European Chess Club Cup 2026

The 41st European Chess Club Cup and the 30th European Chess Club Cup for Women will be played in Hotel “Medun” 4+*, in Herceg Novi, Montenegro, from 16th October to 24th October 2026.

Replay: European Chess Club Cup 2025 / European Women Chess Club Cup 2025

The event is open to:

• Five clubs per federation in which a national team chess championship is organised or four clubs per federation in which no national team is organised. There is no restriction how the clubs will be selected by the National Federations
• Additional participation requests will be examined by the ECU Board
• There are no restrictions for participation in the European Women’s Chess Club Cup, and all the club members of the ECU Federations are allowed to participate.
• Clubs shall be registered through the National Chess Federations or directly if there is no objection from the National Chess Federation

The Open teams shall be composed of six players plus two reserves all of whom must be
members of the club and were entitled to play for the club in the national team championship of the
federation, which was organized within one year before the start of the current European Club Cup.
However, players who are foreigners to the federation in which the national team championship is
organized, must have played at least two games in this championship.

Foreigners are defined as those which are either belonging to another federation in the FIDE Rating List valid at the start of the national team championship or have a permanent residence outside the
federation in which this national team championship is organized. National Players that competed in the last national team championship with another club are also subject to fees. If a participating club wants to include a national or foreign player in the open competition who does not fulfil the requirements of article 3.1, F.1.2. (ECU rules) the club has to pay a reduced player’s license fee to
ECU according to the regulations of the event.

The women teams shall be composed of four (4) players plus one (1) reserve player. There is no
restriction on the composition and all female player’s license fees are waived for 2026.

The total prize fund of the Championship is 40.000 EUR, with 26.000 EUR prize pool in the Open section, and 14.000 EUR prize pool in the Women’s event. The best-ranked three teams in each section will receive trophies and medals, and the best individual players for each board will receive a prize. The top 4 finishers from the European Open Chess Club Cup 2026, will qualify for the new ECU event – European Chess Super league 2027 which will be held from 2-10 February 2027. The highest rated team that is not among the top 4 finishers, will also qualify for the European Chess Super league 2027.