Entries Welcome for 2026 Northumbria Masters

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2026 Northumbria Masters & Darlington ChessFest

Entries are now open for the 2026 Northumbria Masters (26-31 August at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre), a six-day, nine-round FIDE-rated congress.

Please enter online here: https://northumbriamasters.com

Tournaments include:

  1. Open Super-Swiss (eligible for title norms): £3,000 in prizes
  2. Challengers (U-2000 FIDE): £1175 in prizes
  3. Major (U-1700 FIDE): £900 in prizes
  4. IM Norm Round Robin
  5. FIDE-rated Blitz: £300 in prizes

PLUS: Darlington ChessFest 2026

This will take place on Horsemarket Square, Sunday August 24, 3pm-7pm. Live Chess Games, Challenge the Master, Simultaneous Displays, Chess Lessons, Friendly Games. Free entry, all welcome!

Many thanks to sponsors John Robinson Youth Chess Trust, The Chess Trust, English Chess Federation Grassroots Initiative, Chess in Schools & Communities, The Friends of Chess, Northumberland Chess Association, Durham County Chess Association, Northumbria Junior Chess Association.

  1. NORTHUMBRIA MASTERS OPEN (FIDE-rated, eligible for title norms)

Prizes: £1,000, £650, £450, £300, £200

Top Female Player: £100, Top Junior (U-18) £100, Top Senior (50+) £100, Top U-2200 FIDE £100

Entry Fees:

GM, WGM, IM, WIM: Free

FM, WFM: £40

2000+ FIDE: £75

U-2000 FIDE: £100

  • NORTHUMBRIA CHALLENGERS (FIDE-rated)

For players rated Under 2000 FIDE

Prizes: £500, £250, £125

Top Female Player: £75, Top Junior (U-18) £75, Top Senior (50+) £75, Top U-1750 FIDE £75

Entry Fee: £50

  • NORTHUMBRIA MAJOR (FIDE-rated)

For players rated Under 1700 FIDE

Prizes: £400, £200, £100

Top Female Player: £50, Top Junior (U-18) £50, Top Senior (50+) £50, Top U-1550 FIDE £50

Entry Fee: £45

  • NORTHUMBRIA IM ROUND ROBIN (FIDE-rated, eligible for title norms)

Entry fees: IMs by invitation only

2350+: £200

2300+: £250

2250+: £300

  • FIDE-Rated BLITZ

Prizes: £100, £50, £30

Top Female Player £25, Top Junior (U-18) £25, Top Senior (50+) £25, Top Under 2000 FIDE £25

ECF Membership and Pay-to-Play Fees:

Title norm events: 1 (MASTERS OPEN) and 4 (IM ROUND ROBIN) – Entrants should be ECF Gold or ECF Junior Gold members (or above), or a member of another national chess federation. England-affiliated non-ECF Gold members should pay a play-to-fee of £16 (£6.50 for juniors Under 18).

Non-title norm events: 2 (CHALLENGERS) and 3 (MAJOR): Regardless of national chess federation affiliation, all entrants should be ECF Gold or ECF Junior Gold members (or above). Non-ECF Gold members should pay a play-to-fee of £16 (£6.50 for juniors Under 18).

Other events: 5 BLITZ: No ECF membership is required to play in the FIDE-rated Blitz, but players should register for a FIDE ID before the tournament.

Rating:

All tournaments will be FIDE- and ECF-rated.

Time controls:

The time control for events 1-4 (MASTERS OPEN, CHALLENGERS, MAJOR & IM ROUND ROBIN) will be all moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 seconds per move.

Players in these events are required to write down all their moves.

The time control for event 5, the FIDE-rated Blitz, will be all moves in 3 minutes, plus 2 seconds per move.

Playing Schedule:

Events 1-4 (MASTERS OPEN, CHALLENGERS, MAJOR & IM ROUND ROBIN)

Round 1: Wednesday 26 August, 6:00pm

Round 2: Thursday 27 August, 10:00am

Round 3: Thursday 27 August, 3:00pm

Round 4: Friday 28 August, 10:00am

Round 5: Friday 28 August, 3:00pm

Round 6: Saturday 29 August, 10:00am

Round 7: Saturday 29 August, 3:00pm

Round 8: Sunday 30 August, 10:00am

(please note: on Sunday 30 August, 3:00pm-7:00pm, Darlington Chess Festival will be taking place on Horse Market Square)

Round 9: Monday 31 August, 10:00am

Event 5 (FIDE-RATED BLITZ)

Thursday 27 August at 8:00pm

Darlington ChessFest: Sunday, 30 August 2026

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Darlington ChessFest 2026

Horse Market Square

Sunday 30 August, 3:00pm-7:00pm

Chess fun & games in the Marquee on Darlington’s Horse Market Square – Free Entry!

Everyone is welcome to take part in DARLINGTON CHESSFEST, run in cooperation with Chess in Schools and Communities.

Fun Blitz Games, Learn to Play Chess, Grandmaster Simultaneous Display & a Live Chess Game with actors as pieces.

2026 Northumbria Masters Congress Schedule

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Opening Ceremony: Wednesday 26 August, 5:45pm

Tournaments: Masters Open, Challengers, Major, IM Round Robin

Round 1: Wednesday 26 August, 6:00pm

Round 2: Thursday 27 August, 10:00am

Round 3: Thursday 27 August, 3:00pm

Round 4: Friday 28 August, 10:00am

Round 5: Friday 28 August, 3:00pm

Round 6: Saturday 29 August, 10:00am

Round 7: Saturday 29 August, 10:00am

Round 8: Sunday 30 August, 10:00am

Round 9: Monday 31 August, 10:00am

FIDE-rated Blitz: Thursday 27 August, 8:00pm

DARLINGTON CHESSFEST: Sunday 30 August, 3:00pm-7:00pm

2025 Prizewinners

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The prizewinners in the 2025 Northumbria Masters Congress were as follows:

(each player may win only one prize)

Open

1st equal Guy Levin 6.5 (£667)
1st equal Mark  Hebden 6.5 (£667)
1st equal Tim Elgar 6.5 (£667)
4th equal Daniel Gormally 6 (£217)
4th equal Oliver Stork 6 (£217)
4th equal Theo Khoury 6 (£217)
Top Over 50 Craig Thomson 5 (£100)
Top Female Player Zoe Varney 5 (£100)
Top U18 Nicholas Kowalski-Rubiales 5 (£100)
Top Under 2200 FIDE (equal) Frankie Badacsonyi 5.5 (£50)
Top Under 2200 FIDE (equal) Husain Nakara 5.5 (£50)

Total prizes: £3052

Challengers

1st equal Jonathan McKay 6.5 (£292)
1st equal Mark  Waterfield 6.5 (£292)
1st equal Luke Owen 6.5 (£292)
Top Over 50 Kevin Wilson 6 (£75)
Top Female Player Alice Lampard 5.5 (£75)
Top U18 Tino Sander 6 (£75)
Top U-1850 Richard  Porter 5.5 (£75)

Total prizes: £1176

Major

1st Yechu Chen 6.5 (£400)
2nd Owen Robson 6 (£200)
3rd equal Daniel Atcheson 5.5 (£50)
3rd equal Mohammed Rohman 5.5 (£50)
Top Over 50 Stephen Pride 5.5 (£50)
Top Female Player Kaiqiao Chen 1 (£50)
Top U18 Joey Pramana 5 (£50)
Top U1550 Jon Hunt 5 (£50)

Total prizes: £900

Blitz

1st Guy Levin 7 (£30)
2nd equal Oliver Stork 6.5 (£15)
2nd equal Supratit Banerjee 6.5 (£15)
Top U2000 Nicholas Kowalski Rubiales 5 (£10)
Top U2000 Husain Nakara 5 (£10)
Top U2000 Ross  Blackford 5 (£10)
Top U2000 Leo Kowalski Rubiales 5 (£10)

Total prizes: £100

Full results of the Northumbria Masters Congress can be viewed here: https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr1168819.aspx?lan=1&art=1&flag=30&SNode=S0

2024 Northumbria Masters Playing Schedule

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Playing Schedule:

(for all tournaments)

Round 1: 10:00, Thursday 22 August
Round 2: 15:00, Thursday 22 August
Round 3: 10:00, Friday 23 August
Round 4: 15:00, Friday 23 August
Round 5: 10:00, Saturday 24 August
Round 6: 15:00, Saturday 24 August
Round 7: 10:00, Sunday 25 August
Round 8: 15:00, Sunday 25 August
Round 9: 10:00, Monday 26 August

Prizegiving Ceremony: 14:30, Monday 26 August

£600 Sponsorship Announced for Title Norms at Northumbria Masters

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The Northumbria Masters is pleased to announce brand new sponsorship for this year’s Congress, which takes place 24-28 August in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Chess enthusiast and creative writer Mark Jordan, a former Publicity Manager for the English Chess Federation, has offered an innovative form of sponsorship: a total prize fund of £600 for a player or players who score a Grandmaster, International Master, Women’s Grandmaster or Women’s International Master title norm in the GM Schiller tournament, IM Schiller tournament or the Masters Swiss at the Northumbria Masters Congress.

Prize Fund Will Be Shared Between Players Scoring GM, IM, WGM & WIM Norms

If more than one player makes a GM, IM, WGM or WIM norm, they share the £600 equally; if just one player makes a GM, IM, WGM or WIM norm, they get the whole £600 as a prize.

In addition, Mark is also funding accommodation for two visiting GMs, a form of sponsorship that helps not only titled players meet their expenses, but offers opportunities to other players seeking to play against GMs for title norms.

Mark Jordan said: “I am just happy to support English chess in this small way. If it encourages players to go for titles, and to raise the public profile of chess, that’s fantastic.”

Northumbria Masters Congress Director Tim Wall said: “We are extremely grateful to Mark for putting his hand in his pocket and offering this great incentive for would-be titled players. We hope this funding will attract more players to enter the Congress and help to secure its future for the years ahead.”

“Together with the hard work by ECF International Director Malcolm Pein over the years to secure funding from the UK government for chess, sponsorship such as Mark’s is a great example of a chess enthusiast supporting the game.”

To enter the Northumbria Masters Congress online, go to: https://northumbriamasters.com

Email: info@northumbriamasters.com

Tel/WhatsApp: +44 750 372 2366

Notes for Editors:

The Northumbria Masters, now holding its 6th major congress, is the premier international chess event in the North of England, and has produced several title norms for aspiring chess professionals.

The Congress is profoundly grateful for the support it receives from the English Chess Federation, The Chess Trust, The John Robinson Youth Chess Trust, Friends of Chess, Northumberland Chess Association and Northumbria Junior Chess Association, plus other private donors.

Northumbria Masters 2023 Junior Bursaries

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A number of junior bursaries are available for participants in tournaments and coaching at the Northumbria Masters Congress, thanks to generous support from the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust.

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EJCOA Youth Champs – North East Zonal

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Entries are welcome for the North East Zonal of the 2023 EJCOA National Youth Championships.

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New Features at 2023 Northumbria Masters

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The entry form for the 2023 Northumbria Masters will be published soon.

There are some exciting new features to the Northumbria Masters Congress this year that we hope you will like.

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Upcoming events cancelled

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Unfortunately, the following tournaments have been cancelled: the 2022-23 Forest Hall Rapidplay Grand Prix tournaments and the 5th EJCOA International (16-20 December, 2022).

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