The 49th BLACKPOOL CHESS CONFERENCE
Friday 13th February to Sunday 15th February 2026
The Imperial Hotel, Blackpool,
Lancashire. FY1 2HB

Welcome

The 49th annual Blackpool Chess Conference will be held over the dates 13th - 15th February 2026. It is a 5 round Swiss congress, one round on Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. The congress is an ECF rated event.

Imperial hotel accommodation at reduced rates including free parking at the hotel (otherwise £10 per day) can be booked by dialling 01253 623971 and follow Option 1 to speak to the Reservations Team. You MUST state that you are attending at the Blackpool Chess Conference to obtain the special reduced rates agreed with the hotel, lines are open 09.00 to 18.30 Monday to Friday and 09.00 to 17.30 at weekends. Players booking an Imperial room (for 2 nights) get £10 off entry fee for one entrant. A booking reference number will be required, obtained from the hotel when booking accommodation; Please put your booking reference number in the Imperial Booking number box, if not booked please enter (0). Also free car parking when booking an Imperial room. Full entry form for postal entries can also be downloaded via the website: www.blackpoolchess.org.uk.

Sections

Section	The Lancashire Open	The Imperial Major U2050	The Intermediate U1850	The Minor U1700	The Standard U1550
Entry Fee	£47(£63 for non Gold members)	£42(£58 for non Gold members)	£40(£56 for non Gold members)	£40(£56 for non Gold members)	£37(£53 for non Gold members)
First Prize	£800	£600	£500	£500	£400
Second Prize	£400	£300	£200	£200	£200
Third Prize	£200				£100
Rating Prizes	3 prizes of £100	5 prizes of £100	4 prizes of £100	4 prizes of £100	4 prizes of £50
Best Veteran	£100	£100	£100	£100	£100

Please enter early. A late payment fee of £5 becomes payable on all entries received after 09 Feb 2026. There is no entry on the day.

Time Table

	Day	Time
Opening Ceremony	Friday	18:55
Round 1	Friday	19:00 - 23:00
Round 2	Saturday	09:30 - 13:30
Round 3	Saturday	14:15 - 18:15
Round 4	Sunday	09:30 - 13:30
Round 5	Sunday	14:15 - 18:15

30 minutes after the start of each round, a new pairing may be made for any player whose opponent has not arrived or for any player who was initially awarded a bye. Missing players will be defaulted after 30 minutes. Swiss Manager will be used to pair the rounds using February 2026 published ratings.

Ratings

The February 2026 ECF rating list will be used for determining section entry. The February 2026 rating list will be used for pairing. For pairings and rating prizes the displayed figures will be used. The Open and Major sections will be FIDE rated, Gold membership is required for English players, non-English players must have a FIN. Highest of the ECF or FIDE rating be used. The highest published rating must be used for non-English players. Rating history and other sources may be used to place a player in a higher section. Players without a current rating must give their last published rating and the year of publication. Failure to disclose will result in disqualification. Adult players (over 18 years of age) without a rating history may only enter the Open section. Unrated Juniors must give a full indication of their strength. Players with ratings that are not in the public domain must supply a signed photo-copy of their grading/rating. The Director reserves the right to place any entry whose grade cannot be verified into the section of his choice. It is a condition of entry that players agree to their rating information being published on the ECF Website. Players not wishing to have their details published on the ECF Website should contact the ECF Office directly. All results will be sent to the ECF for rating in the ECF Rating List. The last date for entry is Wednesday February 11th 2026. Players should check the website to confirm entry. No entries accepted after this date. No telephone entries accepted at any time.

Conditions of Entry

The organisers reserve the right to:

• Refuse any entry without stating a reason
• Transfer entrants between events
• Withhold prizes from unrated players if they play in events below their known strength
• Redistribute in whole or in part a prize won by a competitor who has won or shared a main prize
• The organiser reserves the right to reduce the prize fund or cancel the event in the event of a low number of entries

Rate of Play and Pairings

All games must be completed in 110 minutes plus 10 second increment added with each move. Swiss Manager will be used to pair the rounds using February 2026 published ratings.

Refunds

Players who withdraw and request a refund must do so in writing before 7th February 2026. If a refund is approved by the organisers, the entry fee may be returned less a £5 administration fee. Withdrawals after this date will not be eligible for a refund.

Donations

We thank you for previous year’s donations which have been used to fund veteran prizes. All donations from this year’s event will be used to provide veteran prizes at the next Blackpool Chess Conference.

Veteran Prizes

To be awarded to the highest scoring veteran in each section. (60 or over on 13 Feb 2026).

Catering Options for the Congress

To make life easier all round regarding ordering lunches, the Imperial will have a few lunch options available, one of which will be packed lunches. The Hotel will have an order point at reception at which the players can place their orders in advance. So, order Friday for Saturday and on Saturday for Sunday – no problem if a player wants to order Friday for both days. The Hotel will take payments from the players at the time of ordering. IMPORTANT: No food or drink to be taken into the premises.

Chess Essentials

There will be a chess stall provided by Chess Essentials during the event. Supplying chess boards, chess sets, clocks, books, DVDs, stationery and chess novelties. Please ring or email for items which you wish to pre-order such as stationery. email: chessbooksuk@hotmail.co.uk Tel.: 01422 292 392

The Admin Team

• Congress Director is Bill O'Rourke
• IA and ECF senior Arbiter Alex MacFarlane, ECF Arbiters Peter Purland, Fiona Green, Matt Carr, Ruairidh McKay and Hambel Willow
• Website maintained by Peter Hurn
• Backroom staff is David Clayton
• Congress set-up assistance by Con Carey and many others, with thanks
• email: blackpoolchessconference@virginmedia.com