IMs. Artashes Minasian and Loek Van Wely both scored 7.5-1.5. Minasian won the event after a playoff.

• 1995 – The 23rd World Open was held June 28-July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $160,000 prize fund (1st place $12,000), with 7 sections and 1,482 players. The Open section had 234 players with 27 GMs and 11 IMs. It was won by GM Alex Yermolinsky with an 8-1 score. GM Gregory Kaidanov placed second with a 7.5-1.5 score.

• 1996 – The 24th World Open was held June 29-July 7 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $15,000), with 1,407 players in 9 sections. The Open section had 165 masters, including 19 GMs and 11 IMs. It was by GM Alex Yermolinksy after a playoff with GM Alexander Goldin. Both scored 7.5-1.5.

• 1997 – The 25th World Open was held June 28-July 6 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had 9 sections. The Open section had 227 players, including 22 GMs. It was won by GM Alex Shabalov with an 8-1 score, 2nd place going to Sergey Kudrin with a 7.1-1.5 score. The biggest upset was when Chris Theuerl, rated only 974, defeated life master Richard Noel, rated 2222.

• 1998 – The 26th World Open was held June 27-July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $190,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had 7 sections with 1,335 players. The Open section was won by GM Alexander Goldin with an 8.5-0.5 score. Ilya Smirin placed 2nd with a 7.5-1.5 score.

• 1999 – The 27th World Open was held June 26-July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $200,000 prize fund (1st place $15,000), with 1,470 players in 7 sections . The Open section had 228 players, including 30 GMs. Tied for 1st with a 7-2 score were Gregory Serper, Boris Gulko, Alex Yermolinsky, Joel Benjamin, Vladimir Akopian, Jaan Ehlvest, Igor Novikov, Georgy Timoshenko, Alexander Shabalov, and Alexander Fishbein. Gregory Serper won the playoff securing first place.

• 2000 – The 28th World Open was held June 28-July 4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $200,000 prize fund (1st place $15,000). It had 8 sections with 1,235 players. The Open section had 175 players, including 23 GMs. Tied for 1st were Joel Benjamin (who won in a blitz playoff), Jaan Ehlvest, Sergey Kudrin, Gregory Serper, Alexander Ivanov, Pavel Blatny, John Fedorowicz, and Alexander Goldin, with a 7-2 score.

• 2001 – The 29th World Open was held June 30-July 8 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $175,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). There were 8 sections with 1,302 players. Seven players tied for 1st with a 7-2 score: Alexander Goldin (winner in a playoff), Ilya Smirin, Alexander Onischuk, Leonid Yudasin, Yuri Shulman, Joel Benjamin, and Alexander Ivanov.

• 2002 – The 30th World Open was held June 29-July 7 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $175,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had 8 sections with 1,300 players. The Open section had 216 players, including 26 GMs. Nine players tied for 1st with a 7-2 score. They were 18-year old Polish IM Kamil Milton (winner in a playoff), Ilya Smirin, Alexander Onischuk, Artur Yusupov, Jaan Ehlvest, Aleks Wojtkiewicz, Benjamin Finegold, Jonathan Rowson, and Varuzhan Akobian.

• 2003 – The 31st World Open was held June 28-July 6 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had 8 sections with 1,413 players. The Open section had 238 players, including 35 grandmasters and 180 masters. Ten players tied for 1st with a 7-2 score. They were Jaan Ehlvest (playoff winner), Ilya Smirin, Alexander Onischuk, Alexander Shabalov, Aleks Wojtkiewicz, Nazar Firman, Alexander Goldin, Gennadi Zaitshik, Babakouly Annakov, and Leonid Yudasin.

• 2004 – The 32nd World Open has held June 26-July 5 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had 8 sections with 1,208 players. The Open section had 223 players, including 36 grandmasters and 3 woman grandmasters. The Open section was won by Varuzhan Akobian with a 7.5-1.5 score.

• 2005 - The 33rd World Open was held June 28-July 4 at the Wyndham Philadelphia Hotel. It had a $180,000 prize fund (1st place $14,000). It had 8 sections with 1,095 players. Kamil Milton and Magesh Panchanathan tied for 1st with a 7.5-1.5 score. Milton won the playoff.

• 2006 - The 34th World Open was held June 28-July 4 at the Sheraton in Philadelphia. It had a $358,000 prize fund (1st place $18,000). It had 8 sections with over 1,400 players. The Open section had 237 players. Nine players tied for 1st in the Open section with a 7-2 score. They were Gata Kamsky (playoff winner), Vadim Milov, Ildar Ibragimov, Jaan Ehlvest, Leonid Yudasin, Alexander Ivanov, Giorgi Kacheishvili, Joel Benjamin, and Aleks Wojtkiewicz.

• 2007 - The 35th World Open was held June 28-July 4 at the Valley Forge Pennsylvania Radisson and Convention Plaza. It had a $280,000 prize fund (1st place $15,000). It had 9 sections. The Open section had 92 players. Nine players tied for 1st in the Open section with a 6.5-2.5 score. They were Varuzhan Akobian (playoff winner), Hikaru Nakamura, Sandipan Chanda, Leonid Yudasin, Evgeny Najer, Alexander Stripunksy, Victor Mikhalevski, and Julio Becerra.

• 2008 - The 36th World Open was held June 30-July 6 at the Sheraton in Philadelphia. It had a $320,000 prize fund (1st place $30,000). It had 11 sections with over 1,200 players. The Open section had 118 players. Four players tied for 1st in the Open section with a 7-2 score. They were Evgeny Najer (playoff winner), Parimarjan Negi, Alexander Moiseenko, and Ľubomír Ftáčnik.

• 2009 - The 37th World Open was held June 29-July 5 at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel. It had a total prize fund of $250,000 (1st place $15.200, equal first $15.000). There were 1350 players in 9 sections. In the top section Hikaru Nakamura and Evgeny Najer finished first with 7 /9. They had to play an armaggedon game for tiebreak, but Nakamura had to leave and did not play, so Najer secured first place. Two players, IM Alex Lenderman
  Alex Lenderman
  Aleksandr "Alex" Lenderman is a Russian-American chess player who won the U16 division of the 2005 World Youth Chess Championship, Belfort, France, July 18–29, with a score of 9/10 . He holds a title of Grandmaster...
  
   and IM Leonid Gerzhoy, made a GM norm. Alex Lenderman's was his third GM norm. FMs Bindi Cheng and Michael Lee made an IM norm.

• 2010 - The 38th World Open was held June 29-July 5 at the Valley Forge Convention Plaza in Pennsylvania. It had a prize fund of $250,000 ($17,413 for 1st place). There were nearly 1,200 players in 10 sections. The Open section had 119 players, including 35 grandmasters. GM Viktor Laznicka
  Viktor Láznicka
  Viktor Láznička is a chess grandmaster from the Czech Republic.-Early moves:After learning the game at age six, he progressed quickly to playing junior tournaments and achieved many prize-winning performances in the national championships across the range of age limits...
  
  of the Czech Republic took first place with 7.5/9.