The GAMMA Reykjavik Open 2019 will be held for the 34th time from April 8th until April 16th, 2019 in Harpa, the 28.000 sq. m. concert- and conference centre in downtown Reykjavik.
Many world class players have taken part in the GAMMA Reykjavik Open in recent years, including Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Anish Giri, Baadur Jobava, Richard Rapport, Pavel Eljanov, Alexei Shirov, the Indian prodigies Nihal Sarin and Praggananandhaa and their fellow countryman Baskaran Adihiban, who was the winner of the 2018 event.
In the 2018 tournament, which was also The Bobby Fischer Memorial Tournament, 248 players from 34 countries participated, including 27 grandmasters, 12 of which had an ELO-rating of 2600 or higher.
The total prize-fund in the 2019 edition will be €15.000, including many special prizes for various age- and rating categories, in addition to the traditional top women’s prize.
The Reykjavik Open has in recent years always been voted one of the best open tournaments in the world by ACP.
Spring tournament
The new April schedule is aimed at giving the players an even better chance of enjoying Iceland, with warmer temperatures when the island bursts into spring colour, allowing our guests to soak up the bright spring light and hopefully having that bit of extra energy to spend on the 64 squares.
Much more than a chess tournament
As in earlier years, several chess-themed events will take place at the same time as the tournament, including the now famous Reykjavík Open Chess Pub Quiz and the Golden Circle sightseeing tour that includes stops at Geysir and Bobby Fischer’s final resting place in the southern part of Iceland. Iceland is one of the most attractive places in the world to visit and play in chess tournaments. The full 2019 side-event calendar will also include a Fischer random tournament (Chess960), the Harpa Blitz Tournament, Iceland vs. Rest-of-the-World Football Match, a backgammon tournament, the popular opening party and more.
Join the legends and be part of chess history
Throughout its history the Reykjavik Open has featured many of the strongest chess players in the world at the time. These include the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen as well as his current challenger for the title Fabiano Caruana, the 8th world champion Mikhail Tal, who won the first tournament in 1964 with a record 12½ points out of 13, as well as the 7th world champion Vasili Smyslov. It has also featured the strongest women in the world, including, Judit Polgar and world champions Hou Yifan and Nona Gaprindashvili, as well as challengers for the world title like Victor Korchnoi, David Bronstein Nigel Short and Jan Timman.
In recent years, the tournament has featured world class players – in addition to those mentioned earlier – like Alexander Grischuk, Alexei Shirov, Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So, while earlier editions featured legends like Friðrik Ólafsson, Anthony Miles, Bent Larsen, Lev Polugaevsky, Mark Taimanov and Samuel Reshevsky.
As in previous years, the goal of organizers to is invite many of the youngest and most promising chess players in the world, as well as the strong women players. 2019 promises to be as big and diverse as previous editions!
Why not join? If you register and pay the fee before 1st January you will get a special discount of the entrance fee.
