LUGANO-PARADISO EASTER FESTIVAL 2026 (3–6 April, Lugano-Paradiso, Switzerland)
LUGANO-PARADISO EASTER FESTIVAL 2026 brings a spring weekend of classical chess and an evening blitz to the lakeside town of Lugano-Paradiso. The festival runs 3–6 April 2026 at the Sala Multiuso, offering a 6-round Open plus a Blitz Open on Saturday night. Clear regulations, practical schedule, and generous prizes make it an ideal Swiss weekend event.
📌 Event Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| 📅 Dates | 3 – 6 April 2026 |
| 📍 Location | Lugano-Paradiso, Ticino, Switzerland |
| 🏟️ Venue | Sala Multiuso, Via delle Scuole 21, CH-6900 Lugano-Paradiso |
| 🏁 Tournament Type | International Open (Standard) + Blitz Open |
| 🧩 Tournament System | Standard Open: 6-round Swiss · Blitz: 9-round Swiss |
| ⏱️ Time Control | Standard: 90′ + 30″/move · Blitz: 5′ |
| ⏰ Default Time | Standard: 60′ tolerance · Blitz: 5′ |
| 📝 Byes | ½-point bye allowed in R1–R4 (Standard Open) with request |
| 🧮 Rating | Standard: FIDE/Swiss/DWZ rated · Blitz: FIDE Blitz rated |
| 🏢 Organizers | Swiss Chess Tour & Circolo Scacchistico Luganese |
💰 Prize Fund
Total prizes: CHF 4,000 (Standard) + CHF 500 (Blitz)
Standard Open
| Place | Prize (CHF) |
|---|---|
| 1st | 800 |
| 2nd | 700 |
| 3rd | 500 |
| 4th | 400 |
| 5th | 200 |
- Rating band prizes: 2000–2199, 1800–1999, 1600–1799, <1600 (prizes allocated if enough players)
- Special prizes: Women, Seniors, U16 (book or material prizes)
Blitz Open
| Place | Prize (CHF) |
|---|---|
| 1st | 200 |
| 2nd | 150 |
| 3rd | 100 |
| 4th | 50 |
🧩 Sections / Eligibility
- Standard Open: Open to all players with a valid FIDE ID, 6 rounds.
- Blitz Open: 9 rounds, open to all players with FIDE ID.
⏱️ Time Control & Regulations
- Standard: 90′ + 30″/move from move 1.
- Blitz: 5′ (FIDE Blitz).
- Default times: 60′ (Standard), 5′ (Blitz).
- ½-point bye available for R1–R4 (Standard Open).
- Tie-break: Buchholz system.
📅 Schedule
Standard Open (6 rounds)
- Fri, 3 Apr — 18:00–18:50 Check-in · 19:00 Round 1
- Sat, 4 Apr — 09:30 Round 2 · 15:00 Round 3
- Sun, 5 Apr — 09:30 Round 4 · 15:00 Round 5
- Mon, 6 Apr — 10:00 Round 6 · Awards after
Blitz Open
- Sat, 4 Apr — 21:00–21:20 Check-in · 21:30 Start (9 rounds)
📝 Registration & Fees
- Standard Open: CHF 110 · Reduced CHF 90 (U16 / IM / GM).
- Blitz: CHF 25 · U16 CHF 15.
- Capacity may be limited; payment due at check-in.
- FIDE ID required for all players.
🏟️ Venue
Sala Multiuso, Via delle Scuole 21, CH-6900 Lugano-Paradiso — central, modern municipal hall near Lake Lugano with easy transport access.
🛏️ Accommodation
- Hotel Victoria au Lac, Via Generale Guisan 3, Paradiso.
- Ibis, Novotel, Hotel Admiral (Paradiso/Lugano).
- Book early due to Easter demand.
🚉 How to Get There
- By Air: Lugano (regional), Milan Malpensa (MXP), or Zurich (ZRH) with train connections.
- By Train/Bus: SBB to Lugano, then local bus/short walk to Paradiso.
- By Car: A2 motorway exit Lugano-Sud / Paradiso; public parking nearby.
Easter in Lugano-Paradiso is a perfect blend of chess and Ticino spring: a smooth 6-round open, a fun late-night blitz, professional organization, and a lake-view setting. Enjoy the holiday atmosphere while competing for prizes in a festive environment.
Organizer
Swiss Chess Tour is a Swiss tournament organizer based in Melano, Ticino, Switzerland. It is built around Claudio Boschetti’s long-running event work and operates as a touring chess brand rather than a single local club. For players, that matters because the circuit offers a consistent organizer across many venues, formats, and weekends. Its public concept is simple and recognizable: chess events in the most beautiful places of Switzerland. That idea has shaped the calendar for years and gives the tour a clear identity inside the Swiss event scene. The Swiss Chess Federation’s own coverage also shows that Boschetti and Swiss Chess Tour have organized chess tournaments in Switzerland for about 25 years, which gives the project real continuity rather than a short-lived tournament label.
🏆 Tournament Activity
The strength of Swiss Chess Tour is its broad national calendar. Its 2026 agenda includes events such as Serpiano Senior Over 50, Serpiano Weekend Open, Bundesturnier, Lugano Open, Locarno, Mendrisio, Flims, Davos, Lenzerheide, Wohlen, Stein am Rhein, Schaffhausen 2Days, Zürichsee Festival, Basel Easter Festival, and Basel Autumn Festival. This is not a one-event organizer. It is a rolling circuit with classical opens, amateur sections, senior events, and compact weekend formats across several Swiss regions. The Swiss Chess Federation’s interviews with Claudio Boschetti add more scale to that picture. In 2025 he said Swiss Chess Tour had run 27 tournaments in the previous year with more than 2,700 participants. In 2026 he said the organization runs more than 30 tournaments per year, mainly on weekends. The same federation coverage also confirms that Swiss Chess Tour organized the Bundesturnier in Pfäffikon in 2025 and again in Basel in 2026, with 377 participants at the 2025 edition.
🌱 Player Experience and Community Reach
Swiss Chess Tour also stands out because it serves a wide player base, not only titled professionals. Its calendar regularly includes amateur opens, senior tournaments, and shorter 2Days events that are easier for working players and traveling players to fit into a weekend. That practical format is visible in events such as Lenzerheide Amateur Open, Davos Sommer Amateur, San Bernardino 2Days, and the senior structure in Serpiano. At the same time, Boschetti’s own comments show a clear organizer philosophy: players should feel comfortable, have space around the board, and enjoy a location that also works for accompanying family members. That helps explain why Swiss Chess Tour keeps returning to hotels and resort settings in places such as Basel, Davos, Flims, Lugano, Serpiano, and Stein am Rhein. For club players, this approach has real value. It turns a tournament into a manageable chess trip, while still keeping FIDE-rated play, experienced arbiters, and a stable organizer contact from event to event.
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