Tournament regulations XXVI INTERNACIONAL OPEN SANT MARTÍ 2026
The tournament is open to all players having active licences with International Chess Federation (FIDE). The tournament will be played according to the Dutch Swiss System to nine (9) rounds and managed by the Swiss Manager software. The tournament belongs to the XXIIth Catalan Grand Prix 2026 (see Http://www.escacscircuit.cat/ for further information on the Grand Prix).
There will be two groups:
- Group A: FIDE, FEDA and FCdE rated and valid for international norms with a minimum elo of 1950 FIDE elo (lists of 1 July 2026). The organisers reserve the right to wild cards to players with lower elo (elo minimum 1900) or whatever the Organization deems appropriate for the successful outcome of the Open. Players who are registered as Spanish (ESP) with FIDE should have active FEDA licenses.
- Group B: FIDE, FEDA and FCdE rated. Players FIDE rated at most 1949 (as of July 1, 2026, FIDE list) are eligible. This group is valid for rating groups D, E and F of Catalan Grand Prix 2025. Players who are registered as Spanish (ESP) with FIDE should have active FEDA licenses.
The tournament is scheduled to be of 9 rounds, played on nine consecutive days, from July 13th (Monday) through 21st (Tuesday), both included. The playing venue will be at the Centre Civic Sant Marti, Selva de Mar Street 215, in Barcelona, Zip code 08020. The playing venue is equipped with air-conditioned and is adapted for handicapped persons.
All playing sessions will start at 16:30 (4:30 p.m. local time) in both groups. The time control will be of 90 minutes for all moves, with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Each player is required to record all moves in his/her game.
The registration fees are as follows:
| GROUP A | |
| GENERAL | 60 € |
| PLAYERS -18 and +65 years old | 55 € |
| LOCAL PLAYERS (SANT MARTÍ DISTRICT) | 55 € |
| C.E. SANT MARTÍ PLAYERS | 55 € |
| WITH DISABILITIES RECOGNIZED BY THE FCdE | 55 € |
| FIRST-DEGREE FAMILY players | 55 € |
| GROUP B | |
| GENERAL | 55 € |
| PLAYERS -18 and +65 years old | 50 € |
| LOCAL PLAYERS (SANT MARTÍ DISTRICT) | 50 € |
| C.E. SANT MARTÍ PLAYERS | 50 € |
| WITH DISABILITIES RECOGNIZED BY THE FCdE | 50 € |
| FIRST-DEGREE FAMILY players | 50 € |
Methods of payment:
- The registration fee can be paid in cash or by card, on the first day of play, without discount.
- A discount of 5 euros will be applied to all registration fees paid before Thursday 9 July (inclusive) to one of these bank accounts, indicating name and surname:
- BANCO SABADELL (IBAN: ES84 0081 0065 1700 0237 7641) – (BIC/SWIFT: BSAB ESBB) – (Holder: Club Escacs Sant Martí)
- Thursday the 9th is the last day with a discount for bank transfer or card payment via form.
- Registration fees will be waived for those players who are invited by the Organization.
- To be paired in the second round, the entry fee must have been paid before the end of the first round.
Registration deadline: Sunday, July 12th, at 22:00 h, using one of the following contacts:
| +34 669 13 12 16 | Evarist Pérez | 18:00 – 22:00 h | MASTERS – ENGLISH |
| +34 661 16 83 79 | Eduard Arilla | 18:00 – 22:00 h | |
| +34 676 20 48 33 | Pablo Castillo | 10:00 – 22:00 h |
You may also fill in a registration form in this link: https://www.cesantmarti.com/inscripcion-internacional-ingles/ (all board pairings and standing will be published on this page). If you register though the Web, a registration is considered to be accepted if you receive a confirmation e-mail. The maximum tournament capacity is for 350 in both groups; except that the Organisation may extend that limit. The right is reserved to refuse any entry.
A non-justified absence from any round will imply an immediate withdrawal from the tournament without any reimbursement. Players may take up to 2 zero-point byes provided they give adequate notice to the arbiters during previous playing sessions. A third bye will imply withdrawal from the tournament. The order of the following tie-breakers will be drawn after the last round of the tournament to establish the final standings:
- Bucholz Total (BH)
- Bucholz Medium (BH-M1)
- If the players are still tied, the following tie-breaks will be used in this order: 3) Tournament performance (TPR), 4) Number of wins (WIN) and 5) Direct encounter (DE). If there is still a tie, a draw.
A Competition Committee will be constituted by Tournament Director, a member of the Organisation and three players publicly elected during round 1. Arbiters’ decisions may be appealed in a written form to the Competition Committee. The deadline for any appeal is the end of the playing session where the dispute is produced, moyennant le versement d’un dépôt de 200 euros, qui restera acquis en cas de rejet du recours. Any Competition Committee decision is final and binding. All players will have FCdE (Federació Catalana d’Escacs) official complaint forms at their disposal.
Prize winners must attend the Prizegiving Ceremony. For tax formalities, prize winners are asked to bring a copy of national ID card or passport. Underage prize winners should bring a copy of national ID-card or passport of their parents or legal representatives. All prizes will be paid net of the current legal withholding tax. Money prizes will not be shared between tied players. General prizes, rating group prizes and trophies/special prizes are not cumulative. Rating frames in Groups A and B will be based on FIDE ratings.
Players arriving more than one hour late after the scheduled start of a playing session shall lose the game.
First boards will be transmitted live on Internet.
The Prizegiving Ceremony will take place at the playing venue on Tuesday, July 21st, shortly after the end of the last tournament’s round.
All tournament scoresheets are the property of the Organization. Participants, or their legal guardians in the case of minors, authorize to be registered and / or photographed for informational purposes and / or promotion of their own and future tournaments of the organization. They also authorize the publication of their personal data in the various media that the organization deems appropriate for the necessary dissemination and information of the event.
No smoking is permitted at the inside the tournament venue, including electronic cigarettes. According to FIDE regulations, a player may not have any electronic device switched on during the playing session.
In the event that the competition has to be stopped or cancelled for health reasons or force majeure, the tournament will be terminated and will be valid for the evaluation of elo at the time of completion. The current ranking will be the final ranking of the tournament in that case. The organization will refund the proportional part of the entry fee in the same proportion as the unplayed part of the tournament and all prizes will also be reduced in the same proportion.
The tournament will be suspended if, for reasons of force majeure, its development is prevented or if a minimum of 200 players between both groups do not register; in these cases, the responsibility of the organization will be limited to the refund of the registration fees charged.
Any other question not covered by these regulations will be treated applying FIDE, FEDA and FCdE rules and those of the Catalan Grand Prix 2026. Registration to the tournament implies player’s acceptance of all above stated rules.
These bases could be modified before 01/07/2026.