Players head to the famous spa district of Miskolctapolca, Hungary for the Wellness Chess Tour 2026 – GP1 Miskolctapolca (Aurora Hotel), the first Grand Prix stop in a 16-event series. You spend four days from Thursday, January 15 to Sunday, January 18, 2026 at the four-star Aurora Hotel, play a seven-round classical open, and enjoy unlimited access to a full wellness area between the games.

You fight for a HUF 500,000 prize fund plus numerous special prizes while you collect Grand Prix points toward major year-end rewards such as wellness weekends and premium gift vouchers. The organizers combine serious FIDE-rated classical chess, a FIDE rapid side event, and a holiday-style half-board hotel package so you can mix competition with real relaxation.

🗓️ Event Details

🏆 Prize Fund

Main prizes (overall)

The organizers guarantee the full prize fund for at least 60 participants and reserve the right to adjust it proportionally if fewer players enter. Prize money is subject to applicable taxes and social contributions, and they do not split any cash prizes in case of ties.

Special prizes

Players can win only one cash prize; if a player qualifies for several categories, they receive the higher-value prize.

⏱️ Time Control & Pairings

• The classical open uses a time control of 90 minutes for the game plus 30 seconds increment per move from move one for each player.

• The tournament follows a 7-round Swiss system in one unified open group.

• FIDE Laws of Chess and Hungarian federation regulations apply.

• The default (forfeit) time is 60 minutes; players who arrive more than one hour late for a round lose the game.

• The organizers use computer pairings (Swiss-Manager or similar) and publish full standings after each round.

• They resolve ties for prizes using the following tiebreak order:

  1. Buchholz cut-1 (reduced Buchholz)

  2. Full Buchholz

  3. Progressive score

• The separate FIDE-rated rapid (Schnell) tournament uses its own regulations and pairings and requires a separate entry fee.

📂 Sections / Groups

📅 Schedule

Classical Open – Main Event

FIDE-Rated Schnell Tournament

📝 Registration

You register in advance by email and complete your federation license obligations before the tournament.

Entry fees for the classical open

Rapid side event

• FIDE-rated Schnell tournament entry fee: HUF 3,000 per player.

Discounts

• Grand Prix loyalty discount: if you play at least 6 Grand Prix stations, from the 7th station onward you receive a HUF 2,000 discount on the entry fee at each site during 2026.

• Club discount: if at least 5 paying players from the same chess club register for this event, each of them receives a reduced entry fee as follows:

  • HUF 14,000 → HUF 12,000

  • HUF 12,000 → HUF 10,000

  • HUF 9,000 → HUF 8,000
    Discounts do not stack and apply only when at least 5 paying players from the club enter.

How to enter

• Registration deadline: Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

• Registration email: sporty207@gmail.com

• The organizers confirm all pre-entries by email.

Participation conditions:

• You may play only if you hold a valid 2026 Hungarian playing license; foreign players must hold a properly settled HPL (HUF 8,000) and valid federation registration.

• By entering, you accept the tournament regulations, tiebreak rules, prize rules, and all federation and fair-play requirements.

👥 Organizer

The Wellness Chess Tour team organizes the Wellness Chess Tour 2026 – GP1 Miskolctapolca (Aurora Hotel) as the first stop of a 16-event international Grand Prix series. Led by experienced organizer József Jeszenszky, the team aims to combine serious FIDE-rated chess with high-quality wellness and hotel services, rewarding loyal participants through a year-long GP points race. A key sponsor, Happyskin Kft. (dr. Márta Forrai), supports the series with beauty-care product sponsorship.

• Organizer: Wellness Chess Tour – Jeszenszky József

• Phone: +36 30 640 3361

• Email: sporty207@gmail.com

• Website: http://www.wellnesschesstour.com

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellnesschesstour

🏨 Venue

You play in the conference hall of Aurora Hotel**, Fagyöngy utca 2–4, 3519 Miskolctapolca, Hungary. The hotel lies in the Miskolctapolca spa district and offers modern tournament halls, on-site catering, and direct access to the hotel’s wellness section, so you can move easily between your games, your room, and the pools and saunas throughout the day.

🛎️ Accommodation

The organizers highlight a special Aurora Hotel** package with half-board** and full wellness access.

Room prices (per room per night, half-board)

Children’s discounts

• Children under 6 years: free of charge.

• Children 6–12 years: HUF 11,900 per child per night.

The room price includes:

• Accommodation in a double room for 1 or 2 persons

• Half-board: extended continental buffet breakfast and multi-course buffet dinner (without drinks)

• Unlimited daily use (08:00–21:00) of the wellness and spa area: indoor swimming pool (26°C), jacuzzi (34°C) with massage elements, Finnish sauna, infrared cabin, salt cabin

• Bathrobe in the room

• In-room combination safe

• Hair dryer in the bathroom

• Wireless internet access

• VAT

Parking options:

• Outdoor, camera-monitored car park: HUF 1,900 per car per night

• Underground garage: HUF 2,900 per car per night

• Public parking areas in Miskolctapolca: free of charge

Tourist tax is not included in the room prices and must be paid separately according to local regulations. When you book, you align your stay with the tournament dates from January 15–18, 2026.

🚗 How to Get There

Miskolctapolca lies next to the city of Miskolc in northeastern Hungary, so you typically travel first to Miskolc and then continue to the spa district. If you arrive by car, you follow local signs toward Miskolctapolca and Fagyöngy utca, park either at the Aurora Hotel’s monitored car park or in nearby public spaces, and walk directly into the hotel.

If you travel by train or long-distance bus to Miskolc, you continue by local taxi or public transport to Miskolctapolca. You plan to arrive early on Thursday to register from 10:00 and settle into your room before the opening ceremony and Round 1.

You can start your 2026 chess year by combining serious FIDE-rated games with spa time, fight for strong prizes and Grand Prix points, and turn the Wellness Chess Tour GP1 in Miskolctapolca into a long weekend that feels like both a tournament and a wellness holiday.

🧾 Other

• The Grand Prix system covers 16 events in 2026; each station awards GP points to the top 15 finishers, and the organizers crown the overall top 5 on the GP table at the December closing event with premium rewards, gift vouchers, and wellness weekends.

• Players who participate in at least 6 stations appear in the overall GP standings; anyone who plays 10 stations earns a guaranteed wellness weekend for two at a selected hotel, awarded to the three fastest players to reach 10 events.

• The organizers reserve the right to make minor changes to the tournament announcement and schedule and will communicate any updates before or during the event.