19th OPEN INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT OF KALAMARIA 2026 (28/8 – 4/9/2026)

INVITATION

Kalamaria Chess Union and Municipality of Kalamaria invite all players to participate in the 19th Open International Chess Tournament of Kalamaria 2026. The tournament will be held in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki. The dates are August 28th (arrivals) to September 4th (departures).

PLAYING HALL

Municipal Theatre “Navarchos Votsis”

 Address: Anatolikis Thrakis 8, Kalamaria 551 34 (next to the 4th-5th High School of Kalamaria)

 Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gwcStcwJUYL5cz8D9

EVENT SYSTEM

 Group A: 9-round swiss-system | players with 1800+ FIDE rating (female players with 1700+)

 Group B: 9-round swiss-system | players with 1400-2000 FIDE rating & players without FIDE rating

 Group C: 7-round swiss-system | children born after 01.01.2014

 The organizers have the right to accept in Group A up to 3 players who do not have the required FIDE rating.

 An additional 3 players will earn the right to participate in Group A through the 18th Open Blitz Tournament "G. Ioakeimidis" which will take place on Thursday, August 27th. (*)

 Bye: Each player is entitled to receive up to 2 byes. Each bye granted up to Round 4 in Groups A & B, and up to Round 3 in Group C, awards ½ points.

TIME CONTROL

 Group A: 90 minutes for the first 40moves + 15 minutes until the end of the game + 30 seconds

 increment per move starting from move 1.

 Group B: 90 minutes for the first 40moves + 15 minutes until the end of the game + 30 seconds

 increment per move starting from move 1.

 Group C: 45 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move starting from move 1.

SCHEDULE

Group A & Group B

1st round Friday, August 28th 17:00  

2nd round Saturday, August 29th 17:00 Tuesday, 

3rd round Sunday, August 30th 10:00 Wednesday, 

4th round Sunday, August 30th 17:30 Wednesday, 

5th round Monday, August 31st 17:00 Thursday, 

6th round Tuesday, September 1st 17:00 Thursday, 

7th round Wednesday, September 2nd 17:00 

8th round Thursday, September 3rd 17:00

9th round Friday, September 4th 10:30

Ceremony Friday, September 4th 15:30

Group C

1st round Tuesday, September 1st 17:00

2nd round Tuesday, September 1st 19:00

3rd round Wednesday, September 2nd 17:00

4th round Wednesday, September 2nd 19:00

5th round Thursday, September 3rd 17:00

6th round Thursday, September 3rd 19:00

7th round Friday, September 4th 10:30

Ceremony Friday, September 4th 13:00

TIE-BREAK CRITERIA

1. Direct Encounter;

2. Bucholtz cut-1;

3. Bucholtz;

4. Sonnerborn-Berger;

5. Greater number of victories

MONEY PRIZES

 Group A: € 4.300

 Final Ranking Categories

1st place € 1.500 

2nd place € 1.000 

3rd place € 700 

4th place € 400 

5th place € 200

6th place € 100

1st woman € 125

2nd woman € 75

1st <2200 rating € 100

1st <2000 rating € 100

 Group B: € 700

 Final Ranking Categories

1st place € 250 

2nd place € 150

3rd place € 125

4th place € 100

1st woman € 75

 The prizes of Group A are shared according to the Hort system up to 8th place.

 The prizes of Group B are shared according to the Hort system up to 5th place.

 Category prizes are not shared.

 A player entitled to two or more prizes receives the highest one.

AWARDS

 Group A:

 Cup: 1st – 3rd place & 1st woman

 Medal: 4th – 6th place & 2nd – 3rd women

 Group B:

 Cup: 1st – 3rd place & 1st woman

 Medal: 4th – 6th place & 2nd – 3rd women

1st – 3rd place & 1st girl of each age category U08, U10, U12, U14, U16

 Group C:

 Cup: 1st – 3rd place & 1st girl

 Medal: 1st – 3rd place & 1st girl of each age category U08, U10, U12

 Those players who do not attend the Closing Ceremony lose their right to the prizes.

ENTRY FEE

 Group A:

 No entry fee for players with >2400 FIDE rating & female players with >2200 FIDE rating

 € 30 for players with 2300-2399 FIDE rating & female players with 2100-2199 FIDE rating

 € 60 for players with 2000-2299 FIDE rating & female players with 1900-2099 FIDE rating

 € 80 for players with 1800-1999 FIDE rating & female players with 1700-1899 FIDE rating

 Group B:

 € 40 for players with 1800-2000 FIDE rating

 € 60 for all other players

 Group C:

 € 25 for all players

o A discount on the total entry fee applies to the 2nd member of the same family (−20%), the 3rd member and beyond (−50%), and to players with disabilities (−50%).

o Participants may prepay until July 31st. From August 1 onwards, there is a €10 increase in the entry fee.

o In case of cancellation, a refund of the entry fee will be granted up to August 15th.

REGISTRATION

The deadline for the registration is until Sunday, August 23rd, 2026.

 Registrations will be made online through the Chess-Venue registration platform:

o https://chess-venue.vercel.app/en/tournaments/cmmfm4jby000fla04q4esh18w

 If for any reason submission in registration form is not possible, interested players can send e-mail to

kalamaria.open@gmail.com mentioning Name, FIDE ID, Participation Group & Contact Phone.

CONFIRMATION OF PARTICIPATION

 At the playing hall on Friday, August 28th, 13:00 – 15:30.

 Via WhatsApp or Viber on +30 697 6283524 on Saturday, August 31st, 13:00 – 15:30.

PAYMENT METHOD

 The entry fee is deposited into bank accounts:

 Alpha Bank: GR0701404180418002002000068; beneficiary ENOSI SKAKISTON KALAMARIAS

 National Bank of Greece: GR2701102510000025148000364; beneficiary ENOSI SKAKISTON

THESSALONIKIS

 Revolut Bank: LT573250063960942339 or tel. +306976283524; beneficiary KLEON EVANGELOS

BALLAS (this payment method is recommended only for interested participants from abroad)

 At the time of deposit, the full name of the participant and the group in which they will participate must be indicated in the justification of the transaction. (e.g. APOSTOLOU ELIAS - GROUP B)

 If a deposit is made for two or more participants, the details of all participants are mentioned in the

justification of the deposit as previously mentioned.

 The costs of procuring the deposit from another bank are borne by the interested participant.

 Proof of fee deposit must be sent to kalamaria.open@gmail.com to confirm participation.

ORGANIZING STAFF

 Tournament Director: ΙΑ Ballas, Kleon-Evangelos (tel. +30 697 6283524)

 Organizing Director: ΙΑ Antoniadis, Ioannis

 Chief Arbiter: IA Mimikos, Stylianos (tel. +30 694 2680745)

APPEALS

 Appeals are submitted no later than 30 minutes after the end of the game.

 Their adjudication should be completed by the Appeals Committee and before the pairings of the next

round.

 The appeal, with a fee of € 80, is submitted in writing to the Chief Arbiter. The fee is refunded if the appeal is accepted, otherwise it is deducted in favor of the organization.

 The Appeals Committee has five members with three regular and two substitute members, who will be appointed by the organizers before the start of the 1st round. Regular members belonging to the players' chess clubs involved in the appeal will be excluded from the Appeals Committee and replaced by alternates.

ANTICHEATING

 The organizers have the right to use anticheating control tools on all players throughout the round and in accordance with the regulations of FIDE.

 It is prohibited for all players to leave the playing hall while their game is in progress unless the Chief

Arbiter has been informed.

SIDE EVENT – 18th OPEN BLITZ TOURNAMENT “G. IOAKEIMIDIS”

Friday, August 27th, starting at 17:30.

 9-round swiss-system | Time Control: 5 min+3 sec/move

 Money Prizes: €400

 (*) The first 3 players who do not have the required FIDE rating to participate in Group A, gain the right to participate paying the corresponding fee.

 More information can be found in the corresponding regulations.

OTHER

 Failure to attend a round without the player warning the arbiters, before the pairing of the next round, means immediate exclusion from the event.

 Photographing of participants is allowed only by the authorized photographer of the event. The specific photographic or audio-visual material can only be used legally by the organizers for the promotion of the event.

 Through the Viber community listed below, participants will be instantly informed of anything related to the event (announcements, pairings, etc.)

 A supplementary announcement will be issued for any change.

 The Board of Kalamaria Chess Union is responsible for anything that is not included in the regulations.

 Website: www.skakistis.gr

 Facebook: www.facebook.com/esth.esk

 Chess-results: https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1383889.aspx?lan=1&SNode=S0

 Chess-Venue: 

https://chess-venue.vercel.app/en/tournaments/cmmfm4jby000fla04q4esh18w

The Board of Kalamaria Chess Union