El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament is an open tournament authorised and approved by the Federació Catalana d’Escacs, valid for INTERNATIONAL ELO and for OBTAINING INTERNATIONAL TITLE NORMS, which will take place between 3 and 8 December 2026.
The seventh edition will be held in the city of Sant Boi de Llobregat, located in the Baix Llobregat region, Barcelona. It will be organised by the editor of El Llobregat, Xavier Pérez Llorca, with the technical direction of the arbitral team led by Hernan Siludakis.
Our fourth edition, as was also the third, has been considered by the Spanish Chess Federation (FEDA) and the Spanish National Sports Council as the Best tournament in Spain, after obtaining a record score of 3,188 points, the only tournament in Spain to exceed 3,000 points and to have awarded 14 international title norms (4 GM, 9 IM and 5 WIM).
In the six previous editions, a total of 60 norms for player titles have been awarded, which represents an exceptional, singular and unique record.
Playing venue
Can Massallera municipal multifunctional centre, Carrer Mallorca, 30, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona.
Tournament A regulations
System and rate of play
9-round Swiss system. Valid for obtaining GM/WGM/IM/WIM norms.
Rate of play: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move to finish.
Schedule
|
ROUND |
DAY |
DATE |
TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday | 03/12/2026 | 17:00 |
| 2 | Friday | 04/12/2026 | 10:00 |
| 3 | Friday | 04/12/2026 | 17:00 |
| 4 | Saturday | 05/12/2026 | 10:00 |
| 5 | Saturday | 05/12/2026 | 17:00 |
| 6 | Sunday | 06/12/2026 | 17:00 |
| 7 | Monday | 07/12/2026 | 10:00 |
| 8 | Monday | 07/12/2026 | 17:00 |
| 9 | Tuesday | 08/12/2026 | 10:00 |
| Prize ceremony | Tuesday | 08/12/2026 | 17:00 |
Registration
|
Norm |
Fee |
|---|---|
| GM | Free |
| WGM / IM | 50 euros |
| Players with ELO 2200 or higher | 150 euros |
| Players with ELO 2199 or lower | 500 euros |
| Players who have participated in previous editions: | |
| Players with ELO 2200 or higher | 100 euros |
| Players with ELO 2199 or lower | 300 euros |
For conditions, contact arbitro@ellobregatopen.com
Payment methods
- Through the payment platform enabled on this page
- By Bizum (Spain only) (pending confirmation)
The Organisation of elllobregat Open Chess Tnmt reserves the right of admission, and may reject any registration request it deems appropriate.
If a registered player wishes to cancel their registration, they may request it until 15/09/2026; the registration fee will be refunded by bank transfer, less 50% for administrative and management expenses.
Byes
A maximum of 2 byes of ½ point per player is allowed in the first 5 rounds.
In the remaining rounds, byes are worth 0 points. If a player requests a bye in the eighth round, they will not be paired in the ninth round.
In all requests, the final decision is made by the chief arbiter according to the proper development of the competition, taking into account the number of points and/or the existence of no-shows.
Default time
A default time of 60 minutes from the effective start of each round is established.
Prizes
(TO BE DETERMINED)
Legal withholdings and established taxes will be applied to the tournament prizes.
Prizes are not cumulative and, if a player qualifies for two prize-winning positions, they will receive the higher-value prize; in the event of equal value, the order of prizes will correspond first to the general table and then to the FEMALE category, in that order.
Monetary prizes will be paid by bank transfer to the account provided by the prize winners to the organisation on 8 December, the day of the final playing round, during the tournament closing ceremony. Attendance at the closing ceremony is mandatory for all prize winners. If a player is entitled to a prize but does not attend the closing ceremony, they will lose all right to receive it and will not be able to claim it afterwards. Likewise, in order to receive the prize, in addition to providing the account number where they wish to receive the payment, the player must provide a photocopy of their identity document or passport.
The organisation of elllobregat Open chess may take up to 90 days to pay the prizes.
Tiebreaks
The following tiebreak systems will be applied; unplayed games and other adjustments will be governed by FIDE C.07.
Tiebreaks will be valid both for standings purposes and for awarding trophies and cash prizes. Therefore, neither trophies nor cash prizes will be divisible among players who may have tied on points.
The Open tiebreak system will be the following, in this order:
- FIDE Buchholz minus the worst result. (37) (0,1,N 4,0,N)
- Total FIDE Buchholz. (37) (0,0,N 4,0,N)
- APRO (88) (1, 2200)
- Direct encounter (11)
- Average recursive performance of opponents (55) (0,0,1000)
Once the previous tiebreak systems have been applied, a provisional general ranking will be established. However, if there is a tie on points among any of the top 4 players in that provisional ranking, a match-play tiebreak will be applied to obtain the final general ranking.
This match-play tiebreak will consist of a knockout system, semifinals and final in the event of 3 or 4 tied players, among the players who have finished the tournament with the same number of points, whether or not the champion must be decided, as follows:
2 blitz games at a rate of 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move (3’ + 2”), alternating colours.
In the event of a tie, one “Armageddon” blitz game will be played, with 5 minutes for the player with White and 4 minutes for the player with Black. Each player’s colour will be drawn and, in the event of a draw, the player who played with Black will win.
Players with disabilities may choose whether or not to play rapid-game tiebreaks. If they choose not to do so, they will receive the prize they would have received in the provisional ranking, without applying these tiebreaks.
Examples:
The top 4 players tied on points: 2 semifinals and a final to decide first to fourth place.
Champion decided by points, but 3 players tied on points in second to fourth place: 1 semifinal, third and fourth, and a final, with the second-placed player going directly to that final.
2 players tied on points in the first 2 places, and another 2 tied on points in third and fourth place: 2 finals, one to decide the champion and another to decide third place.
General regulations
Players who hold a valid federation licence and meet the detailed ELO requirements may participate. Players with a foreign flag must have a FIDE code before the start of the tournament.
- For this edition, these regulations, the FIDE Laws of Chess and their annexes in force at the start of the tournament, the FIDE anti-cheating rules (A.09) and the FIDE tournament regulations (C.05) will apply. Failure to comply with any of these regulations may result in the loss of the game and/or even expulsion from the tournament. The final regulations will be those published in the playing hall.
- Participation in the elllobregat Open Chess Tnmt tournament implies knowledge and tacit acceptance of these playing regulations.
- Players undertake to attend the playing halls in appropriate attire and to behave correctly and sportingly.
- Smoking and eating will not be allowed anywhere in the playing venue.
- It will be each player’s responsibility to check that the information about them appearing in the different registration lists and standings is correct, and, if any error is found, they must report it to the Open Organisation. If it is discovered that a player has deliberately provided incorrect information, they will be directly expelled from the Open.
- Mobile phones will not be allowed in the playing venue. Nor will any electronic device that could provide any type of chess assistance to players be allowed. The player will authorise the arbitral team to check their belongings if there is any doubt in this regard. During the game, players are prohibited from using any type of notes, sources of information or advice, or from analysing any game on another board. During the game, a player is prohibited from having any electronic device not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing hall. If it is evident that a player is carrying such a device inside the playing venue, they will lose the game. The arbiter may require the player to allow inspection of their clothing, bags, other items or body. The arbiter, or a person authorised by the arbiter, must inspect the player. If a player refuses to cooperate with these obligations, the arbiter will take measures in accordance with Article 12.9.
- Players may not leave the playing area without justification or permission from an arbiter while their games are in progress.
- Participation in elllobregat Open Chess Tournament implies the player’s acceptance that their personal data and games may be published in the different media that the Organisation considers appropriate for better dissemination of the event. These media include, for example, social networks, registration lists, in paper format and online in different media outlets, game results, tournament standings, broadcasts, photographs, etc.
- A player who refuses to comply with arbitral or Organisation requirements, after prior warning from the arbiter, will be excluded from one or more rounds or even expelled from the tournament, losing all rights to prizes and trophies.
- The initial ranking order and the prize list will be determined according to the FIDE STANDARD ELO list of December 2026.
Capacity
The playing hall for this 2026 edition of elllobregat Open Chess will be set at 180/220 participants in Tournament A, and 80/100 in Tournament B.
Efforts will be made to maintain a proportional balance of different nationalities. The organisation may modify this number.
Pairings
Pairings will be carried out using the Swiss Manager program. They will be published on the Chess-Results portal.
Participation rules
Any player who unjustifiably fails to appear for a round will be considered to have withdrawn from the tournament.
Likewise, any player who fails to appear for two consecutive or alternating rounds will be automatically eliminated from the tournament, even if they may have had justification. In order to justify a no-show, the player must contact the Open Organisation before the end of the round they did not attend, so that they can be paired in the following round.
Arbitral claims
Any claim made by players against arbitral rulings, in matters related to the Laws of Chess, must be addressed in writing to the Appeals Committee. It must be made no later than one hour after the end of the game in which the disputed decision took place, depositing a bond of 50 euros together with the claim; this amount will only be returned if the decision is favourable to the claimant.
This Competition Committee will be made up of five members, three full members and two substitutes, consisting of the Open director and 4 participating players, 2 full members and 2 substitutes, the latter for conflicts in which one of the full members may be involved, or in the event that a full member cannot be located. This Committee will be established before the start of the first round of the competition, and the Festival Organisation will be responsible for choosing said Committee.
Its decisions will be irrevocable, except in cases where it acts as an Appeals Committee in matters of sports discipline.
The Committee’s decisions will be adopted by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the President will have the casting vote, and must draft the decision to be delivered to the parties and to the Chief Arbiter.
If, due to incompatibility of its members or any other duly justified reason, the Committee cannot be formed with its three members, it may adopt decisions with only two of its members or even solely the President, who will act, in the latter case, as a single-member body.
In rapid-game tiebreaks, the decisions of the chief arbiter will be final and not subject to appeal.
Data Protection Clause
Registration in the tournament will take place when the chief arbiter validates each of the registration requests that each interested person will register, completing the data requested in the form displayed at:
www.elllobregat.com/openchess.
In accordance with the provisions of current Spanish data protection legislation, as well as Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016, especially Article 6.1, letters b) and f).
Any player who has completed the registration form for EL LLOBREGAT OPEN CHESS expressly acknowledges that the Open Organiser has informed them that the personal data requested, the data obtained during the tournament or in connection with its preparation and conclusion, as well as any other data that may be obtained from public records or other legally accepted sources, will be incorporated, managed and processed in a personal data processing operation for the maintenance, development, fulfilment and control of the service relationship involved in participation in the tournament.
The data controller is the Organiser, before whom the persons entitled to do so may exercise the rights of information, access, rectification, restriction, portability, erasure and objection recognised in the aforementioned European Regulation, in Spanish data protection legislation and in its implementing regulations, by written notice or email addressed to the Organiser’s postal or electronic address: info@elllobregatopenchess.com.
Registered players, having provided their personal data and being duly informed, expressly consent to its processing and to any communication or transfer of such data, including internationally, that may take place between the Organiser and the tournament sponsors, for the purpose of offering and providing players with other sports and cultural services.
For international data transfers, compliance with Article 45 and, where applicable, Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 will be required.
The Organiser states that all the information indicated in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 has been duly provided to the registered players.
It is also reported that the data provided may be processed for profiling purposes. Under no circumstances may this profiling have legal effects or significantly affect the player in any other way and, consequently, the player may object to the adoption of automated individual decisions that may produce legal effects concerning them or significantly affect them, when this right applies in accordance with Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Broadcasting rights
The broadcasting and image rights of the competition have been acquired exclusively by the company COMUNICACIÓN METRO BCN SL, the only party authorised to broadcast or assign these rights to third parties. For any queries, please contact: perezllorca@consultajuridica.net.