Benidorm Chess Open brings together 455 players from 34 countries until 1 November

The Benidorm Chess Open is bringing together 455 players from 34 countries this week at the Hotel Meliá Benidorm, where competition began on Sunday and continues until 1 November.

The field exceeds the previous edition’s 416 players and includes representatives from all 17 of Spain’s autonomous communities.

Organisers put the total prize fund at €25,510 and expect more than 2,400 overnight stays associated with the tournament, involving over 500 people including players, accompanying guests and arbiters.

Nine rounds and additional activities

The Club de Ajedrez Caballo Blanco Benidorm organises the event, which combines Open A, above 1800, and Open B, below 2000, for professional and amateur players.

Both competitions use a nine-round Swiss system, with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment, and count towards FIDE ratings.

The tournament includes almost twenty titled players and Spain’s Marc Barceló, the under-nine world champion.

The programme includes the fourth Emilio Pellicer Memorial, honouring the founder of Club Ajedrez Benidorm and the Villa de Benidorm international open, with seven or eight rapid rounds at ten minutes plus five seconds.

There will also be another edition of Halloween Chess in superblitz format, alongside training activities and game analysis.

Fourteen blind chess players

Grandmaster Julen Arizmendi will analyse games and deliver three masterclasses, the last exclusively for players from the Spanish Sports Federation for the Blind.

Fourteen blind chess players will take part in the tournament, within a programme whose inclusive character is highlighted by the organisers and the regional federation.

Another activity is the workshop-lecture on preparing games with OSINT and artificial intelligence, delivered by Isaac Lozano Osorio, a lecturer at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and founder of YottaChess.

The official presentation took place on Monday at the host hotel, with representatives of the council, chess federation and organising team.

Club Caballo Blanco has also been awarded the organisation of the European national team championship for blind players in April 2027, according to the council’s information.