PlusCity Grand Prix in Austria: Rapid and blitz chess extravaganza

by ChessBase
5/14/2026 – Four days, thousands of rapid and blitz chess games, international and national participants such as Maghsoodloo, Pranav and Blohberger - the 2026 Grand Prix at PlusCity in the Austrian town of Pasching is once again set to become one of Europe's biggest chess festivals. Anyone who wants not only to think chess, but to experience it, should be there in person and enjoy the chess atmosphere at the Austrian National Championships. | Photos: Official website
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A festival for professionals and amateurs

The 2026 Grand Prix is much more than a classical tournament - it is an open chess festival that brings together top players, ambitious amateurs and curious spectators. Last year, more than 750 players from 28 countries took part and played thousands of games, a scale that makes the event one of the largest of its kind. With a prize fund of €80,000 and official national championship titles at stake, the tournament is both sporting relevant and accessible to the public.

Well-known grandmasters will be competing for the titles, including in the blitz section (351 participants) Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI), Jose Eduardo Martinez (MEX) and Baadur Jobava (GEO), as well as, from Austria, Felix Blohberger, Konstantin Peyrer and Georg Froewies, who are also playing in the rapid. In the rapid section, with 377 participants, Pranav Venkatesh (IND), Eduardo Iturrizaga (ESP) and Jobava are the top seeds.

In the team competitions, 83 and 86 four-player teams (with a reserve) have registered, respectively. The top teams have an average Elo of around 2200.

Last year's winner, front left: Parham Maghsoodloo won the blitz event convincingly and is looking to defend his title this year | Photo: Official website

Spectators will also be well catered for, as the combination of individual and team competitions guarantees variety and interest. The Grand Prix is deliberately designed as an open tournament and allows professionals, club players and ambitious amateurs to take part. Amateur and hobby players also have genuine chances to win prizes, as various rating categories are contested. This also attracted international players from dozens of countries in previous editions, competing for official Austrian national championship titles in individual and team events.

A tournament for everyone! | Photo: Official website

Venue

The venue is PlusCity in Pasching, near Linz, a publicly accessible shopping mall. The concept is deliberate: chess is intended to become visible, accessible and lively - in the middle of everyday life.

--> Travel information

In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
The London System is one of the most popular openings at every level of chess but not all Londons are the same. In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: 5...cxd4 6.exd4 Qb6 sidelines

Schedule

The event takes place over four days:

Rapid (individual, 9-round Swiss system)
Thursday, 14 May 2026 – 1 pm to approx. 9 pm

Blitz (individual, 13-round Swiss system)
Friday, 15 May 2026 – 2 pm to approx. 8 pm

Blitz (team, 13-round Swiss system)
Saturday, 16 May 2026 – 2 pm to approx. 8 pm

Rapid (team, 9-round Swiss system)
Sunday, 17 May 2026 – 11 am to approx. 7 pm

Official website...

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Video

60m The Two Knights

This entry into the 60 minutes series concentrates on the Modern variation of the Italian game where White opens the centre early : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5!. This line can be reached by various move orders, most frequently from the Scotch 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4. It's a sharp variation and Grandmasters such as Evgeny Sveshnikov have used it frequently,with very good results. It's a perfect line for club players to adopt which is relatively easy to learn and which contains many traps. All the main responses are covered here, including 5...d5, 5...Ng4 and 5...Ne4 and the conclusion is that is is difficult for Black to equalize in a straightforward way. Problems are being posed, which over the board might prove tough to solve.