Czech Open 2025

Tomorrow, one of the world’s largest festivals of chess and games, Czech Open kicks off. For nearly three weeks, the IDEON centre in Pardubice will welcome enthusiasts from around the globe. You can look forward to more than a dozen chess tournaments, as well as competitions in Scrabble, Sudoku, Rubik’s Cube, bridge, pub quiz, Gomoku, and other board games. The full tournament regulations and lists of registered participants are available on the festival’s official website.

Czech Open is going to start with a record this year! More than 170 teams are registered for the team competition (tournament E). Among the 800+ chess players coming to Pardubice, you’ll find many familiar faces, including grandmasters Anton Korobov, Martin Petr, Tomáš Polák, Lubomír Ftáčník, Tomáš Kraus, and Pavel Šimáček. They’ll be challenged by rising Czech stars led by IM Vašek Fiňek and IM Richard Stalmach.

This year’s “A” grandmaster tournament will also be stronger than last year, with more than 10 grandmasters and 20 international masters set to compete. In addition to the names already mentioned, you can look forward to seeing GM Alexander Donchenko, GM Jerguš Pecháč, and GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu in action.

For more information about the festival, follow our official website, Facebook, and Instagram. We look forward to seeing you all in Pardubice!