The historic Reykjavik Open will be taking place in Iceland from the 29th March to the 4th April next year in the Harpa conference hall and we’re aiming to get together a ragtag group of Hammers to go take Iceland by storm! The current schedule for the tournament is as follows:
| Wednesday | March 29th | 15:00 | Round 1 |
| Thursday | March 30th | 09:00 | Round 2 |
| Thursday | March 30th | 16:00 | Round 3 |
| Friday | March 31st | 15:00 | Round 4 |
| Saturday | April 1st | 09:00 | Round 5 |
| Saturday | April 1st | 16:00 | Round 6 |
| Sunday | April 2nd | 15:00 | Round 7 |
| Monday | April 3rd | 15:00 | Round 8 |
| Tuesday | April 4th | 11:00 | Round 9 |
*Times are currently subject to change but the dates are set in stone
Each game is played at 90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes after move 40, with an increment of 30 seconds for every move starting from move 1.
This tournament has, in recent years, consistently been voted as one of the best tournaments in the world by the ACP and has played host to some of the world top players including current world champion Magnus Carlsen, world championship challenger Fabiano Caruana and the first winner of the tournament in 1964, 8th world champion Mikhail Tal. In recent years the tournament has also featured such world class players as Ding Liren, Alexander Grischuk, Alexei Shirov, Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Wesley So.
As well as being a fantastic opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greatest players of this generation this tournament also offers a wealth of additional benefits. The early April schedule aims to allow players an even better opportunity to enjoy Iceland with the warmer temperatures and stunning landscape. Similarly to previous years, several other chess themed events will also be on offer including the Reykjavík Open Chess Pub Quiz and the Golden Circle sightseeing tour that includes stops at Geysir and Bobby Fischer’s final resting place in the southern part of Iceland.
If you want to express an interest in joining us on this adventure, please do so by filling out this form by Tuesday 10th January.
We will follow up with additional logistical details & cost estimates once we have a better idea of the level of interest. Thanks, and I look forward to joining you in Iceland!
Charlie Rigby