The 20. Paderborner Schachtürken-Cup 2026 will take place from December 27–30, 2026, at the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn, Germany. SK Blauer Springer Paderborn 1926 e.V. organizes the anniversary edition at one of Germany’s most distinctive chess venues: the world’s largest computer museum.

The festival combines the seven-round A-Open and B-Open with a five-round Chess & Culture option and separate youth competitions. Therefore, players can choose between a full classical schedule and a lighter program that also leaves time to explore the museum and the city of Paderborn.

The 20. Paderborner Schachtürken-Cup 2026 also falls in the centenary year of SK Blauer Springer Paderborn’s historic predecessor club. The organizer has increased the current Open thresholds to TWZ 1850 for the A-Open and TWZ 1900 for the B-Open, while the three adult tournament formats together have room for up to 288 players.

♟️ Event Details

The Paderborner Schachtürken-Cup has developed into one of the club’s flagship annual events and regularly attracts players ranging from young juniors to grandmasters.

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The A-Open and B-Open use a seven-round Swiss format. The established tournament format gives players three points for a win and one point for a draw, which places additional value on decisive games.

The tournament has used this format for several editions. Moreover, the separate Chess & Culture competition runs over five rounds instead of seven, giving participants a less intensive alternative.

🧩 Sections / Groups

The 2026 organizer information introduces important rating thresholds for the two main Open groups.

A-Open

For A-Open eligibility, the organizer compares the player’s FIDE Elo with the applicable national rating and uses the higher figure.

However, FIDE rules require the FIDE Elo alone for the starting order.

B-Open

The tournament director may approve a different section assignment in justified exceptional cases.

Ratings will be updated shortly before the tournament. Therefore, entrants near a section boundary should recheck their eligibility before traveling.

Chess & Culture

Chess & Culture offers a five-round alternative for players who want more free time during the four-day festival.

Depending on the number of entries, the organizer intends to create two rating groups based on DWZ or ELO.

Each group requires at least 25 participants. If entries do not support two groups, the organizer will merge them into one larger section.

In that situation, registered players may:

• remain in the combined Chess & Culture group;
• move to one of the seven-round Open tournaments; or
• withdraw and receive a refund of their entry fee.

The package also includes optional cultural activities at no additional charge.

Youth Competitions

The youth tournaments use five age categories for 2026.

🗓️ Schedule

The main seven-round Opens run across four days, with two rounds on each of the first three days and the final round on December 30.

Sunday, December 27

Monday, December 28

Tuesday, December 29

Wednesday, December 30

Chess & Culture follows a five-round schedule across the same festival period. Its confirmed cultural program includes the HNF museum tour on Sunday afternoon and the Paderborn city tour on Tuesday morning.

📝 Registration

Registration is available through the official tournament website:

https://www.schachtuerken-cup.de/anmeldung/

A place becomes firmly reserved only after the organizer receives the entry fee. Moreover, a player appears on the official entry list only after payment has arrived.

Entry Fees

For A and B, the U18 reduction applies to players born in 2009 or later.

For Chess & Culture, the reduced U16 fee applies to players born in 2011 or later.

Payment

Bank transfer details:

Account: SK Blauer Springer Paderborn 1926 e.V.
IBAN: DE31 4727 0024 0504 0670 00
BIC: DEUTDEDB472
Bank: Deutsche Bank Paderborn

Players should include their name and selected tournament as the payment reference.

Payment Deadlines

The organizer asks players to transfer the fee by December 20, 2026.

An instant bank transfer remains possible through December 23, 2026.

After that date, players should not make a bank transfer. Instead, they can pay at the tournament venue by cash or card.

Refunds

The organizer refunds the entry fee when a player submits a justified cancellation before the tournament begins.

This is particularly relevant for Chess & Culture entrants because players may also withdraw with a refund if insufficient entries force the planned two groups to merge.

👥 Organizer

SK Blauer Springer Paderborn 1926 e.V. organizes the festival and coordinates the Open tournaments, youth competitions, registration, pairings, and tournament administration.

Wolfgang Vullhorst, Heinz-Gerd Zurgeißel, Ulrich Rust, Martin Möller, Verena Möller, and other club members form the wider organizational team.

The tournament arbiters for the 2026 edition will be IA Dr. Andreas Junk and NA Tanja Hergast-Siol.

The club itself has 145 members as of April 2026, almost half of them children and young players. In addition, 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the SK 1926 Paderborn heritage from which the present club developed.

📍 Venue

The 20. Paderborner Schachtürken-Cup 2026 takes place at:

Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum – Fürstenallee 7, 33102 Paderborn, Germany

The HNF confirms the tournament on its official event calendar for December 27–30, 2026.

The museum covers approximately 6,000 square meters and presents the history, present and future of information technology. Its exhibitions range from early writing and calculating machines to computers, robotics and artificial intelligence.

This setting is especially appropriate for the Schachtürken-Cup because the museum also explores the historical relationship between chess, machines and artificial intelligence.

Parking

The HNF provides free parking directly in front of the building.

Two spaces include charging points for electric vehicles. In addition, three motorhome spaces are available, although they cannot be reserved and have a maximum stay of 48 hours.

🏨 Accommodation

The tournament has an official accommodation partnership with the Welcome Hotel Paderborn.

Welcome Hotel Paderborn – Fürstenweg 13, 33102 Paderborn, Germany

The hotel lies approximately 1.1 km from the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum, which the organizer describes as about a 10–15 minute walk. The city center and its restaurants are at a similar distance.

Official Tournament Rates

The City of Paderborn additionally charges a 3% accommodation tax on the room price.

How to Obtain the Discount

Players who want the tournament rate should indicate their interest during tournament registration.

After the organizer receives the entry fee, it sends the player a booking keyword. The player then books directly with Welcome Hotel and uses that keyword to receive the discounted price.

Hotel contact:

Phone: +49 5251 2880-0
Email: pad.info@welcome-hotels.com

The organizer does not make hotel reservations on behalf of players.

🚆 How to Get There

Paderborn has useful rail connections to major German transport hubs, while local buses stop directly outside the tournament venue.

From Paderborn Hauptbahnhof

Padersprinter bus lines 9 and 14 serve the stop MuseumsForum, directly in front of the HNF.

Line 9 serves Paderborn Hauptbahnhof. However, at certain times passengers may need to change at Westerntor.

Players should check the live Padersprinter timetable before traveling.

By Train

Paderborn Hauptbahnhof has Intercity and regional connections.

The city highlights rail links toward Düsseldorf, Hamm, Kassel, Erfurt and Dresden, as well as regional connections to major stations including Bielefeld, Dortmund, Hannover and Kassel.

From Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport

Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport lies approximately 20 km from Paderborn.

Bus connections operate between the airport and Paderborn Hauptbahnhof.