Grand Prix Chess Tournament 2026 brings a major rapid and blitz chess festival to Pasching/Linz, Austria, from May 14 to May 17, 2026. The event takes place at PlusCity, one of the largest shopping malls in Upper Austria.

The festival includes four FIDE-rated speed chess events. First, players compete in the Open Austrian Rapid Championship. Then, the program continues with the Open Austrian Blitz Championship, the Open Austrian Blitz Team Championship, and the Open Austrian Rapid Team Championship.

The tournament offers a published prize fund of €80,000, approx. USD 93,600. In addition, the public mall setting creates a rare chess atmosphere with spectators, media attention, free parking, and strong visibility for the game.

🏁 Event Details

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The festival uses four separate Swiss-system tournaments. The individual rapid event has 9 rounds with a time control of 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move. Meanwhile, the individual blitz event has 13 rounds with 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move.

The team blitz event also has 13 rounds at 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move. The team rapid event has 9 rounds at 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move. Therefore, players and teams can choose one event or build a full four-day speed chess schedule.

The individual events use these tie-breaks: Buchholz Cut 1, Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, wins, then shared place. Team events use match points first. After that, the tie-break order is game points, Buchholz Cut 1, Buchholz, EGGSB, then shared place.

Category prizes use FIDE Standard Elo. If a player has no FIDE Standard Elo, the organizer uses Austrian Standard Elo. In addition, category classification requires a verifiable rating.

💰 Prize Fund

The full Grand Prix program has a published prize fund of €80,000, approx. USD 93,600. The organizer pays cash prizes directly after the relevant award ceremony.

Open Austrian Rapid Championship – Individual Prizes

Austrian Rapid Champion Prizes

Rapid Category Prizes

Open Austrian Blitz Championship – Individual Prizes

Austrian Blitz Champion Prizes

Blitz Category Prizes

Open Austrian Blitz Team Championship Prizes

Austrian Blitz Team Champion Prizes

Open Austrian Rapid Team Championship Prizes

Austrian Rapid Team Champion Prizes

♟️ Sections / Groups

Team events use four boards. Each team may also register up to two substitute players. In addition, team lineups must follow the published rating-order rule: a player may have no more than 200 Elo more than the teammate on the next higher board.

For team blitz, the organizer uses the May 1 FIDE Blitz rating first. For team rapid, the organizer uses the May 1 FIDE Rapid rating first. If those ratings do not exist, the organizer uses FIDE Standard Elo and then Austrian Standard Elo.

📅 Schedule

Players who already appear on Chess-Results do not need to register again on site. However, they should still arrive early enough to handle any practical questions before the start.

📝 Registration

Entry Fees

Individual events are open to all chess players. Team events also welcome international clubs and fantasy teams. Moreover, non-Austrian and fantasy teams can win the published cash prizes.

👤 Organizer

OÖ Schachverband, ÖSFV, and Grandmaster Event Management GmbH organize the Grand Prix Chess Tournament 2026 in cooperation with Austrian chess structures. The festival places national championship events inside a public venue and promotes rapid and blitz chess to a wide audience.

Email: grandprix@grandmaster.eu
Website: https://www.grandprix-chess.com/

📍 Venue

PlusCity, Plus-Kauf-Straße 7, 4061 Pasching, Austria

PlusCity is a large shopping mall in Pasching near Linz. On Friday and Saturday, the events take place while the mall is open to the public. Therefore, players should expect many spectators, media activity, and a higher noise level than in a traditional tournament hall.

On Thursday and Sunday, the mall itself is closed. However, restaurants remain open, and players still have access to free parking and toilets.

🚗 How to Get There

PlusCity offers free parking, so players can reach the venue easily by car. The venue also has practical public transport connections from Linz and nearby towns.

From Linz Central Station, players can take tram line 3 or tram line 4 toward Traun and travel directly to PlusCity. From Traun Hauptplatz, players can take tram line 4 to PlusCity. From Leonding city center, players can take Linz Linien bus 191 to Meixnerkreuzung and then change to tram line 3 toward Traun.

Because each event has a strict entry deadline, players should plan extra time for travel, parking, and arrival inside the shopping mall.

ℹ️ Other

The tournament language is English. In addition, players accept the public venue conditions when they register. The organizer may also limit the number of participants if needed.

Players may carry a switched-off mobile phone during games. However, a player may leave the board during a game only after consulting an arbiter and receiving permission.

The organizer encourages players to check Chess-Results during breaks. Also, all results go to FIDE and the Austrian Chess Federation for rating and reporting purposes.

Prize money is paid in cash immediately after each award ceremony. In addition, the organizer plans an Apple iPhone raffle among players who attend the award ceremonies on May 14 and May 15, 2026.

The Grand Prix Chess Tournament 2026 offers four days of fast chess, major prizes, national titles, and a rare public-arena chess setting in Upper Austria.