Everyone from schoolchildren to chess enthusiasts and Grandmasters are welcome at the 11th edition of the London Chess Classic (November 29-December 8, 2019) as entries open for a wide range of inclusive Festival events. There’s a total of £27,000 at stake in the FIDE Open, Super Blitz, weekend and weekday standard play events, and weekend rapidplays.

The 10-day London Chess Classic takes place at its traditional venue, Olympia Conference Centre, alongside the Grand Chess Tour Finals – where four of the world’s very top players play in a knockout format to decide the fate of $350,000.

A special focus on promoting women’s and girls’ chess will be a key theme this year, with highlights including the brand-new English Open Women and Girls Rapidplay Championship (December 7), and the ‘Chess and Female Empowerment’ Conference (Nov 30-Dec 1).

As in previous years, the London Chess Classic’s commitment to supporting young people and female players is again centre stage, with free entry to women and girl players, and to all Under 25s.

As always, our most welcome guests at Olympia are the stars of tomorrow – the 2,500 primary and secondary-age schoolchildren from across the UK who come to take part in our famous Olympia Chess Fun Days, complete with expert training, fun competitions and Meet the Grandmasters Show.

All schools taking part in Chess in Schools and Communities programmes are welcome to send a delegation – so please register here to ensure your school’s place!

Players can book their tickets online here (click on the links below):

The star-studded FIDE Open (November 29-December 6) with a prize fund of £14,000;

The inaugural English Open Women and Girls Rapidplay Championship (December 7);

The popular Super Blitz Open (December 8) – where Grandmasters and all-comers battle it out for a total of £6,000 in a nerve-wracking display of skill and speed;

4 Weekend Rapidplay events: Open / U-2050 / U-1825 / U-1600 (December 7);

4 Weekend Standard Play events: Open / U-2050 / U-1825 / U-1600 (November 29-December 1);

2 Weekday Standard Play events: U-2050 / U-1750 (December 2-6).

So, whatever your yen – standard-play, rapidplay or blitz – there are events to suit everyone! To take advantage of the best Early Bird discounts, enter by October 27. A pdf version of the complete London Chess Classic entry form can be downloaded here.