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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:
15 July 2026
For more information about chess for over-50s, please see our Seniors news and Seniors introduction pages.
It is now mid-July and the details of the 2026 FIDE World Senior Championships, to be played in Serbia during November, are finally available (see below).
Two German tournaments in October (Gelsenkirchen and the Saxon Seniors) were also added today.
Several dates for 2027 are now in the calendar but the four main FIDE events for next year are still in question.
Details of the Marienbad festival in January (includng a 50+ tournament) are available below. The 2027 Bad Wörishofen festival (including a 60+ section) and two tournaments in December (Groningen and Rome) were added last month.
Unfortunately the Cracovia 2026/27 festival information is still not announced on their website (apart from the dates).
We have entered the Cap Negret tournament (November in Spain) in the 65+ section. Note that the entry fee is higher if you do not stay in the congress hotel, for which bookings must be made separately by emailing them to claim the chess rate.
Please note Kilkenny (in November), another Irish weekend congress that is always popular with overseas (especially French) visitors and which 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).
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 is now 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.
None that we know of.
The German individual senior (closed) championships (50+ and 65+) will be played from 17-25 July in Dresden. Chess-results pages are already live for anyone interested.
25-31 July: The Open Danish Senior Championship (50+ and 65+) at Løgumkloster, a small town in Jutland. Foreign players can participate, but the Danish Championship titles and travel prizes can only be won by players who are DEN-registered with FIDE. PDF in English with tournament details and the accommodation offer.
1-9 August: The 12th International Arber Seniors (50+) alongside an Open, at Bodenmais in Bavaria. Details are available (PDF in German). Nine rounds, morning play except round 1.
3-9 August: The British Senior Championships (50+ and 65+) over 7 rounds as shown on the schedule for the British Championships (which start on 1 August). The venue is the University of Warwick campus at Coventry. These championships are open to citizens of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and long-term British residents of other nationalities.At the time of writing there are 54 entries for the 50+ ad 60 (including GM Keith Arkell) for the 65+. See the English Chess Federation website for details, entry forms and entry lists.
** 7-9 August: If entries justify it, there will be one or two seniors events in Dublin (5 rounds, FIDE-rated) alongside the final rounds of the 2026 Irish Campionship and associated weekend Open tournament. The 50+ and 65+ sections may have to be merged if entries are too low. For details and to enter, go to the Irish Chess Union website.
8-14 August: The annual Brugse Meesters in Bruges, Belgium, including a Seniors tournament. Details are available on the organisers' Google pages. The Seniors is for players born in 1971 or earlier and there is another section for players rated below 1800 by FIDE. The congress is limited to 400 players.
16-23 August: The Olomouc Chess Summer, a Czech Tour event, includes nine-round 50+ and 65+ Senior tournaments as well as an Open, rapid, blitz, etc. There is a varied programme of tournaments (PDF in English). There are two rounds on the second day (Monday 17th).
18-26 August: The 23rd Rhineland Palatinate Senior Open at Altenkirchen. There is a flyer to download (PDF in German) and also a chess-results entry list already. For men born 1966 or earlier, and women born 1971 or earlier. Limited to 120 competitors.
21-29 August: We are informed that the annual Festival of the Echiquier Dieppois in Dieppe, France, is enjoyable and includes a 50+ tournament called the "Open des Rois" for which entries may now have closed. The official website is online and here is the full information about the various events (PDF in French).
23-29 August: Munich Open Seniors Championship (60+, 7 rounds). Restricted to 64 players. First round at 1pm, the others start at 11am. Details (PDF in German).
26 August-5 September: The European Senior Team Championships (50+ and 65+) at Hersonissos, east of Heraklion on the NE coast of the Greek island of Crete. For teams of four with an optional reserve; all players on a team must be from the same federation. The regulations and invitation document (PDF in English) are available on this site. Entries are now closed.
29 August-6 September: The 4th Fränkisches Seniorenderby (50+) at Bischofsgrün, alongside the 2nd Ochsenkopfopen. They are calling it "the tournament also for chess-playing couples." Details are available (PDF in German) and also a chess-results entry list.
7-15 September: 32nd Bad Bertricher Schachtage (50+) at Bad Bertrich in the Rheinland-Palatinate region of Germany. Nine rounds starting at 10am, except day one. As with many German events, the generous time limit with an extra half hour added after move 40 applies in addition to the 30 second increment from move one. The full tournament announcement can be downloaded from us (PDF in English) and in several other languages from the tournament website, which is impressive. Our informant, Gunnar Johnsen from Tromsų in Norway, kindly informs us: "Fine playing hall with AC. Quiet, but cosy village in the Moselle valley. Organiser: Dr. Mathias Kleifges."
The German senior team championships (50+ and 65+) for the states (Lands) will be played from 14-20 September in Bad Soden/Salmünster.
24 September-2 October: The 20th Open Senior Championship of Schleswig-Holstein at Büsum. No further details as yet.
1-10 October: The ACO Seniors "World Championship" (50+) at the 5* Fodele Beach Resort in Crete. Separate sections according to rating. Strictly holiday events; not FIDE rated and not genuine "world championships". Details on the organisers' website.
** 3-11 October: The 48th Città di Arco chess festival in north Italy includes the Arco Seniors (B section, 65+) alongside an Open (A section). Nine rounds with afternoon play except on the last day. Details in multingual PDF. There is now a chess-results page but it seems some 65+ entries prefer to play the Open tournament.
** 5-8 and 12-14 October: There is an unusual schedule for the 14th Willi Knebel Memorial at Gelsenkirchen (men 60+, women 55+) which probably won't suit overseas visitors unless they want to do some touring or other activities during the weekend break following round 4. Details (PDF in German).
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). This will be played over seven rounds starting at 9am (ouch!), except in round one, to leave the rest of the day free for hiking and drinking. A chess-results page shows who has entered so far. We are told the transfer from Vienna airport is easy by train and bus.
** 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+) will be held on these dates, alongside the main English Championships, at the Holiday Inn Peterborough West. For details see the ECF website. Unlike the British Championships in August, these tournaments are only for ENG-registered players.
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 at last (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 (REVISED PDF in English). There is already a large entry of widely varying strength. Here are links to the tournament website and entry lists on chess-results.
We have received many recommendations about this event from English players and have now entered. Rounds 1,2 and 9 are in the morning while most start at 4.30pm. There are two rounds on November 8th but half-point byes may be requested in advance for up to three rounds. Accommodation must be booked separately with the hotel. The nearest airport is Alicante and express shuttle transfers with Benniconnect are recommended by previous visitors.
20-22 November: Senior (60+) tournament at the ever-popular Kilkenny Chess Congress in Ireland's oldest inland town. Five rounds, FIDE-rated. Byes possible. Details including an entry form (in MS Word format) are already 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 First Binz Senior Winter on the Baltic island of Rügen, organised by Wolfgang Fiedler. This is a 9-round 50+ tournament. Full details (PDF in German) and link to the Congress website.
** 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.
** 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 time is from 16.00-21.00h except for the last day which is 10.00-15.00h. Evidently this will only be of interest to locals or other players intending to spend Christmas in the area.
** 27 December-?? January 2027: In recent years the Cracovia congress has been held in Krakow, Poland, starting just after Christmas and continuing into January. The programme usually includes a Seniors tournament. The event website now announces 27 December as the start date but as yet there is no more information about the 2026/27 event. Their link still goes to the regulations for the 2025/6 festival.
** 16-23 January: The Marienbad Congress at the Continental Hotel, Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic, includes a 50+ Seniors event as usual; the regulations were released this week (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).
** 5-13 March: The Bad Wörishofen congress in Bavaria including a Seniors event (60+?); details are currently 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: The World Senior Team Championships (50+ and 65+) at Magdeburg, Germany. See our news page. That spread of dates looks long for a 9-round tournament with one rest day, so we expect there will eventually be a slight adjustment.
** 23 April-3 May: The ECU originally announced 14-24 May as the dates for the European Senior Team Championships (50+ and 65+) at Acqui Terme, Italy. The new dates are even closer to the World event above and surely must be changed eventually, as happened in 2026.
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.
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