4th Pafos International Open Chess Tournament (Pafos Open 2026) brings competitive chess back to the Mediterranean with a full week of FIDE-rated action in April 13-19, 2026. Players meet in Paphos, Cyprus for a strong 9-round Swiss designed for titled players, rising juniors, and ambitious club competitors. The event combines serious tournament conditions with a lively coastal setting and a €5,100 cash prize fund across two rating-based groups.

The organizers run the tournament in two distinctive cultural venues in central Paphos, keeping the playing atmosphere focused and professional. The schedule includes one round per day with double-round days on Tuesday and Thursday, plus opening and closing ceremonies. Players can choose the most suitable group around the rating thresholds, and the event supports a wide range of participants through clear entry categories and hotel offers.

🗓️ Event Details

🏆 Prize Fund

The organizers award cash prizes in both groups and add cups and medals for age categories. The event does not cumulate cash category prizes: if a player wins two special cash categories, the player takes the larger cash prize.

A Group cash prizes:

B Group cash prizes:

The organizers also list additional combined-event cash prizes for A Group participants who play both this event and the international tournament “MIKIS THEODORAKIS – CHANIA” (€500 / €300 / €200 by total points across both tournaments). The organizers share these combined-event prizes under the Hort system when players tie.

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The tournament runs a 9-round Swiss in each group and uses 90 minutes for 40 moves + 15 minutes to finish + 30-second increment from move 1. Players who arrive more than 30 minutes after a round starts lose by forfeit. Players can request up to two half-point byes until Round 5, and players must inform the chief arbiter before the next-round pairing.

The event applies these tie-breaks in order:

1. Head-to-head result (when applicable)

2. Buchholz

3. Median Buchholz

4. Sonneborn-Berger

📂 Sections / Groups

📅 Schedule

📝 Registration

Players register online and the organizers confirm registrations within 24 hours. The organizers require an entry-fee deposit by bank transfer, and players cover any bank transfer fees. The organizers apply a €10 increase after March 27.

Registration:
https://pafoschess.com/pafos-open-application-form/

Email for registration scans and deposit receipts:
info@pafoschess.com

Bank transfer details (entry fee deposit):
CYPRUS BANK account number 357039645233
IBAN CY52002001950000357039645233
SWIFT/BIC BCYPCY2N
Account owner: Skakistikos Omilos Paphou

👥 Organizer

Pafos Chess Club organizes Pafos Open 2026 with the support of Pafos Municipality and Cyprus Chess Federation, and the team appoints an experienced tournament staff to deliver a professional, FIDE-standard playing environment in central Paphos.

• Email: info@pafoschess.com

• Phone: +357 99610468, 96489983, 96843077

🏨 Venue

The tournament uses two cultural venues in Paphos that support focused play and a strong spectator-friendly atmosphere. Cinema Attikon adds a historic city-center character, while Palia Ilektriki offers a distinctive industrial setting that the city restored and repurposed for cultural events.

Cinema Attikon (Attikon Municipal Multi-Purpose Centre), Evagoras Pallikaridis, Pafos, Cyprus
Palia Ilektriki (Old Electric), Vladimirou Herakleous 8, Paphos 8010, Cyprus

🛎️ Accommodation

Players choose any accommodation in Paphos and book directly, and the organizers list hotel offers for tournament participants. The event also lists limited hospitality conditions for GM and WGM players, and the organizers keep a strict priority list for these benefits.

Hotel offers page:
https://pafoschess.com/hotel-offers/

Selected listed offers (examples):

• Pyramos Hotel: single €44, twin €50, triple €68 (breakfast included), info@pyramos-hotel.com

• Crystallo Apartments: studios from €52 (no breakfast, kitchen), crystallo@cytanet.com.cy

• Dionysos Central Hotel: listed options include €40–€70 with breakfast (varies by room type), reservations@dionysoshotelpaphos.com

Hospitality conditions (limited availability) for GM & WGM:

• 2600+ (minus 100 Elo units for women): 8 days (7 nights) single room, full board

• 2500–2599 (minus 100 Elo units for women): 8 days (7 nights) double room, full board

• 2450–2499 (minus 100 Elo units for women): 8 days (7 nights) double room, breakfast

🚗 How to Get There

Paphos offers direct access through Paphos International Airport, and players can also arrive via Larnaka International Airport and continue to Paphos by shuttle. Local buses cover Paphos town and suburbs and provide practical connections between common tourist areas and the city center.

• Paphos International Airport to Paphos / Kato Paphos bus routes: https://www.pafosbuses.com/busroutes/paphos-airport

• Larnaka International Airport to Paphos shuttle information: https://www.paphosbus.com/paphos-airport-bus/larnaca-airport-shuttle

• Paphos town and suburbs bus routes: https://www.pafosbuses.com/busroutes/paphos-city-suburbs

Plan for sharp chess and bright spring days in Paphos as you chase points, prizes, and a memorable week on the Cyprus coast.

🧾 Other

The organizers apply anti-cheating measures that include controlled entry to the playing hall, delayed transmission of games, venue controls, and random checks during the tournament. Players can file protests against the chief arbiter’s decisions in writing within 15 minutes after the end of the game, and players must include a €60 deposit; the appeals committee returns the deposit when it grants the appeal and keeps it when it rejects the appeal.