Spend a summer weekend in Prince Edward Island at the 2026 ANVO PEI Open Chess Championship, July 24-26, 2026, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, a two-section festival event that combines a FIDE-rated championship with a CFC-rated challengers competition. The organizer runs a Swiss format with classical time controls and a clear round schedule that fits strong weekend travel. You can choose the section that matches your rating goals and still compete for meaningful cash prizes across overall and class categories. The event uses tournament-supplied equipment and aims to spread provincial matchups early to keep the competition varied.

The Championship Section offers six rounds over three days and rates games for both FIDE and CFC, while the Challengers Section targets players under 1800 CFC and offers flexible schedule options within a five-round structure. The organizer keeps entry procedures practical with e-transfer payment and on-site check-in windows. A published prize list supports both top places and rating classes, with the final prize split confirmed at the regular registration deadline. The University of Prince Edward Island venue places the event in a central Charlottetown campus location with convenient parking.

🗓️ Event Details

🏆 Prize Fund

The organizer will finalize the exact prize split at the Regular Registration deadline. The organizer publishes the following cash prizes for each section.

Championship Section (cash prizes; published total $1,340 under stated participation conditions)

Challengers Section (cash prizes; published tentative total $690 under stated participation conditions)

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The organizer runs Swiss System pairings and supplies all tournament equipment for play. The organizer uses a classical time control for the festival: G/75 with a 30-second increment. The Challengers Section also offers an alternate schedule option that uses G/30 with a 30-second increment for Rounds 1–2, then returns to G/75 with a 30-second increment for Rounds 3–5.

The organizer aims to avoid pairings between players from the same province in Rounds 1 and 2 where possible. The organizer sets a 60-minute default time from the scheduled round start. The organizer allows up to two ½-point byes in Rounds 1–4, and players must request byes by the start of the previous round.

Tie-breaks

• Championship Section: 1) Average Opposition Rating (Drop Low) with organizer tweaks announced in advance, 2) Average Opposition Performance Rating

• Challengers Section: 1) Average Opposition Rating (Drop Low) with tweaks announced, 2) Average Performance Opposition

📂 Sections / Groups

📅 Schedule

Championship Section (6 rounds)

Challengers Section (Schedule A: 5 rounds)

Challengers Section (Schedule B: 5 rounds)

📝 Registration

👥 Organizer

The Maritime ChessCentre runs the 2026 PEI Chess Festival program in Charlottetown and organizes the ANVO PEI Open Chess Championship as a two-section Swiss event with clear check-in procedures, structured entry fees, and published prize targets. The organizer manages registrations by e-transfer and coordinates on-site operations and pairings, with NA Fred McKim serving as arbiter and primary tournament contact.

• Email: fredmckim@gmail.com

• Phone: 902-626-5019

• Website: https://mcc.devastation.ca/peifest26.html

🏨 Venue

Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering Building (UPEI), Rooms 128A / 128B, 550 University Ave, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
The tournament plays on the University of Prince Edward Island campus in a dedicated academic building with adjacent campus parking. The organizer identifies the FSDE building as Building 30 on the UPEI campus map and recommends the Arena parking lot as the most convenient option. Parking is free on the weekend.

🛎️ Accommodation

The festival offers official on-campus suites at UPEI with July rates that include breakfast. UPEI holds a reserved room block in the Performing Arts Centre until June 12, and rooms remain available afterward on a first-come, first-served basis. Youth players must stay with an adult and cannot book suites alone.

Booking method: use https://www.upei.ca/conference/summer-visitors, select “conference guest,” and enter reference number 31115.

🚗 How to Get There

Travel to UPEI at 550 University Ave in Charlottetown, then go to the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering Building (FSDE), Rooms 128A / 128B. Use the Arena parking lot for convenient access, and plan for free parking on the weekend.

Bring your best weekend preparation to Charlottetown and turn six or five rounds of classical chess into a decisive summer result.

🧾 Other

Electronics policy: During a round, keep electronics turned off and placed face down on the table, or keep them turned off in a bag that stays in the room. A ringing or beeping phone leads to a warning for the first violation and a game loss for subsequent violations during the tournament. If a player brings a phone on their person during the round, the organizer rules a forfeit in that game, with a limited early-round window to surrender an inadvertently carried phone to the arbiters for the duration of the round. Spectators must also keep electronics off or stowed, and the organizer prohibits chess applications in the playing room.