Sligo Chess & Culture Festival 2026—Challenger
Sligo Chess & Culture Festival 2026—Challenger
Dates
January 30–February 1, 2026
Town
Enniscrone, Co. Sligo
Venue
Diamond Coast Hotel , Bartragh, Enniscrone, Co. Sligo, F26 E9F9
Chief Organiser
Craig DuBose
Organiser
Sandra Woods
Chief Arbiter
Colm Ó Muireagáin
Players participating
38
Games played
86
Competition format
5-round Swiss
Eligibility
Rating < 1450 FIDE, or if not available ICU, or if not available other published national rating
Tie-break
Direct Encounter, Buchholz Cut-1, Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, Performance
Time control
90 minutes for all moves with a 30 second increment per move from move 1
Schedule
Round 1: 7.00pm; rounds 2-5: 9.30am and 3.00 pm
FIDE rated?
Yes (ID 442760 )
Prize fund
1st €125 and 3 month Diamond Chess.com membership; 2nd €80 and 2 month Diamond Chess.com membership; 3rd €40 and 1 month Diamond Chess.com membership
Entry fee
€65 (early; to November 30, 2025); €75 (standard; to December 30, 2025); €85 (late; to January 29, 2026)
Games available
All 86
Photography
A large number of photos (several hundred) of the Festival were taken by Condoh Photography :
Sponsors
Chess.ie Bed, Bath & Beyond Chess Track Government of Ireland – Ár dTodhchaí Tuaithe / Our Rural Future Sligo County Council Sligo Leader Partnership Visit Sligo dmac Media EisnerAmper Ireland Chessable liber Books | Music | Gifts Women in Chess Foundation North West Credit Union Sligo Chess Club Dunnes Stores (cf. tournament website )
Concurrent events
The Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Masters (1900+) ; 1st-4th Jacob Flynn, Shane Melaugh, Oisín O'Cuilleanáin, Yannick Woods; same datesThe Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Expert (1700-1899) ; 1st-4th Advaith Nichenametla V (1st on tie-break), Ben McIlroy, Lorcan Heron, Odhrán McDonnell; January 30-February 1The Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Championship (1600-1749) ; 1st Lysander Schwab; January 30-February 1The Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Major (1450-1599) ; 1st Niall P. Whelan; January 30-February 1The Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Open ; February 2-8, 2026; 1st Felix BlohbergerThe Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Blitz ; February 7, 2026; 1st Alexander KrastevThe Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2026—Blitz ; February 8, 2026; 1st-5th Alexander Krastev (1st on tie-break), Mark Quinn, Christopher Woods, Augustin Fernandez Manrique, Andrei Rakhmangulov
References
Sources and notes. If you have any other documents, reports, references, biographical information, annotations or (in particular) photos, please contact us (with anti-spam)