I’m pleased to announce that the Chess.com Isle of Man International Chess Tournament will be held in Douglas from 1 to 9 October 2016, sponsored by Chess.com and the Scheinberg family.

The Masters event will be a 9 round Swiss open with a prize fund of £50,000, including a first prize of £12,000, and four-figure prizes down to tenth place. Five women’s prizes totalling £9,500 will also be on offer.

The tournament (including FIDE-rated Major and Minor events aimed at up to 60 club players) will be held in the magnificent Royal Hall of the Villa Marina, the island’s most prestigious venue, with the assistance of the Isle of Man Government, Department of Economic Development.

The Masters will likely be one of Europe’s strongest opens this year and will be limited to around 140 players. Conditions are being offered to around 40 GMs and WGMs who will receive invitations from me during the course of the next week or so. Additionally, we are also determined to attract a number of elite players in the world’s top-20 with funds provided specifically for this purpose by the Scheinberg family who have supported Isle of Man chess so generously in recent years.

An exciting development this year is that Chess.com will be producing live shows for us, bringing coverage of the event to the world’s largest online chess community. GM Simon Williams has agreed to be one of the two commentators.

Regular updates will follow over the coming weeks and months.

Thank you for your interest in our tournament.

Alan Ormsby

(Chairman, Isle of Man International Chess Committee)

13 May 2016