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Editor: Dr Tim Harding |
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Editor: Dr Tim Harding |
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© Dr Tim Harding
Last modified:
28 November 2020
The British Online Championships, including Senior rapid and classical tournaments have been announced for late December. For the Seniors schedule see below. See also our news page.
Members of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish federations (and also players from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) are eligible to compete.
Otherwise there is little more to look forward to this year with the Covid-19 second wave in full swing in many countries and the last German senior event of 2020 has now been cancelled.
The organisers of the Czech Tour today announced some of their early 2021 programme which includes, as usual, a Senior tournament in Marienbad in late January (see below). They hope to make further announcements in February.
There is as yet no update about FIDE senior events for 2021. However, optimists in Germany and elsewhere are planning some attractive tournaments for next year. Recent announcements that effective vaccines may be widely available by next April seem to be encouraging organisers.
We have now added the dates for the 2021 British 50+ and 65+ Championships from the provisional schedule issued by the English Chess Federation. This is of course dependent on Covid-19 regulations at the time permitting the congress to be held.
See also our Seniors news page.
For tournaments run on FIDE Senior rules, you do not have to wait for your birthday; you are qualified from 1 January in the year in which you reach the qualifying age. The qualifying dates for the two FIDE age groups this year are 31 December 1955 (for 65+) and 31 December 1970 (for 50+). For next year's events the qualifying years become 1956 and 1971.
The German Senior tournaments calendar has recently been redesigned and updated. We are in contact with Wolfgang Block who organises it. We include only those tournaments which are described as Open, but not events restricted to German players.
In the first quarter of next year, the Chess festival at the German spa of Bad Wörishofen is going ahead again, including the usual Senior tournament. Note that the FIDE age categories do not apply for this event.
Then the midsummer festival at Bad Neuenahr includes a 75+ tournament.
If you know of further tournaments, or cancellations, please inform us and we shall include them.
18-20 December: Senior Championship Qualifier (5 rounds). Separate sections for 50+ and 65+.
21-23 and 27-30 December: Senior Championship Final (7 rounds); two places in each age group section are reserved for non-ENG registered players. The winner of each section also qualifies for the Open British Championship FInal.
2 January 2021: Senior Rapid Championship Qualifier
2-3 January: Senior Championship Qualifiers (50+ and 65+) on chess.com (7 rounds).
2-3 January: Senior Championship Final (7 rounds). Two places in each age group section are reserved for non-ENG registered players.
Cancelled or Postponed Tournaments
WAS 2-10 December: 20th Mecklenburg-Verpommen Open Senior Championship at Binz. Cancelled due to the continued German lockdown (they had received 150 entries).
POSTPONED TO NEXT YEAR: European Senior Individual Championships and the European Senior Teams Championship which had both been due to take place in Poland. No 2021 dates yet.
POSTPONED TO NEXT YEAR: World Senior Individual Championships at Assisi. Postponed to the same venue but no dates yet (presumably November).
2-3 January: Midwest Senior Open. Comfort Inn O'Hare, Des Plaines, Illinois. Must be age 50 or older as of 31st December 2021. Simon Rogers informs us that he has found announcements about other Senior events in North America and the Middle East but we shall probably only list major ones here, and nearer the dates.
* 23-30 January 2021: 20th Marienbad festival at Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic. Including a 9-round senior (50+) tournament alongside GM and IM round-robins, and an Open. There is a 25% discount on entry fees for 65+ Seniors, women and Fide Masters. PDF details in English.
* 5-13 March 2021: 36th Bad Wörishofen festival, including a 9-round senior tournament (60+ rule for men; 50+ for women). Download PDF information (in German).
* 7-21 April 2021 (provisional): The Reykjavik Festival will (if it can go ahead) include the European Championship and a shorter Open event. It remains to be seen whether there will be any Senior prizes (probably 50+ only).
26 May-3 June 2021: Chess Classics 2021 Bad Neuenahr (Klaus Gohde Memorial tournaments). Three 9-round FIDE-rated sections: 50+, 65+ and 75+! A half-point bye may be taken in one of the first seven rounds if requested. The rather high entry fee of 120 Euros includes refreshments (water, coffee, tea or juices) during the games. Details (PDF in German). This sounds like a high-class event. Bad Neuenahr is in a pleasant wine-growing region close to the Rhine at Remagen.
12-20 June 2021: 32nd Bavarian Open Senior Championship at Bergen/Chiemgau. Nine rounds. For men and women born in 1961 or earlier. Details in German (PDF). The venue is on the rail line between Munich and Innsbruck.
19-27 June 2021: 28th Brandenburg Senior Open at the resort town Miedzyzdroje on the Baltic island of Wolin, Poland. Programme includes blitz and rapid events. German age rules (55 for women, 60 for men). Anyone interested can download a Word file in German from Herr Block's calendar.
* 2-10 July: 18th Rheinland/Pfalz Senior Open (9 rounds) at Altenkirchen/Westerwald. For men born 1961 or earlier and women born 1966 or earlier. Details in German (PDF). The venue is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz.
* 25-31 July 2021: British 50+ and 65+ Championships in Torquay (both 7 round events). For future announcements, check the English Chess Federation championship website.
30 July-3 August 2021: 11th Canadian Seniors Championships at Halifax, Nova Scotia, as part of a larger chess festival. 6-Round Swiss in two sections 50+/65+. Canadian residents are eligible if age 50/65 by 31st December 2021. Foreign players U2000 are welcome but cannot claim first prize. Highest rated entries so far are GM Evgeny Bareev (50+) and IM Leon Piasetski in the 65+. (Thanks to Simon Rogers who found this on the Canadian chess federation website.)
30 September-8 October 2021: 15th Open Senior Championship of Schleswig-Holstein at Busum.
PROBABLY POSTPONED AND/OR RELOCATED (original dates were 23 July-1 August 2021): The European Senior Team Championships had been scheduled for Dresden, Germany. The September ECU Board decision means that Poland now have the right to organise this event, with the German rights postponed to 2022. If the ECU calendar can be believed, the 2021 event will be played in Wroclaw, Poland; we shall probably have to wait several months for more information. The European Senior Team Championship will probably be the only senior FIDE team event next year (if it is held).
This event is for teams of four representing nations or regions; 50+ and 65+. All players on a team must be registered with FIDE and from the same federation.
Note the age qualification rules for German-language Senior events vary. It is usually 60+ for men and 50+ or 55+ for women. Check the particular details for any event that interests you.
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