XIX American Continental Chess Championship 2026 – Jorge Vega Fernandez In Memoriam brings top players from across the Americas to Oaxtepec, Morelos, Mexico from June 1 to June 11, 2026. The event takes place at Hotel Dorados Conventions & Resorts and serves as one of the key classical championships on the continental calendar.

The main tournament uses an 11-round Swiss system with a classical 90 minutes + 30 seconds from move 1 time control. Moreover, the top four finishers qualify for the 2027 FIDE World Cup, so the standings matter from the first round to the last.

The festival also includes continental rapid and blitz championships at the same venue. In addition, players can stay on site, choose from several hotel packages, and use organized airport transportation from Mexico City. As a result, the event offers a practical full-stay format for both official and unofficial participants.

🏁 Event Details

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The championship runs as an 11-round Swiss tournament. Each player gets 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move 1. In addition, the tolerance time is 30 minutes, so players need to be at the board on time.

Points decide the main standings. If players finish level on points, the tie-break order is Buchholz Cut 1, Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, cumulative score, direct encounter, and most wins.

The side events use the same Swiss structure. However, the time controls change: rapid uses 10 minutes + 5 seconds, while blitz uses 3 minutes + 2 seconds.

💰 Prize Fund

The main championship offers a total confirmed cash prize fund of USD 20,000. In addition, the tournament awards trophies and medals in the leading places and category prizes in several special groups.

The rapid and blitz championships each have their own prize fund.

♟️ Sections / Groups

The main event welcomes both official and unofficial players. Official players receive organizer support under the continental allocation rules. Meanwhile, unofficial players may also enter if their national federation registers and endorses them.

📅 Schedule

📝 Registration

Official-player places follow the continental allocation system. Therefore, the organizer reserves supported places for the zone quotas, the current Pan-American U20 champion, one player nominated by the Continental President, one player nominated by the organizer, and the 2025 continental champion.

👤 Organizer

The Chess Confederation of America, FENAMAC, and Imprime tu Mente organize the championship together. They also manage the rapid and blitz side events, hotel coordination, and player logistics during the full festival.

Phone: +52 55 4353 4008
Email: continental2026@fenamac.info

📍 Venue

Hotel Dorados Conventions & Resorts, Carretera Cocoyoc–Oaxtepec Km 2.5, Centro, 62738 Oaxtepec, Morelos, Mexico

The venue keeps the playing hall, accommodation, and daily services in one place. Because of that, players can move easily between rounds, meals, and rest during the championship.

🛏️ Accommodation

Check-in starts after 14:00 on June 1, while check-out ends before 12:00 on June 11.

🚗 How to Get There

Mexico City International Airport is the nearest airport for the event. The organizer offers round-trip transportation on June 1 and June 11 for USD 80 per person. Moreover, the published travel time to Oaxtepec is about 2.5 hours, although traffic can change that estimate.

ℹ️ Other

Players must attend the technical meeting, the opening ceremony, and the closing ceremony. In addition, they must cooperate with short media requests after games and maintain proper appearance during the event.

Anti-cheating rules follow FIDE guidelines. Therefore, players may not bring electronic devices, bags, or backpacks into the playing area, except for the approved scoresheet device. Likewise, spectators may not enter the hall 10 minutes after a round begins.

Only a player may file an appeal. The player must submit it within one hour after the round or incident and add a USD 100 deposit. If the appeal succeeds, the organizer returns the deposit. Otherwise, the player loses it.

This continental championship combines World Cup qualification, a deep prize structure, and practical one-site festival logistics.