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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:
12 October 2026
For more information about chess for over-50s, please see our Seniors news and Seniors introduction pages.
The official announcement about the 2027 World Senior Team Championships in Magdeburg is at last published, confirming the dates and venue that we released a long time ago. The PDF is linked from our listings below. Please also read our updated news page.
The event is for teams of four with an optional reserve and as usual there will be separate 50+ and 65+ tournaments with awards for the top all-female teams.
The invitation for the similar 2027 European Senior Team Championships can also be seen below, but no player should plan to go to that without checking whether their country will actually be sending any teams.
There is still just time to enter Kilkenny (in November), an Irish weekend congress that is always popular with overseas (especially French) visitors. It usually has several GMs and other titled players in its Open section. This is the second time they have included a seniors event in their programme, which this year will be 60+ (for players born in 1966 or earlier).
Meanwhile, note that the Binz Winter tournament has been cancelled. The rival event at Heringsdorf, which started last year, seems to have won that battle.
The organisers of Chess Classics Bad Neuenahr (in Germany next May) have announced that their congress will start one day earlier than previously planned. Please see the new dates in the listings below and download the revised English-language PDF information. This congress has three tournaments: 50+, 65+ and 75+, all over nine rounds.
A 50+ tournament in France, later this month, was recently added to the listings; it is restricted to players rated below 2100. Also, both in France, we added a small weekend tournament just before Christmas and a 9-round tournament starting in late February. Apparently in France "Sénior plus" or "Sénior+" means 50-64 while "Vétérans are 65+. Thanks to Luuk Hoogeveen for this information.
The details of the Cracovia 2027 festival (which starts just after Christmas) were released last month - but unfortunately the English-language PDF still has not been fixed. See below for dates and links.
The dates of some other tournaments in Germany in the summer of 2027 have also reached us, but in many cases details are lacking as yet.
Players from abroad who are new to senior chess should note that it is usually necessary to have a FIDE registration from your home country before entering events listed on this page. If you don't have one, contact your local federation.
We concentrate here on European tournaments, but may sometimes mention major events on other continents. As always, we check the German Federation Senior tournaments calendar regularly. Wolfgang Cleve-Prinz, senior contact person for the Deutscher Schachbund, is named as the editor of that. We also regularly search on chess-results.com and we sometimes find a few events (mostly in Austria) which we add below if relevant.
There is another German senior calendar and news page at the Schach50plus website that you may find useful.
Newly announced events are added to this page when we find out about them. We know that these pages are widely read but we rely on readers and friends to notify us of many events. Tournament organisers rarely send us announcements in good time.
Please inform us if you know of an international senior tournament that is not mentioned. In our calendar we include only those tournaments which are described as Open and FIDE-rated. In most cases we omit events restricted to players from one country or which are played over an extended period so are unsuitable for overseas visitors.
The qualifying birth years for the two FIDE age groups in 2026 are 1976 for 50+ tournaments, 1961 (for 65+ events) and also 1951 for "Nestor" (75+) events and prizes. Our Seniors introduction page explains in more detail.
German senior tournament age limits vary a lot, so always check your eligibility if you are thinking of going. 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.
Note that German tournaments usually start with an afternoon round (to allow for personal registration of players arriving on the day or the previous evening), after which the remaining rounds start after breakfast. Also some events have limited numbers because of venue capacity and can book out early, so don't book travel until your entry is confirmed.
12-18 October: The increasingly popular Lower Austrian Seniors at the Gasthof Goldenes Schiff in scenic Spitz an der Donau, right by the Danube river in the wine-growing Wachau region of Austria, organised by schach50plus. This is a 60+ tournament with one prize for the best Nestor (born 1951 or earlier). Details (PDF in German). . A chess-results page is available.
15-25 October: The Asian Seniors Championships (50+ and 65+) in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Open to players in FIDE zones 3.1 to 3.8 (which includes Australasia, the Pacific and Russia). The details can be downloaded from the FIDE calendar or this page (PDF in English).
20-28 October: The 34th annual Saxon Seniors at Gasthof Coschütz, Dresden, is finally announced. There will be separate 50+ and 65+ sections so long as the entries for each reach 20 players. Over 9 rounds with morning play except in round one. Details (PDF in german). Dresden is, of course, a marvellous place to visit with plenty to see and do. The venue is not central but the city has an extensive tram network. Details (PDF in German).
24 October-1 November: The English Seniors Championships (50+ and 65+) alongside the main English Championships, at the Holiday Inn Peterborough West. For details see the ECF website. Unlike the British Championships, these tournaments are only for ENG-registered players.
24-31 October: The 24th Capechecs congress at Cap d'Agde in France has added a 50+ tournament called L'open CAP50 to its programme. Nine rounds with two games on the second day. Afternoon play except for rounds 2 and 9. Not open to IMSs, GMs or players with a current FIDE rating of 2100+. See their website for full details (in French).
24 October-1 November: The Hamburg Seniors Championships is mentioned on the German calendar but with no further information.
2-10 November: The 2nd Senioren im Spessartfestival (50+, 65+ and 75) at the Spessart Forum at Bad Soden-Salmünster, organised again by the Förderkreis der Senioren im DSB. Nine rounds instead of the seven played in 2025, with half-point byes allowed in rounds 2-5. We do not have a PDF for this event yet but we have scanned the leaflet we brought home, page 1 and page 2 (JPEG format in German).
2-15 November: The World Senior (individual) Championships (50+ and 65+) at Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia. This spa town was the venue for many international chess tournaments played in the old Yugoslavia in the 20th century. The details are available (PDF in English). Round 1 is on 3 November and the 8th is a rest day with a side event for those who want more chess. There are three prizes for the best players 75+ in the Open and one for the best woman 75+.
7-14 November: The 2026 Open Cap Negret (50+ and 65+) at the Hotel Cap Negret, Altea, Spain, over nine rounds. Most games start at 4.30pm but rounds 1, 2 and 9 start at 10am. Revised Tournament Rules (PDF in English). There is a large entry of widely varying strength. Here are links to the tournament website and entry lists on chess-results. Accommodation must be booked separately with the hotel. The nearest airport is Alicante and express shuttle transfers with Beniconnect can be booked online.
20-22 November: Senior (60+) tournament at the ever-popular Kilkenny Chess Congress in Ireland's oldest inland town. Said to be a very sociable event where the play tends to be secondary for many competitors. Five rounds, FIDE-rated. Byes possible. Details including an entry form (in MS Word format) are available on the Irish Chess Union website.
25 November-3 December: 26th Open Senior Championship of Mecklenburg-Vorpommen at the Hotel Kaiserhof in Heringsdorf. This annual event was held there for the first time in 2025. Details (PDF in German). For women born in 1971 or earlier, men born 1966 or earlier. Nestoren, women's and rating prizes also.
** 26 November-4 December: The Binz Senior Winter is now cancelled according to the German calendar.
** 6-12 December: Open Senior Championship of North Rhine-Westphalia (50+ and 65+, 7 rounds) at Oer-Erkenschwick. You can now download a more complete details document (PDF in German) which shows that rounds 1-6 will start at 1330h and the final round 7 at 10am. There will also be a blitz tournament on 5th December.
** 6-13 December: We have been sent details of a senior (50+) tournament as part of a chess festival in Rome but the information PDF is only in Italian. See also their website.
** 18-20 December: A weekend Open for "Veterans and Seniors Plus at Cambrai. Six rouinds, 50+, restricted to 39 players. Details online in French.
** 20-24 December: The festival (including a small senior tournament) previously held just after Christmas in Groningen in the north-east of the Netherlands, is being held earlier this year. Details on the official website. Playing hours are from 16.00-21.00h except for the last day which are10.00-15.00h. Evidently this event will only be of interest to locals or other players intending to spend Christmas in the area.
** 26 December-4 January 2027: The Cravovia 2027 festival (including a seniors tournament) at the Hotel Galaxy, Krakow, Poland, where the 2024 World Senior Team Championships were held. We recommend this hotel but alternative accommodation is also available nearby. There is currently a problem with the organisers' website. The English-language PDF available there has only been partially updated from last time so for the time being we post the Polish PDF where you can see the correct information in the panel top right.
10-14 January: The European Senior Rapid and Blitz Championships in Monaco. Official website and regulations document (PDF in English). See also our news page.
16-23 January: The Marienbad Congress at the Continental Hotel, Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic, includes a 50+ Seniors event as usual; see the regulations (web page in English).
15-19 February: The Brandenburg State Open Senior Championship at Trebbin. For men 60+ (i.e., born 1967 or earlier) and women 55+. No further details as yet.
21-27 February: The 4th Thuringian Senior Open (50+ and 65+) in historic Weimar. Details (PDF in German).
** 27 February-7 March: The 1st Senior International Open of the Jura Mountains at Giron. Nine rounds with afternoon play; 50+. Details online in French offer special hotel terms for the earliest entrants.
5-13 March: The Bad Wörishofen congress in Bavaria including a Seniors event (60+?); details are available as a PDF in German or the organisers' web page in English.
16-24 March: The 5th Nestorenturnier (for players aged 75+) at Undeloh, south of Hamburg on the Luneburger Heide, north Germany. No further details as yet.
** 31 March-11 April (NOW CONFIRMED): The World Senior Team Championships (50+ and 65+) at Magdeburg, Germany. See our news page and download the invitation (PDF in English). The arrival date is 31 March (just after Easter) and there will be a rest day on 6th April. This is sure to be a very popular event. The nearest airport is Hanover but transfers from Berlin airport will also be arranged at a small charge.
** 3-11 April: Second Binzer Frühling (Spring tournament, 50+) on the Baltic island of Rügen. Details (PDF in German). It hardly seems clever that this clashes with Magdeburg (above) but perhaps not everyone wants to play in a team tournament.
** 17-25 April: These are the dates announced for the 15th Schach-Senioren-Cup Am Tegernsee at Rottach-Egern in Bavaria, but details will probably not be available for some time.
** 23 April-3 May: The ECU have issued their official invitation (web page in English) for the European Senior Team Championships (50+ and 65+) at Acqui Terme, Italy. Please read our news page about this.
The E.C.U. also announced that its Individual Senior Championships will be held in Chotowa, Poland, during July but there are still no precise dates stated.
** 17-26 May (NEW DATES!): The Chess Classics Bad Neuenahr 2027 will again be played in three sections (50+, 65+ and 75+) over nine rounds, organised by the Förderkreis der Senioren im DSB at the Steigenberger Kurhaus, restored after the terrible floods of a few years ago. Round 1 will now be played on the afternoon of the 18th. The revised details (PDF) can be downloaded here in English. Bad Neuenahr is south of Bonn, near the Rhine at Remagen. We are informed that it is now on the railway.
** 5-13 June: The Bavarian Open Senior Championship: the dates were notified to us but we have no further details.
18-26 June: The 44th Senior Open Chess Championship of Franconia, a 55+ event organised by ChessOrg at Bishofsgrün, Bavaria. Details and registration on their website (page in English).
25 June-3 July: The 12th Senior Open Chess Championship of Baden-Württemberg at Bad Herrenalb. The German calendar shows these dates but no further details as yet.
** 12-18 July: The 35th Senior Open Chess Championship of Sachsen-Anhalt at Magdeburg. The German calendar shows these dates but no further details as yet.
The German calendar also shows the dates for the German individual senior championships (23 July-1 August) but no decision on venue yet.
10-18 August: The German calendar shows these dates for the 24th Rhineland-Pfalz Senior Open but no further details as yet. The 2026 edition was held at Altenkirchen.
30 August-7 September: 33rd Bad Bertricher Schachtage (50+) at Bad Bertrich in the Rheinland-Palatinate region of Germany. These dates were announced at the end of the 2026 edition. Thanks to Tim Spanton for the info.
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