The Montenegro Chess Federation (MCF), under the patronage of the Mediterranean Chess Association (MCA), the Ministry of Sports of Montenegro, and the Municipality of Budva, has announced the Montenegro Open & Mediterranean Open & Women Championships 2026. The multi-tournament festival is scheduled to take place from July 4 to July 11, 2026, in the coastal city of Budva.
The games will be played at the “Danilo Kis” school, transforming the venue into a major competitive hub for international and regional chess players this summer.
The event features a competitive lineup structured across multiple formats and rating brackets:
- Open “A” (Mediterranean Championships 2026): Restricted to players with a FIDE rating of 2000 points or above. The organizer reserves the right to include a limited wildcard field consisting of a maximum of 20 players rated between 1900–1999 and a maximum of 15 players rated below 1900.
- Open “B”: Dedicated to players rated strictly below 2000 FIDE rating points.
- Mediterranean Rapid Championship 2026: A specialized rapid youth event for Under-14 (U14) and Under-20 (U20) categories, scheduled entirely on July 8.
- Open Blitz Tournament: A fast side event taking place during the evening of July 8.
Both the Open “A” and Open “B” tournaments will follow a 9-round Swiss system conducted under FIDE Laws of Chess. The classical time control is set at 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by an additional 15 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment added per move starting from move one.
€39,000 Prize Fund on the Line
Players will be competing for a substantial overall prize fund of €39,000.00 across the entire festival, distributed into specific tournament allocations:
- Open “A” Regular and Special Prizes: €19,700.00 total pool, with a €3,500.00 first-place prize. Regular placements will utilize the Hort system for financial division, alongside €4,700.00 in indivisible special category prizes (including Best Female, Veteran 60+, U20, U14, and specific rating bands).
- Mediterranean Championship (Open & Women): €9,000.00 total pool, crowning the top regional players with titles, trophies, and gold medals. The Open champion earns €3,000.00 while the Women’s champion receives €1,500.00. Crucially, Mediterranean Championship payouts are fully cumulative with regular Open “A” prizes.
- Open “B” Prizes: €8,000.00 total pool distributed among the top 12 regular places using the Hort system, featuring a €1,600.00 top prize.
- Youth Rapid & Blitz: €1,500.00 is allocated to the Mediterranean U20 Rapid Championship, while the Open Blitz tournament features an €800.00 prize fund. Top performers in the U14 Rapid brackets are guaranteed valuable gifts.
While the tournament is open to players worldwide, the organizers are providing fully covered double-room accommodation and half-board meals at the official 4-star Hotel “Slovenska Plaza” for one designated male or female official representative from each MCA member federation.
Participants:
1 GM Lodici Lorenzo ITA 2590
2 GM Petrov Nikita MNE 2554
3 GM Romanov Evgeny MKD 2549
4 GM Postny Evgeny ISR 2528
5 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2525
6 GM Kadric Denis MNE 2518
7 GM Perunovic Milos SRB 2502
8 IM Camlar Arda TUR 2490
9 GM Djukic Nikola MNE 2489
10 GM Draskovic Luka MNE 2486
11 IM Saraci Nderim KOS 2458
12 FM Erten Kerem TUR 2452
13 IM Sai Krishna G V CAN 2443
14 IM Han Yichen NED 2437
15 IM Tekeyev Zaur FID 2432
16 GM De La Riva Aguado Oscar AND 2431
17 CM Deboushnik De IND 2430
18 IM Ljepic Andrej SRB 2428
19 IM Tadic Stefan SRB 2426
20 IM Stankovic Milos SRB 2410
21 GM Mammadov Zaur AZE 2409
22 IM Jin Yueheng CHN 2409
23 IM Risteski Emil MKD 2408
24 GM Stojanovic Dalibor BIH 2407
25 IM Kalezic Blazo MNE 2399
26 GM Kovacevic Blazimir CRO 2397
27 GM Milanovic Danilo SRB 2393
28 IM Lazov Toni MKD 2391
29 IM Nikolovski Nikola MKD 2388
30 FM Zlatkov Anton MKD 2388
31 GM Tadic Branko SRB 2387
32 IM Mcphillips Joseph ENG 2382
33 IM Khripachenko Alexander FID 2375
34 FM Uruci Endrit KOS 2366
35 GM Stopa Jacek POL 2353
36 FM Milovic Jovan MNE 2353
37 IM Rodchenkov Sergey D. RUS 2346
38 FM Bicer Atakan Mert TUR 2338
39 FM Gusev Mikhail SRB 2322
40 IM Arsovic Zoran SRB 2316
41 GM Nikcevic Nebojsa MNE 2307
42 FM Goroshkov Maksym SLO 2306
43 FM Ribera Veganzones Serni AND 2303
44 CM Skvortsov Andrei MNE 2301
45 FM Veljanoski Andrej MKD 2296
46 FM Ramaj Ergit ALB 2295
47 CM Jagreet Misra IND 2293
48 WGM Krasteva Beloslava BUL 2285
49 IM Bukal Vladimir Jr. CRO 2282
50 FM Sukovic Andrej MNE 2282
51 FM Cvitan Ena CRO 2281
52 IM Zakaryan David RUS 2278
53 Ivanovic Marko SRB 2246
54 FM Odegov Artem RUS 2244
55 Kramich Aliaksei BLR 2244
56 FM Asllani Muhamet KOS 2242
57 WFM Shubhi Gupta IND 2242
58 FM Stanojevic Ilija SRB 2239
59 CM Mamikonyan Artem T ARM 2236
60 IM Vujosevic Vladimir MNE 2234
61 Mihov Filip MKD 2234
62 WIM Orian Noga ISR 2231
63 GM Drazic Sinisa SRB 2230
64 Miletic Vuk MNE 2229
65 IM Bodiroga Predrag SRB 2223
66 IM Nikac Predrag MNE 2222
67 CM Saraci Korab KOS 2218
68 FM Djurovic Peko MNE 2213
69 CM Krstic David SLO 2209
70 Vedant Garg IND 2208
71 WGM Mammadova Narmin AZE 2203
72 FM Kisic Bozidar MNE 2200
73 FM Rama Lorenc ALB 2194
74 CM Elier Ali LBA 2189
75 Bulatov Ramil RUS 2181
76 CM Jain Kushagra IND 2177
77 FM Szalay-Ocsak Bank HUN 2175
78 Zizic Djordje MNE 2174
79 Burns Michael MKD 2168
80 FM Karaca Yigit TUR 2165
81 WIM Berke Ana CRO 2164
82 Karisik Nenad MNE 2155
83 Pusara Mihailo MNE 2152
84 Soghomonyan Tigran ARM 2147
85 WFM Sala Giulia ITA 2145
86 WFM Skvortsova Alena MNE 2135
87 CM Borshch Alexei FID 2131
88 CM Fisher Timofey FID 2124
89 WCM Kiseleva Arina CRO 2122
90 Ozturk Efe TUR 2122
91 Zhou Shumeng CHN 2107
92 AFM Sakotic Nikola SRB 2104
93 Djokovic Mirsad MNE 2096
94 AFM Tavasja Elvis ALB 2087
95 WFM Deak-Sala Emilia AUT 2086
96 Mrittika Mallick IND 2086
97 WIM Milovic Aleksandra MNE 2085
98 WFM Tashkinova Sofiia ISR 2085
99 David Idan ISR 2082
100 WCM Drishtee Ghosh IND 2081
101 Ucoluk Umut TUR 2072
102 Kapitsa Matvey RUS 2064
103 Maghakyan Hayk ARM 2060
104 WFM Sovetbekova Nurai KGZ 2058
105 Milovic Ilija MNE 2038
106 Simsek Ayaz TUR 2037
107 Isakhanyan Avik ARM 2024
108 Hjort Jens L NOR 2009
109 CM Vihaan Dumir IND 1989
110 Dubovkin Matvey RUS 1974
111 WFM Caku Kler ALB 1972
112 Esmer Ege BUL 1972
113 Uzun Kuzey TUR 1958
114 WCM Danduprolu Ridhi Varma USA 1946
115 WFM Shabanaj Eglantina ALB 1942
116 WCM Ivaschenko Anna FID 1934
117 Khizhnyakov Mikhail Mak FID 1799
