Pan American Chess Championship

The Pan American Chess Championship, also American Continental Championship is an individual chess tournament organized since 1945. It is often a qualifier for the FIDE World Cup.

First Pan American championships (1945 and 1954)

The first Pan American Chess Championship was held in Hollywood, 28 July – 12 August 1945. The line-up was as follows:

1. Samuel Reshevsky 10.5,
2. Reuben Fine 9,
3. Hermann Pilnik 8.5,
4. Israel Horowitz 8,
5. Isaac Kashdan 7,
6. Héctor Rossetto 6.5,
7–8. Weaver Adams, Herman Steiner 5.5,
9–10. Walter Cruz, José Joaquin Araiza 5,
11. Jose Broderman 3.5,
12. Herbert Seidman 3,
13. Joaquin Camarena 1.

The second championship was held in 1954 in Los Angeles and was an open tournament.

Winners

American Continental Chess Championship

The American Continental Chess Championship qualified in 2001 and 2003 the top seven players for the FIDE World Championships. From 2005, this tournament has been played as a qualifier for the World Cup stage of the World Championship. The number of players who qualified changed in the various editions. In 2005, the top seven players qualified for the Chess World Cup 2005. In 2014 and 2015 the top four earned a spot in the Chess World Cup 2015.

American Continental Women's Championship

The American Continental Women's Chess Championship serves as a qualifier for the knockout Women's World Chess Championship.