Also this year the chess summer starts in Italy from 18 to 25 May 2019 with the 8th INTERNATIONAL CHESS OPEN 2019 – Ecoresort Le Sirenè.

Awesome guest players … starting with the reigning champion GM Sabino Brunello (ITA), the vice Olympic champion WGM Natalia Zhukova (UKR) and the World and European champion, under 12 MF Volodar Murzin (RUS)… but there are many others soon to be discovered one by one!

The other novelty is a more balanced distribution of prizes with € 3.100 of prizes in the Master Open and € 1,900 of prize money in the Main Open with a total of € 5000.

On the prize side there may be some surprises with the possible arrival of a new sponsor and the increase in the prize fund.

On the other side, the other events are confirmed: evening classes by the guests, Blitz tournament, Bughouse tournament, football and tennis challenges as well as morning sightseeing tours in Gallipoli, Lecce, Otranto and other places to be defined.

A special greeting goes to to Caroli Hotels and Aldo Russo of the Accademia Scacchistica of Pisignano without which we would not have reached the eighth edition (in addition to 2 Italian Masters and Women Championships in 2017 and 2018!).

OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT WEBSITE (on line from Friday 30th November): www.salentochessopen.it/8/en/