Salou Open 2026

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Salou Open 2026

Salou Open 2026

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This will be the 27th tournament in a row, which traditionally brings together both world stars and amateurs.

  • Dates: May 24 – June 1, 2026.

    • Arrival date: May 23.

    • Departure date: June 2.

  • Location: Salou, Spain (Costa Dorada).

  • Venue and accommodation: 4-star hotel Cala Font (located right on the seashore, 50 m to the beach).

  • Discipline: International Checkers (100-cell board).

Salou Open 2026

📅 Tournament Schedule (2026)

The tournament consists of 9 rounds according to the Swiss system.

  • May 24 (Sun): 14:30 — Opening; 15:30 — 1st round.

  • May 25 (Mon): 15:30 — Round 2.

  • May 26 (Tue): 09:00 — Round 3; 15:30 — Round 4 (double day).

  • 27 травня (Ср): 15:30 — 5 тур.

  • 28 травня (Чт): 15:30 — 6 тур.

  • May 29 (Fri): Day off. At 8:00 PM — Blitz tournament.

  • 30 травня (Сб): 15:30 — 7 тур.

  • 31 травня (Нд): 15:30 — 8 тур.

  • June 1 (Mon): 14:30 — Round 9; 21:00 — Closing Ceremony.

📊 Technical details

  • System: Swiss (Solkoff).

  • Time control: 1 hour 20 minutes per game + 1 minute for each move made (FMJD standard).

  • Limitations: The maximum number of participants is 124 players. Registration usually closes early due to high demand.

  • Participants: Representatives from over 15 countries have already registered for 2026, including a large delegation from the Netherlands, France, and Ukraine (currently 9 Ukrainians on the list).

🌟 Historical context (Salou Open 2024-2025)

To make your article more interesting, here are the results of the last tournament (2024):

  • 🥇 Alexander Shvartsman (Israel) — 1st place.

  • 🥈 Artem Ivanov (Ukraine) - often takes high places in Salou (in 2024, Yuriy Anikeev was also among the leaders).

  • 🥉 Evgeny Vatutin or other top grandmasters usually fight for the top three.

🔗 Useful links

  • Офіційний сайт: salou-open.nl

  • Registration: Is carried out directly through the website or by mail info@salou-open.nl.

  • Results of the past years: Available at Toernooibase KNDB.

Salou Open is called a "chess festival at sea". The tournament's special feature is that it combines professional sports and family recreation (the Friday off is specially designed for excursions to PortAventura or Barcelona).

Here are the seeding leaders and representatives of Ukraine:

🔝 Top players of the tournament (by rating)

  1. Jan Groenendijk (Netherlands) — GMI, rating 2440.

  2. Alexander Shvartsman (Ізраїль) — GMI, рейтинг 2421.

  3. Jitse Slump (Netherlands) — GMI, rating 2392.

  4. Martijn van IJzendoorn (Нідерланди) — GMI, рейтинг 2385.

  5. Anatoli Gantvarg (Individual) — GMI, рейтинг 2379.

  6. Wouter Sipma (Netherlands) — GMI, rating 2371.

  7. Martin Dolfing (Netherlands) — GMI, rating 2353.

🇺🇦 Ukrainian delegation (9 participants)

A powerful team from Ukraine has entered the tournament:

  • Yuriy Lagoda (MI, рейтинг 2274)

  • Igor Kirzner (GMI, рейтинг 2253)

  • Viktoriya Motrichko (GMIF, rating 2253) is the leader of the women's competition.

  • Bohdan Panchenkov (рейтинг 2174)

  • Dmytro Marynenko (MF, рейтинг 2100)

  • ...and other masters.

📊 Participant Statistics

  • Total players: 127 (the limit of 124 was exceeded, now registration is only on the waiting list).

  • Countries: The largest number of players comes from the Netherlands (59), France (21) and Ukraine (9). The USA, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Poland, Latvia and others are also represented.

  • Women: 12 participants (Viktoria Motrichko is the main favorite).

  • Titles: 13 Grandmasters (GMI), making this tournament one of the strongest opens of the year.

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