The Skalica chess festival 2026, including the Chess Slovak Open® tournament under FIDE auspices, will be held from 22 to 30 August. Registration is open until 10 August or until capacity is reached.
Registration for Slovakia’s most prestigious chess event has begun. It will run until 10 August, or until the capacity is filled.
The Skalica Chess Festival 2026, including the Chess Slovak Open® tournament under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), will take place from 22 to 30 August. The week-long summer event in the Skalica House of Culture will feature a record total prize fund of € 15,000.
Average ELO around 2600
“Seven tournaments, one festival,” is how the event was characterised by Milan Roman, President of the Slovak Chess Federation (SŠZ) and chief organizer on behalf of the Skalica Chess Club and the city of Skalica.
The Masters classical round-robin will have a prize fund of € 3,900. The 9-round contest of ten invited players already includes GM Alexander Donchenko representing Germany (ELO 2642), GM Anton Korobov of Ukraine (2610) and Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2595).
“Based on the names already announced, we expect an average ELO around 2600. It is already certain that this will be the strongest chess tournament ever held on Slovak territory,” Roman foreshadowed. The festival will once again confirm its reputation as the highest-quality chess event in the country.
Among the top European events
“When we started this festival, this was exactly our ambition. We are succeeding in fulfilling it — with our line-up we now belong among the top European events, and we are proudly aspiring to be part of the world organizing elite,” said the SŠZ chief and Skalica local patriot.
Masters results will count for FIDE rating and for GM and IM norms. WGM and WIM norms will be among the attributes of the analogous women’s tournament Queen Masters, also classical, with a prize fund of € 1,500 for ten players — also by invitation.
The 8th edition of the open tournament Open A Chess Slovak Open, also classical, gave its name to the entire festival in this town of 15,000 in the Záhorie region. It offers the highest prize fund of € 4,600, with the winner taking home at least € 1,300.
The tournament is open to candidates with FIDE ELO 2000+ as of 1 August 2026 and will be played as a 9-round Swiss system. The champion, in addition to the prize money and trophy, will earn the right to participate in Masters 2027 in Skalica.
An opportunity for Slovak players
“The programme will be completed by Open B Quartet Cup in classical chess, a 9-round Swiss with no ELO cap and a place at next year’s Chess Slovak Open at stake; followed by Open Blitz — Mayor of Skalica’s Cup on 23 August, Chess 960 / Fischer Random on 26 August, and Open Rapid on 29 August,” Roman listed.
Open B carries a prize fund of € 1,300, both blitz and rapid € 1,100 each, while the evening Fischer Random will be played for material prizes. Another € 1,500 will be split among holders of special prizes. The Ján Plachetka Prize goes to the most beautiful game of the entire festival, and the Sergei Movsesian Prize for the largest FIDE ELO rating gain. In addition, the most beautiful game of each day will be evaluated and rewarded.
GM Sergei Movsesian will serve as the festival’s executive ambassador, and the first Slovak international grandmaster of the modern era, Ján Plachetka — since September 2024 the inaugural inductee of the Slovak Chess Hall of Fame — will take the role of honorary ambassador.
All four classical tournaments — Masters and Queen Masters by invitation, plus the two Open events — will be played with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes, with a 30-second increment per move. Open Blitz will be an 11-round Swiss with 2×3 minutes + 2-second increment, and Open Rapid a 7-round Swiss with 2×10 minutes + 5-second increment.
“I’m very glad that this festival contributes to the popularization of chess among the wider public. I am equally pleased that chess in Slovakia is generally progressing and we have many talented players. In this way too, we create opportunities for them to gain experience and develop their performance,” Milan Roman concluded.
For media
The press release and photos are available for free use, provided the source given in their captions is credited.
📄 Download press release (PDF, Slovak)
Press contact: Miki Kočan, PR · mikikocan@gmail.com · +421 948 491 186
Organizer: Milan Roman, Tournament Director · info@chessslovakopen.sk · +421 905 410 990