CHESS SLOVAK OPEN®
FIDE Chess SLOVAK OPEN Skalica
Skalica Chess Festival 2026
Seven tournaments.
One festival.
♕ Closed · By Invitation
Masters
Prize fund €3,900
Confirmed players:
- 🇩🇪 GM Alexander Donchenko 2642
- 🇺🇦 GM Anton Korobov 2610
- 🇮🇳 GM Leon Luke Mendonca 2595
- 🌎 GM — coming soon
- 🌎 GM — coming soon
♕ Closed · Women · By Invitation
Queen Masters
Prize fund €1,500
♞ Open A · FIDE 2000+
Chess Slovak Open®
1st place €1,300 · Top 6 paid + categories
♟ Open B · No ELO limit
Kvarteto Cup
Prizes: mobile / tablet / watches
⚡ Blitz · 23 Aug · 9:30
Blitz — Mayor of Skalica's Prize
1st €300 · 2nd €200 · 3rd €130
🏃 Rapid · 29 Aug · 9:00
Rapid Tournament
1st €300 · 2nd €200 · 3rd €130
🎲 Fischer Random · 26 Aug · 20:00
Chess 960
Evening side event · All welcome
Classical: 90 min + 30 min + 30s/move
FIDE Standard rating
GM & IM norm calculations
22 – 30 August 2026
House of Culture, Skalica
Live broadcast · All games
Financial rewards
€15,000 total prize fund
Masters
Total prize fund€3,900
Prize details communicated directly by the organizer to invited players.
Queen Masters
Total prize fund€1,500
Prize details communicated directly by the organizer to invited players.
Chess Slovak Open® (FIDE 2000+)
Total prize fund€4,600
🥇 1st place€1,300 + trophy
🥈 2nd place€900
🥉 3rd place€650
4th place€500
5th place€350
6th place€200
7th place€150
8th place€100
9th place€80
10th place€70
Best Woman€100
Best Senior 60+€100
Best Junior U18€100
Rating ≤2300€100
Prizes not shared. Category prizes require min. 6 players. Prize accumulation permitted. Winner earns a Masters spot the following year!
Blitz & Rapid
Blitz — prize fund€1,000
Rapid — prize fund€1,000
Entry Fees — Chess Slovak Open® (FIDE 2000+)
| GM, IM, WGM | FREE |
| FM, WIM | €25 |
| FIDE 2300+ | €45 |
| FIDE 2200–2299 | €60 |
| FIDE 2100–2199 | €75 |
| FIDE 2000–2099 | €95 |
| Exception (under 2000) | €150 |
Entry Fees — Open B
| FIDE 1901+ | €25 |
| FIDE 1801–1900 | €30 |
| FIDE 1701–1800 | €40 |
| FIDE 1601–1700 | €50 |
| FIDE up to 1600 | €60 |
| No FIDE ELO | €80 |
Discounts (one applies — whichever is higher):
Disability / Under 18 / Seniors 60+ → −€10 · ŠK Skalica members → −€15
Deadline: 10 August 2026 · Late fee: +€20 after deadline
Confirmed — Masters 2026
Elite closed tournament
avg. ELO ~2 600
🇩🇪
GM
Alexander Donchenko
ELO 2642 · Germany
🇮🇳
GM
Aditya Mittal
ELO 2617 · India
🇮🇳
GM
Leon Luke Mendonca
ELO 2595 · India
🇺🇦
GM
Anton Korobov
ELO 2604 · Ukraine
🇧🇪
GM
Daniel Dardha
ELO 2606 · Belgium
🌍GMComing soon...Confirming
🌍GMComing soon...Confirming
🌍GMComing soon...Confirming
🌍GMComing soon...Confirming
🌍GMComing soon...Confirming
▶ More GMs being confirmed. Follow the website and social media for updates.
Livestream & commentary: GM Sergei Movsesian & GM Ján Plachetka
Beyond the leaderboard
Special Prizes
♟ Ján Plachetka Prize
For the most beautiful game of the tournament, presented personally by GM Ján Plachetka — the first Slovak Grandmaster.
📈 Sergei Movsesian Prize
For the greatest ELO rating gain, presented by GM Sergei Movsesian — Olympic champion, former world rapid champion, peak rating 2751.
⭐ Game of the Day
Each round, our sponsor awards a prize for the most brilliant game. Creativity and attacking play are rewarded every single day.
22 – 30 August 2026
Festival Schedule
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 22 AugOpening day | 12:00–14:30 15:30 16:00 | Registration & check-in Opening ceremony Round 1 |
| Sun 23 Aug | 9:30 15:00 | ⚡ Blitz — Mayor of Skalica's Prize Swiss 11 rounds, 2×3min+2s Round 2 |
| Mon 24 Aug | 15:00 | Round 3 |
| Tue 25 Aug | 15:00 | Round 4 |
| Wed 26 Aug | 15:00 20:00 | Round 5 🎲 Fischer Random (Chess 960) Evening event |
| Thu 27 Aug | 15:00 | Round 6 |
| Fri 28 Aug | 15:00 | Round 7 |
| Sat 29 Aug | 9:00 15:00 | 🏃 Rapid Tournament Swiss 7 rounds, 2×10min+5s Round 8 |
| Sun 30 AugFinal day | 9:30 15:00 | Round 9 (Final) Prize ceremony & closing |
All games broadcast live. Ceremony begins 30 min after the last game if games end after 14:30.
Since 2019
Hall of Champions
| Year | Open A Champion | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 🇦🇹 IM Valentin Baidetskyi | 7.5 / 9 | First Austrian champion · WIM norm: T. Iveković · 19 countries |
| 2024 | 🇸🇰 Martin Jablonický | 6.5 / 9 | Shared 1st · ŠK Osuské · 14 countries |
| 2023 | 🇸🇰 GM Jerguš Pecháč | 7.5 / 9 | 2nd title · 240+ players · Top 50 world FIDE |
| 2022 | 🇸🇰 Filip Haring | 7.0 / 9 | GM norm · FIDE recognition · 222 players, 16 countries |
| 2021 | 🇸🇰 GM Jerguš Pecháč | — | Masters: GM Anton Korobov 🇺🇦 |
| 2020 | 🇮🇳 Leon Luke Mendonca | — | Masters: GM Ivan Šarić 🇭🇷 · Future 2600+ GM |
| 2019 | 🇷🇺 Mikhail Demidov | — | 1st edition of Chess Slovak Open® |
Where we play
Skalica — A royal city worth the trip
Skalica has been a Free Royal City since 1372. Its medieval walls, Romanesque rotunda, and Art Nouveau Dom kultúry create a unique atmosphere that makes this festival unforgettable.
The venue — Dom kultúry — is an Art Nouveau masterpiece designed by architect Dušan Jurkovič in 1905, featuring original mosaics and preserved period interiors. Since 2025, the home of Chess Slovak Open®.
Easily reachable: Vienna ~90 min · Bratislava ~60 min · Brno ~60 min · Prague ~2.5 hrs
Dom kultúry — 1905Art Nouveau building designed by Dušan Jurkovič. Original mosaics, paintings, preserved interiors. All tournaments under one roof.
Cycling & Baťa CanalScenic trails and boat trips along the historic Baťa Canal — perfect rest between rounds.
Skalický rubín & Wine TastingEU Protected Designation wine. Organized tasting at local Záhorie winemakers.
AccommodationPenzión Skalica (5 min walk) · +421 907 227 214 · www.penzionskalica.sk
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Registered Players
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More than chess
Side Events & Activities
⚽ Football Tournament
🎾 Tennis Tournament
🏓 Table Tennis
🍷 Wine Tasting
🚴 Cycling — Baťa Canal
🚤 Boat Trip
⛳ Golf nearby
🏖 Beach Volleyball
🧊 Ice Hockey (seasonal)
History
CHESS Slovak OPEN® 2025 in Skalica: a week of top chess, lively atmosphere and international successes
Skalica has been alive with chess since 23. until 31. August 2025. The CHESS Slovak OPEN festival took place in the Culture House, which brought nine days of intense duels, accompanying tournaments and meetings with chess personalities. In total, approximately 150 players from 19 countries participated in all tournaments. The director of the event…
CHESS Slovak OPEN® 2025 (OPEN 2000+) in Skalica: Baidetskyi won, Pechac second, Assylov third
The main OPEN tournament of the Skalica Chess Festival brought quality nine-round duels with the standard pace of 90 min/40 moves + 30 s, then 30 min + 30 s. In the House of Culture in Skalica was played 23.-31. August 2025, the director was IO Milan Roman, the chief judge was IA Rastislav…
Winner of Chess Slovak Open® 2024 – Martin Jablonický
Chess Slovak Open tournament in Skalica confirmed its reputationé, with the bonus of the triumph of the houseof the host Martin Jablonickéhim The sixth edition of the Chess Slovak Open was the highlight of the weekséit Skalickéof chesséfestival organized byéorganized by the Skalica Chess Club. It confirmed its quickly acquired and growing reputation as a…
Partners
Tournament is financially supported by FIDE Open Aid Project
Contact us
Where you can find us
+421 905 410 990
Ing. Milan Roman - Tournament director
info@chessslovakopen.sk
E-mail Us