ALKALOID Rapid 50 on 8×8 2026 takes place on October 3, 2026 at Hotel Continental, Blvd. Aleksandar Makedonski bb, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia. The event is a FIDE-rated rapid open and is presented here as a complete tournament page rather than a short listing.
The published competition format uses 11 rounds with 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move under a Swiss system. The rating status is FIDE Rapid rated. Players should use the organizer and Chess-Results as the final references for late changes, starting lists, pairings and results.
This page consolidates playing conditions, registration, organizer contacts, exact venue, schedule where published and practical travel considerations. Recheck the official source before payment and again shortly before departure.
♟️ Event Details
| 🏷️ Event name | ALKALOID Rapid 50 on 8×8 2026 |
| 📅 Dates | October 3, 2026 |
| 🌍 Country | North Macedonia |
| 📍 Venue | Hotel Continental, Blvd. Aleksandar Makedonski bb, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia |
| ♟️ Format | FIDE-rated rapid open |
| 🔢 Rounds | 11 |
| ⏱️ Time control | 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move |
| 🔄 Pairing system | Swiss system |
| ⭐ Rating | FIDE Rapid rated |
| 👥 Organizer | Chess Club ALKALOID |
| 🌐 Official source | https://www.chessclubalkaloid.org/ |
| 🔗 Chess-Results | https://chess-results.com/tnr1477928.aspx?lan=1 |
⏱️ Time Control & Pairings
The tournament uses 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move over 11 rounds. Pairings follow the Swiss system. The published rating status is FIDE Rapid rated.
| ⏱️ Time control | 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move |
| 🔢 Number of rounds | 11 |
| 🔄 System | Swiss system |
| ⭐ Rating | FIDE Rapid rated |
| 🔗 Pairings & results | Chess-Results |
Check Chess-Results before each round for the latest starting list, pairings, standings, tie-break information and results. If the organizer publishes a later timetable or technical rule, that update takes precedence.
📝 Registration
Use Chess Club ALKALOID’s tournament announcement for the final registration method, fee, attendance-control time and any titled-player conditions.
| 🌐 Registration / regulations | https://www.chessclubalkaloid.org/ |
| ✉️ Email | chessclub@alkaloid.com.mk |
| 📞 Phone | +389 70 415 807 |
Before paying, confirm that your entry has been accepted, that you selected the correct section, and that any rating or age condition is satisfied. Keep the organizer confirmation and payment evidence when applicable.
👥 Organizer
| 👥 Organizer | Chess Club ALKALOID |
| ⚖️ Chief Arbiter | IA Ivan Kocovski |
| ✉️ Email | chessclub@alkaloid.com.mk |
| 📞 Phone | +389 70 415 807 |
| 🌐 Website | https://www.chessclubalkaloid.org/ |
For questions about eligibility, payment, byes, late arrival, accommodation packages or special conditions, contact the organizer directly. MyChess.Events is the information platform, not the tournament operator.
📍 Venue
Hotel Continental, Blvd. Aleksandar Makedonski bb, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia
Use the full street-level address above for navigation rather than relying only on the city name. Before travel, check whether the organizer has published a specific entrance, floor, playing room, registration desk or access time.
🚆 How to Get There
Hotel Continental is the playing venue in Skopje. International players can arrive through Skopje International Airport and continue by transfer, taxi or bus connection. Because this is a one-day 11-round event, staying near the venue the night before reduces schedule risk.
- Arrival buffer: allow extra time for local traffic, parking, venue check-in and finding the playing hall.
- Public transport: recheck the actual tournament-day timetable, especially for early rounds, evenings, weekends and holidays.
- Driving: confirm parking availability, access restrictions and any separate venue/hotel parking charge.
- Accommodation: compare travel time to the actual playing venue, not only the city centre. Hotel-based events can be simpler when on-site rooms are available.
🧭 Practical Player Planning
✅ Before You Register
| 📌 Correct event | Match the tournament title, dates and section against the official source before submitting the entry. |
| ⭐ Eligibility | Recheck rating, age, federation, licence and title conditions where they apply. Use the rating list specified by the organizer, not an assumed current rating. |
| 💳 Payment | Confirm the fee, currency, payment deadline and whether the entry becomes valid only after payment is received. |
| 📧 Confirmation | Keep the organizer confirmation and verify that your name appears on the published starting list when one is available. |
| ½ Bye / absence | If you need a bye or expect late arrival, request it before the organizer’s deadline. Do not assume that a missed round is automatically accepted. |
| 🔄 Final recheck | Open the official page again 24–48 hours before travel for venue, timetable, parking and registration-desk changes. |
🎒 Tournament-Day Checklist
- Carry identification and any federation/FIDE information requested by the regulations.
- Have the organizer’s contact details, venue address and registration confirmation available offline on your phone.
- Bring permitted water/snacks and required medication for long sessions; follow venue rules on food and drinks.
- Check your board number and colour from the current pairing list before the round rather than relying on an older screenshot.
- Allow enough time after the final round for prize giving if you may qualify for an award.
Hotel venue: if you stay at the playing hotel, confirm whether the tournament room rate must be booked through the organizer and whether breakfast, parking, tourist tax, spa access or late check-out are included. If you stay elsewhere, compare real door-to-door travel time for the earliest round.
Fast-chess timing: rapid and blitz programmes can move quickly with short breaks. Complete check-in early, know where pairings are displayed and avoid planning meals or transport connections that depend on a long gap between rounds.
High round count: eleven rounds in one day create a long concentration load. Plan hydration, short recovery breaks and food around the published programme, because there may be little time between games.
🧾 Final Pre-Travel Verification
| 📍 Venue | Save the full street address and check the organizer’s final entrance or room notice. Do not navigate only by city name. |
| 🕒 First round | Confirm the first-round start and any earlier attendance-control or registration-desk deadline. |
| 👤 Starting list | Confirm that your name, federation, rating and section are correct on the latest published list. |
| 💳 Entry status | Verify that payment and registration are complete and that no additional on-site fee is required. |
| ♟️ Section | For multi-section events, reconfirm the exact group and its rating/age limits before travel. |
| 🚆 Transport | Recheck the tournament-day public-transport timetable or parking plan, including the return trip after a long round. |
| 🏨 Stay | Confirm check-in/check-out, breakfast timing and the actual travel time from accommodation to the playing hall. |
| 📱 Offline backup | Keep the venue address, organizer contact and entry confirmation available offline in case mobile data is unavailable. |
🌍 Notes for Visiting Players
International participants should check passport or identity-document requirements, travel insurance and the conditions for carrying medication. If the tournament requires a federation licence or FIDE ID, resolve this before departure rather than at the registration desk.
For multi-day events, compare accommodation cancellation rules with the tournament’s own cancellation policy. For one-day rapid or blitz events, prioritize punctual arrival and a simple return plan because the programme can move quickly and the awards may finish soon after the last round.
Currency conversion values on MyChess.Events are approximate planning figures. Entry fees and prizes are paid under the organizer’s official currency and rules. Always use the organizer’s stated amount when making a payment.
ℹ️ Other Information
- Eleven-round Swiss rapid.
- Time control: 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move.
- FIDE Rapid rated.
- Chief Arbiter: IA Ivan Kocovski.
- FIDE event code: 493762.
- The event is listed by FIDE as a rapid tournament and uses an 11-round Swiss format.
Final player check: shortly before the event, reopen the organizer website and Chess-Results. Confirm the final venue, first-round time, registration status, section, time control and any last-minute announcement.
Additional Details
Organizer
♟️ About Chess Club ALKALOID
Chess Club ALKALOID (Šahovski Klub Alkaloid) is an elite chess club, training organization, and tournament organizer based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Founded on March 26, 1976, the club grew from an amateur chess section connected with ALKALOID AD Skopje and developed into the most decorated chess club in North Macedonia. Its activities span professional team chess, national championships, European club competition, junior academies, coaching, and FIDE-rated tournament organization.
The club operates a structured youth-development program with chess schools in Skopje, Negotino, Prilep, and Struga. Training is delivered by leading Macedonian Grandmasters, International Masters, and FIDE-licensed coaches, including GM Vlatko Bogdanovski, GM Dragoljub Jaćimović, GM Rolando Kutirov, GM Trajko Nedev, GM Zvonko Stanojoski, IM Dejan Stojanovski, IM Toni Lazov, and WIM Gabriela Koskoska. At elite level, ALKALOID has represented North Macedonia for decades in the European Club Cup and has fielded some of the world’s strongest grandmasters.
WFM Monika Stojkovska is the club’s current Secretary and the principal verified operational contact. The club entered its 50th anniversary year in 2026 after an exceptional 2025 season in which its Open team finished runner-up at the European Club Cup, its men won a 27th Macedonian team championship, and its women also became national champions. During 2026, ALKALOID marked its anniversary with a major rapid and blitz festival in Skopje and continued its tournament program, with the FIDE-rated ALKALOID Rapid “50 on 8×8” scheduled for October 3, 2026.
📜 Fifty Years of Chess History
Chess Club ALKALOID was formed in 1976 following the traditional international “Meeting of Solidarity” tournament in Skopje. During that period, World Champion Anatoly Karpov visited ALKALOID and played a simultaneous exhibition against company employees.
The club’s first President was Goce Dimitrov, while Simeon Joshevski served as its first Secretary. A major period of expansion followed under Trajche Mukaetov, who became closely associated with the club’s strategic development during the 1980s.
Over the following decades, ALKALOID became a dominant force in Macedonian team chess and an increasingly significant participant on the European club circuit.
🏆 European Club Cup Success
The club’s greatest international achievement came in 2016, when ALKALOID won the European Chess Club Cup in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Its team included world-class players such as Ding Liren and Dmitry Andreikin and completed the seven-round competition undefeated. The result gave North Macedonia its first European club title in chess.
ALKALOID followed the victory with European runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2024.
The club returned to the European podium again in 2025. Its squad included GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM Wei Yi, GM Yu Yangyi, GM Aravindh Chithambaram, GM Abhimanyu Puranik, GM Aleksandar Indjić, GM Velimir Ivić, and Macedonian IM Toni Lazov.
ALKALOID finished the 2025 European Club Cup in Rhodes with 12 match points, tied with Novy Bor and taking the silver medal on tiebreak. This was the fourth occasion on which the club had finished among Europe’s top two teams.
♜ National Championship Dominance
ALKALOID has also established an extraordinary record in North Macedonian team chess.
In 2025, the men’s team captured its 27th national championship title and extended its run to 13 consecutive championships.
The women’s team also won the 2025 national championship, recording five victories from five matches and completing a domestic double for the club.
Youth teams have developed alongside the senior squads. In 2025, ALKALOID’s junior teams won national team gold in the U18, U16, and U14 categories, while the U12 team shared first place before finishing second on tiebreak.
Club juniors also collected numerous individual national championship medals, demonstrating the connection between the academy system and ALKALOID’s senior competitive structure.
🎓 Junior Chess Schools
Youth development has become one of the club’s principal long-term projects.
ALKALOID operates junior chess schools in several North Macedonian cities, including Skopje, Negotino, Prilep, and Struga. The coaching staff includes many of the country’s strongest and most experienced titled players.
A dedicated modern chess center in central Skopje provides classrooms for structured training, tournaments, and other chess activities. The facility is also open to chess enthusiasts outside the club.
The program introduces children from approximately seven years of age to systematic chess education and provides a pathway toward tournament play, national championships, and elite competition.
🎉 50th Anniversary and 2026 Tournament Activity
Chess Club ALKALOID celebrated 50 years of activity in 2026 with a special chess festival at Hotel Continental in Skopje.
The anniversary program included a FIDE-rated Blitz tournament on April 4 and a Rapid tournament on April 5. The blitz event was played over 13 rounds and attracted a strong field featuring Grandmasters and International Masters from several federations.
IM Nikola Nikolovski won the anniversary blitz tournament with an outstanding 11/13.
The club’s tournament activity continues later in the year. The ALKALOID Rapid “50 on 8×8” is scheduled for October 3, 2026 at Hotel Continental in Skopje. The 11-round FIDE-rated competition uses a 10+5 rapid time control and again brings together Macedonian and international titled players.
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