One of the staples of the Australian chess calendar is ready to get underway as the 2026 Victorian Open begins this Friday. Hosted by the historic Melbourne Chess Club on behalf of Chess Victoria, the tournament will run from June 5 to June 8, 2026, at the club’s headquarters at 66 Leicester St in Fitzroy.
The tournament features a fully guaranteed $5,600 AUD cash prize fund distributed across open standings, rating categories, and demographic brackets, promising high-intensity board battles over the four-day long weekend.
The championship will be contested as a 7-round Swiss tournament open to all eligible local and visiting players. Reflecting its status as a premier regional event, the competition is officially registered to be rated for both Australian Chess Federation (ACF) and international FIDE rating lists.
Games will be played under a standard classical time control of 90 minutes for the entire game, supplemented by a 30-second increment per move starting from move one.
To help players manage their schedules across the long weekend, Chief Arbiter Alexei Khamatgaleev and Organiser Thai Ly have instituted flexible tournament rules:
Byes: Competitors are permitted to request up to two half-point byes, which can be applied to any of the first five rounds.
Forfeit Time: A strict 30-minute default time will be enforced from the published start time of each round for late-arriving players.
The $5,600 prize fund is distributed to reward both elite performances and top tier accomplishments across different skill groups. In addition to the main open placements, four distinct rating divisions are built into the pool to keep class players highly competitive. The official prize payouts are structured as follows:
- Open Standings: $1,500 for 1st place, $900 for 2nd, $500 for 3rd, and $300 for 4th.
- Rating Tiers (1 through 4): $300 for 1st place and $150 for 2nd place within each respective division.
- Special Awards: $300 for Best Female and $300 for Best Senior, determined strictly by the designations listed in the most recent ACF rating pool.
The tournament field is headlined by an impressive contingent of international and candidate titleholders. The top 10 registered players looking to claim the Victorian Open title include:
IM Tedric Li
FM Kai Jie Soo
FM Christopher Wallis
CM Arthur Gao
CM Justin Xia
FM Domagoj Dragicevic
FM John Nemeth
CM Declan Smith
CM Haran Salasan
CM Khushal Lingineni
The action officially begins with the opening round on Friday night, June 5, at 7:00 PM, before continuing with a dual-round daily schedule through Monday afternoon.
