Shri Dhanpat Rai Sachdeva Memorial International Chess Festival 2026 runs from May 17-24, 2026 in New Delhi, India. This is a chess tournament festival in New Delhi, India, in 2026. The event combines two major over-the-board chess tournaments at Marina Dreams Banquets in Wazirpur: an Open FIDE rated international section from May 17-21 and a Below 1800 FIDE rated international section from May 22-24. Together, the festival offers a confirmed total cash prize fund of about USD 31,500.

Moreover, this chess event in New Delhi stands out as one of the larger multi-section festivals on the Indian calendar. The Shri Dhanpat Rai Sachdeva Memorial International Chess Festival 2026 brings together a strong prize structure, broad category awards, and one central playing venue for the full program. In addition, the festival gives players a choice between a longer open section and a shorter below-1800 section. As a result, this international chess tournament in Delhi appeals to titled players, ambitious juniors, club competitors, women, veterans, and developing talents from across India and beyond.

🗓️ Event Details

🏆 Prize Fund

The total confirmed cash prize fund is ₹27,22,000 across the two tournaments. The Open section carries ₹14,01,000, while the Below 1800 section carries ₹13,21,000.

In addition, both sections include extensive rating prizes, category prizes, veteran awards, female prizes, unrated prizes, junior age-category prizes, and special local awards. The festival also includes academy and school awards based on the top four player results. However, only confirmed cash prizes are counted in the total prize fund.

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

The festival uses Swiss pairings in both tournaments. The Open event runs over 9 rounds with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one. Therefore, it follows a full classical chess tournament structure across five days.

Meanwhile, the Below 1800 section also uses 9 rounds but with a faster time control of 30 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one. In addition, both events are FIDE rated and share the same main venue in Wazirpur. The published material also highlights a technical meeting before the first round of each section.

📂 Sections / Groups

📅 Schedule

📝 Registration

👥 Organizer

Rai Sahab Council for Sports and Education organizes this large multi-section festival in New Delhi and continues to build a strong portfolio of major chess events in India. In addition, the organizer manages registration, local coordination, prize distribution, and player support across both tournaments.

• Email: raisahabcouncil@gmail.com

• Phone: +91 8954027903

• Website: https://raisahabcouncil.com/

🏨 Venue

Marina Dreams Banquets, Wazirpur, New Delhi, India

The full festival takes place at Marina Dreams Banquets in Wazirpur. Moreover, the venue gives both sections one shared playing site for the complete event. This setup keeps the tournament schedule practical and easy to follow from the opening round to the final prize ceremony.

🛎️ Accommodation

Players are requested to arrange accommodation on their own. However, the prospectus lists several nearby hotel options for reference, including Hotel Golden Keys Inn, Red Coral at Netaji Subhash Place Metro, J60 Suites, Hotel Luxury Inn, Hotel White Saffron, and Hotel Dev Palace.

In addition, the published material notes that more budget hotel options are available in Azadpur, about 3 to 4 km from the venue. Early booking is advisable for players traveling to Delhi for the festival.

🚗 How to Get There

The venue is in Wazirpur, New Delhi. In addition, the nearest metro station to the venue is Shalimar Bagh on the Pink Line, which helps players coming from different parts of the city. Players traveling from central Delhi can also connect through the Blue Line and continue toward the venue by metro and local transport.

This New Delhi festival offers two strong FIDE-rated tournaments, a major prize fund, and a broad range of category awards for players across many levels.