Organised under the 2026 Mind Sports Olympiad in partnership with Elite Chess Events.
Schedule
Saturday, 22nd August
Rapid
Round 1: 11:00, Round 2: 12:15, Round 3: 13:30, Round 4: 14:45, Round 5: 16:00
Saturday Blitz
Round 1: 18:00
For rounds 2-11, as soon as possible upon completion of the previous round. Total time expected to take around 3 and a half hours to complete. Finished around 21:30.
Sunday, 23rd August
Rapid
Round 6: 10:30, Round 7: 11:45, Round 8: 13:00, Round 9: 14:15, Round 10: 15:30
Prize Giving: Shortly after conclusion of round 10.
Sunday Blitz
Round 1: 18:00
For rounds 2-11, as soon as possible upon completion of the previous round. Total time expected to take around 3 and a half hours to complete. Finished around 21:30.
Rapid Tournament
10 rounds of rapid chess with a time control of 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment from move 1. There are three sections {Open, Under 1900, and Under 1600}.
Entry fee: £50
GM/WGM/IM/WIM = Free entry
FM/WFM = £25
*If you are not a gold or platinum member of the English Chess Federation. There is a £17 surcharge pay to play fee that needs to be paid (select using the donation option below).
Prize fund
Open: Prize fund of £4,000
1st. £1,200, 2nd. £800, 3rd. £500, 4th. £300, 5th. £200,
1st Woman. £400, 2nd Woman. £200,
1st Over 50. £200
2x Rating Category Prizes. £100 each {TBD}
Under 1900: Prize fund of £700
1st. £300, 2nd. £200, 3rd. £100,
1x Rating Category Prize. £100 {TBD}
Under 1600: Prize fund of £700
1st. £300, 2nd. £200, 3rd. £100,
1x Rating Category Prize. £100 {TBD}
Rating Category Prize barriers will be decided once the tournament has started.
Saturday Blitz Tournament
11 rounds of blitz chess with a time control of 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment from move 1, one section open to all. The rounds will run one after the next until all eleven have been completed (there is no scheduled break).
Entry fee: £30
GM/WGM/IM/WIM = Free entry
FM/WFM = £15
Prize fund
Saturday Blitz: Prize fund of £1,600
1st. £500, 2nd. £300, 3rd. £200, 4th. £150, 5th. £100,
1st Woman. £150,
2x Rating Category Prizes. £100 each {TBD}
Rating Category Prize barriers will be decided once the tournament has started.
Sunday Blitz Tournament
11 rounds of blitz chess with a time control of all moves in 5 minutes (no increment and no second period), one section open to all. The rounds will run one after the next until all eleven have been completed (there is no scheduled break). *Note that the time control has been amended from 3 minutes to 5 minutes (no increment).
Entry fee: £20
GM/WGM/IM/WIM = Free entry
FM/WFM = £10
Prize fund
Sunday Blitz: Prize fund of £300
1st. £120, 2nd. £80, 3rd. £40,
1st Woman. £30,
1x Rating Category Prize. £30 {TBD}
Prizes will be shared in the event of a tie, there are no tiebreaks. The rating prizes will be decided using the W-We tiebreak.
Rating Category Prize barriers will be decided once the tournament has started.
VENUE: Mercure London Suite, Conference Centre, 47 Lillie Rd, London SW6 1UD. https://maps.app.goo.gl/2BA7DZddbJTQaJbi9
Accommodation
The event does not have any discounted accommodation agreement in place. Players are welcome to stay at the playing venue (Mercure and Ibis, both on the venue premises) or at any accommodation of their choice.
There are limited conditions available to Grandmasters (GMs).
List of entrants
Full player lists will be updated on the chess-results website regularly (manually).
Rapid
Open - Click here
Under 1900 - Click here
Under 1600 - Click here
Saturday Blitz
Open - Click here
Sunday Blitz
Open - Click here
Festival Rules: Click here to view
Fair Play Policy: Click here to view
Refund Policy
Up to 16th August: A full refund, less a £5 administration fee,
17th-21st August: A full refund, less £10 administration fee {up to 22nd August for Sunday Blitz},
22nd August onwards: No refund {23rd August onwards for Sunday Blitz}.
There is an onsite refreshment area.
NB: Please note that outside food/drink is not allowed.
Make sure to enter early to avoid disappointment - entries will be closed when the tournaments become oversubscribed to keep control of the number of participants.