Dortmund, 10 June 2026 – As part of the International Dortmund Chess Days, the German Football Museum will be hosting the blitz chess festival ‘Playmakers on the Chessboard’ on Tuesday 4 August. The four participants in the International Women’s Tournament of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy – live, exciting and in the spotlight, right at the heart of German football.

The ELO/DWZ rating at the time of registration determines which open tournament – the A Open or the B Open – a player is placed in. Players with an ELO/DWZ rating (the higher of the two) between 1951 and 2050 may choose whether to enter the A Open or the B Open.

With GM Lu Shanglei and IM Chen Qi, the A Open at the 2026 International Dortmund Chess Festival is set to welcome further international top quality. The long-established chess festival will take place from 1 to 9 August 2026 and is set to attract numerous Chinese title holders to Dortmund.

With three further high-profile entries, the line-up for the A-Open of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2026 continues to shine. Joining the numerous title holders are German national player GM Rasmus Svane, World Senior Champion (over 50) GM Victor Mikhalevski, and promising young German talent IM Christian Glöckler, who have all confirmed their participation.