Chess tournaments in Madrid: guide and calendar

The Madrid calendar in numbers

Upcoming competitions

35

Published competitions

48

Figures are computed from the official FIDE calendar and tournaments submitted by organizers. Rounds of the same competition count once.

The official season: from the team league to the age-group championships

The backbone of the season is the Madrid Team League, played from November across many divisions, from the top División de Honor down to Tercera. Matches are almost always at weekends and at a classical pace of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment, which makes the league the most common way to play rated games regularly without taking time off work.

February brings the Individual Open Championship, with qualifying stages and a final. In March and April the individual age-group championships are played, from Under-10 to Under-20, with a rapid semi-final and a final at 60 minutes plus 30 seconds. The season is rounded off by the senior championships (over 50 and over 65), an inclusive championship, rating-band tournaments designed so that every player faces opponents of a similar level and, in June, the rapid and blitz championships.

Summer and autumn: neighbourhood opens and rapid events

Outside the official season, clubs fill the calendar. There are opens with a long history, such as the Moratalaz International Open, now past its twenty-fifth edition, or the Chamartín International Open, as well as blitz and rapid events that come round every few weeks in districts such as Vicálvaro. If you want to play a lot in a short time, these short formats are the best way in.

How to choose your first tournament in Madrid

If you have never played at a classical time control, start with a rapid event or a low rating band: games are shorter and the pressure is lower. Always read the organiser's rules before entering, because they list the fee, the deadline and whether the event is FIDE rated. And if you want to arrive with sharp tactics, a week of Woodpecker method exercises before the tournament makes a real difference.

Recurring tournaments

• III TORNEO BLITZ AKERU VICALVARO

  3 published editions