The PlusCity Grand Prix 2027 will bring four days of international rapid and blitz chess to PlusCity in Pasching, Austria, from May 27–30, 2027. The program combines two major individual tournaments with the Open Austrian Team Championships in Blitz and Rapid, creating one of the largest speed-chess events in Central Europe.

The festival offers an officially advertised €80,000 prize fund and is open to players from Austria and abroad. Individual tournaments accept up to 500 players, while the team events are limited to 125 teams. All four competitions are FIDE rated.

A major highlight of the 2027 edition is the announced participation of 15th World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who is scheduled to compete in all four tournaments, including both individual events and the team competitions.

♟️ Event Details

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The festival consists of four separate Swiss-system competitions.

For the individual Rapid and Blitz tournaments, the published tiebreak order is Buchholz Cut 1, Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, number of wins, then shared place.

Team competitions are ranked first by match points. The additional published tiebreaks are game points, EDE match points, EGGSB, board count and finally shared place.

For starting lists and category prizes, the organizer uses the relevant FIDE Rapid rating for Rapid events and FIDE Blitz rating for Blitz events. If that rating does not exist, FIDE Standard is used before Austrian Standard rating.

The relevant rating lists are May 1, 2027 for FIDE ratings and April 1, 2027 for Austrian ratings.

Every participant must have a FIDE ID before the tournament begins.

🏆 Prize Fund

The official PlusCity Grand Prix 2027 materials advertise a total prize fund of €80,000, approximately $89,900.

However, the individual prize schedules currently published in the official regulations total €81,100 when every listed main, category and Austrian championship prize is added together. Therefore, the official headline figure of €80,000 is retained here while the detailed awards are reproduced according to the published regulations.

Individual Rapid & Blitz – Main Prizes

Both individual tournaments publish the same main prize structure.

Individual Category Prizes

The following categories are used in both Individual Rapid and Individual Blitz:

Up to 1500, up to 1700, up to 1900, up to 2100, up to 2300, up to 2500 and Women.

Each category awards:

A player may win more than one prize in the same competition, and prizes are not shared.

Team Blitz & Team Rapid – Main Prizes

Both team tournaments also award category prizes for the best teams:

• without a player rated over 2400;
• without a player rated over 2200;
• without a player rated over 2000;
• without a player rated over 1800;
• women’s teams;
• senior teams in which all players are aged 50+.

Each of these categories pays €1,000 / €600 / €300 for the top three teams.

Additional prizes are reserved for Austrian Open and Women’s Team Champions. Team Blitz awards €600 / €400 / €200, while Team Rapid awards €700 / €400 / €200.

👥 Sections / Groups

Individual Rapid

The Rapid tournament is open to all chess players, with no invitations or special playing conditions.

It is a 9-round Swiss tournament using 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move. Category classification requires a verifiable rating.

Individual Blitz

The Blitz tournament is also open to all chess players.

The 2027 edition uses 11 rounds, reduced from 13 rounds in previous editions, with a time control of 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move.

Team Blitz & Team Rapid

A team consists of four players. Each roster may contain up to five eligible players, allowing one substitute.

Players must be listed in strict rating order. The strongest-rated player is listed as Board 1, and the same fixed order must be respected when selecting the four players for each match.

Austrian and international clubs may participate. Fantasy teams consisting of players from different clubs are also permitted and may win the published cash prizes.

For an Austrian team competing for the national championship title, all players except one must be eligible for the same Austrian club.

📅 Schedule

📝 Registration

Registration is primarily handled by bank transfer. Transfers are accepted through May 4, 2027.

For individual events, players should include their first name, last name and FIDE ID with the payment. For team tournaments, the club or fantasy-team name should be specified.

A package covering both team competitions costs €199 per team if the payment reaches the organizer by April 17, 2027. The package fee is non-refundable.

Payment details:
Account holder: Österreichischer Schachförderverein (ÖSFV)
IBAN: AT51 1500 0001 7137 9084
BIC: OBKLAT2L

Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. The maximum field is 500 players in the individual tournaments and 125 teams in the team competitions.

Players already listed on Chess-Results do not need to register again at the venue.

Official website:
https://grandprix-chess.com/

👤 Organizer

Tournament Director: Kons. IA Günter Mitterhuemer

Chief Arbiter: IA Dr. Ivan Syrovy

📍 Venue

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

PlusCity is a major shopping and leisure center near Linz. The tournament intentionally places high-level competitive chess in a public environment, giving visitors the opportunity to watch the games.

On Friday and Saturday, the competition takes place while the shopping mall is open. Players should therefore expect many spectators, media representatives and a significantly higher noise level than at a traditional tournament venue.

On Thursday and Sunday, the main shopping mall is closed, although restaurants remain open. Free parking and toilets remain available.

🚆 How to Get There

PlusCity is accessible by both car and public transport.

From Linz Central Station, take tram line 3 or 4 toward Traun directly to PlusCity.

From Traun Hauptplatz, take tram line 4 to PlusCity.

From Leonding city center, take Linz Linien bus 191 to Meixnerkreuzung and change to tram line 3 toward Traun.

Free parking is available at PlusCity.

ℹ️ Other Information

Former World Champion Viswanathan Anand is scheduled to participate in all four PlusCity Grand Prix 2027 competitions. He is expected to play both individual tournaments and join a VIP team for the two team events.

An Apple iPhone will be raffled among players present at the award ceremonies following the Individual Rapid tournament on May 27 and the Individual Blitz tournament on May 28.

Players may carry a switched-off mobile phone during their games. Leaving the board during a game is permitted only after consultation with and explicit permission from an arbiter.

The tournament language is English. Results are submitted to FIDE and the Austrian Chess Federation for rating and official reporting.

Any updates and last-minute changes are published on the official tournament website and may also be communicated through Instagram @chess_grandprix.