♟️ About Chess Menorca

Chess Menorca (Associació Chess Menorca) is a chess association based on the island of Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. The organization was launched in 2021 as an island-wide project created by David Pons Carreras and Oriol Masip, drawing on their previous experience in chess education and competition. Its objective extends beyond tournament organization: Chess Menorca promotes chess through schools, training programs, community initiatives, and international events across the island.

Chess Menorca operates chess-school programs for children and maintains an active educational program for the 2026–2027 season. The association has also developed chess workshops, summer activities, school projects, technical training, and initiatives designed to bring chess to different municipalities and social groups. However, its most internationally visible project is the Open Chess Menorca, launched in 2022 and held annually in Ciutadella. The tournament has grown rapidly from a new island open into an event attracting hundreds of players from around the world.

FM David Pons Carreras is the President of Chess Menorca and serves as Tournament Director of the Open Chess Menorca. He is also one of the principal figures behind chess development on the island. The association’s organizing team includes Oriol Masip, Francesc Pons, and Miquel Mas, among others. In 2026, Chess Menorca staged its largest event to date: the V Open Internacional Chess Menorca, held from April 7–12 with close to 600 participants, more than 50 represented countries, 228 titled players, and a special Masters tournament featuring several of the world’s strongest grandmasters.

📜 Development of Chess Menorca

The Associació Chess Menorca was presented publicly in June 2021. From the beginning, its plans combined competitive chess with education and social development. David Pons had already spent years developing the Escacs a les Escoles de Menorca program. Chess Menorca expanded this concept into a broader island project, with ambitions to establish chess activities throughout Menorca, support areas without permanent chess schools, encourage women’s chess, and use chess in educational and social settings.

The association continues this work today. Its official platform is accepting registrations for 2026–2027 chess classes, with different weekly training options for children and developing players.

🎓 Chess Education and Community Programs

Chess education is a core part of the association’s identity. Chess Menorca has worked to introduce chess through schools and extracurricular programs rather than limiting its activities to established tournament players. The organization has also developed summer educational activities combining chess with study sessions, mathematics, creative workshops, music, and other learning experiences. In these programs, chess is used to strengthen decision-making, concentration, planning, analytical thinking, and problem-solving.

Institutional support remains important. In 2026, the Consell Insular de Menorca continued its cooperation with Associació Chess Menorca for the Ajedrez en las Escuelas / Escacs a les Escoles program for the 2025–2026 academic year.

🌟 Open Chess Menorca

The Open Chess Menorca is the association’s flagship international event. Its first edition was held in 2022, with Chess Menorca working alongside local chess organizations and institutional partners. The event expanded rapidly over its first five editions. The V Open Internacional Chess Menorca took place from April 7–12, 2026 in Ciutadella de Menorca, with play hosted at the MarSenses Paradise Club Hotel and Hotel Sagitario Princesa Playa.

The main classical competition consisted of nine Swiss-system rounds at 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. Open A was designed for players above 1850 FIDE, while Open B served players below 2000. The festival also included a night blitz tournament and, for the first time, a powerful invitational Masters competition. Overall participation reached close to 600 players from more than 50 countries, including approximately 228 titled players. The tournament program offered more than €60,000 in cash prizes and chess training awards.

🌍 2026 Masters and International Field

The new Masters event dramatically increased the international profile of the 2026 festival. Its six-player field featured reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, Richard Rapport, Leinier Domínguez Pérez, former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov, Pentala Harikrishna, and Nihal Sarin. The competition used a double round-robin rapid format of 30 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. Nihal Sarin won the Masters with 6/10, finishing ahead of Ponomariov and Rapport.

Meanwhile, GM Abhimanyu Mishra won Open A with 7.5 points. Philippe Arnau Delgadillo won Open B, also with 7.5 points, while José Vicente Jiménez won the night blitz competition with 8 points. The size and strength of the field marked a major step in the development of Chess Menorca. In addition, the tournament brought hundreds of visiting players to Menorca outside the island’s peak summer tourism season, linking competitive chess with destination promotion.

🏆 Organization and Partnerships

The 2026 Open Chess Menorca was directed by David Pons. The wider Chess Menorca team also included Oriol Masip, Francesc Pons, and Miquel Mas, whose organizational work was highlighted by the Federació Balear d’Escacs following the tournament. Chess Menorca works with local institutions, sponsors, hotels, and the wider Balearic chess community to stage its events. Public support has also played a significant role in the Open’s growth, while the association maintains its separate year-round educational activities across Menorca.