was wondering exactly how these things work, do you need a uscf membership to play in uscf tournaments and also a separate fide membership to play in international tournaments? is there a site with this type of information for future reference?
You only need to be a member of USCF (or your country's respective chess federation) to be able to play in FIDE tournaments. You won't get a FIDE rating until you play in FIDE tournaments though. For more information go to http://www.uschess.org/FIDEFAQ.php
