The 24th International Chess Festival in Nancy (France) takes place March 7-8, 2026 in Nancy, France, offering a compact weekend program built around two FIDE-rated events: a Saturday night team blitz and a Sunday individual rapid tournament. The festival targets competitive club players, families, mixed teams, juniors, and seniors who want fast, serious chess in a central venue with strong organization and clear prize categories.

You can compete as a four-player team in the blitz or play the full nine-round rapid on Sunday, with both events using Swiss pairings and increment time controls. The festival publishes a broad prize structure with non-cumulative awards across overall standings and multiple categories, creating real motivation for both top contenders and rating-group specialists in a single weekend in Nancy.

🗓️ Event Details

🏆 Prize Fund

The festival offers a total cash prize fund of €7,290 across both events. Prizes are non-cumulative in each event, and the organizer may adjust the prize list based on the number of participants.

Team Blitz (Saturday) — Total prizes: €2,160 (non-cumulative)

Individual Rapid (Sunday) — Total prizes: €5,130 (non-cumulative)
Overall prizes

Women’s prizes

Michel-Dinet special rating prizes

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

Team Blitz runs as a Swiss System tournament with 11 rounds at 4 minutes + 2 seconds increment per player. Each team fields four players with no substitute and no empty board, and a team may include players from different clubs or countries.

Individual Rapid runs as a Swiss System tournament with 9 rounds at 15 minutes + 3 seconds increment per player. Both events use FIDE-rated formats for their respective rating categories.

📂 Sections / Groups

📅 Schedule

📝 Registration

Register online:
https://www.helloasso.com/associations/echecs-54/evenements/24e-festival-international-d-echecs-de-meurthe-et-moselle-a-nancy

Entry fees

Individual Rapid discounts

• Half price: players under 20, FM, WFM

• Free: IM, WIM, GM, WGM

👥 Organizer

The festival team in Meurthe-et-Moselle organizes a two-day program that combines a four-board team blitz with a full nine-round individual rapid, both played under FIDE-rated formats and supported by a broad, non-cumulative cash prize structure. The organizer publishes updates, practical details, and partner information through the official event website and handles inquiries by email.

• Email: festivalnancy54@gmail.com

• Website: https://festivalnancy.echecs54.org

🏨 Venue

Hôtel du Département, Conseil départemental de Meurthe-et-Moselle, 48 esplanade Jacques-Baudot, 54000 Nancy, France
The festival plays at the departmental venue in central Nancy, providing an accessible location for both local players and visitors. The site sits about a 20-minute walk from Nancy’s train station and also supports arrival by bus.

🛎️ Accommodation

The organizer lists partner accommodation options through the official website:
https://festivalnancy.echecs54.org

🚗 How to Get There

Arrive via Nancy’s main rail connections and plan a short transfer to the venue. The venue sits about a 20-minute walk from the train station, and you can also use local buses to reach the site. The organizer indicates free large parking options on site.

Show your speed and coordination on Saturday, then convert that momentum into a full nine-round rapid run on Sunday in the heart of Nancy.