Sligo Chess and Culture Festival 2027

♟️ TWO WEEKS TO GO!

The Sligo Rapid Series returns on Sunday, 13 September at the Clayton Hotel Sligo.

After a great opening tournament in August, it’s time for Round 2 of the series!

🏆 Open – FIDE-rated
⭐ Rising Stars (U12) – unrated
♟️ 7 rounds
⏱️ 10+5
💶 €25 entry

Already played in August? Come back and build your Sligo Rapid Series points.

Missed August? No problem — you can join the series in September. With points available for participation, wins, draws and top-three finishes, there is still plenty to play for!

📅 Sunday, 13 September
📍 Clayton Hotel, Sligo

ℹ️ More information about the Sligo Rapid Series:
https://sligochessfestival.com/sligo-rapid-series/

👉 Register for the September tournament:
https://www.icu.ie/events/2302

Who’s joining us for the September Rapid? ♟️

Sligo Chess Festival on Tour! 🇮🇪♟️🇧🇪

Great to see some of the Irish contingent at the Bruges Masters sporting their Sligo Chess & Culture Festival polos!

Pictured from left to right are Eugene Donohoe, CM Gerard MacElligott, Bernard Boyle, Peter Lynch and Gerard McIlroy.

Eugene, Peter, Bernard and Gerard MacElligott are competing in the 55+ tournament, while Gerard McIlroy and Ben McIlroy are playing in the Open.

A huge thank you to the lads for helping us spread the word about Sligo while competing abroad.

International senior tournaments are a particularly good fit for what we're building in Sligo: serious competitive chess combined with the opportunity to explore a fantastic destination and enjoy everything happening around the chessboard.

And these festival polos have another trip coming up soon! Later this month, CM Gerard MacElligott will captain the Irish 50+ and 65+ teams at the European Senior Team Chess Championship in Crete. 🇮🇪🇬🇷

Want to see how the Irish players are getting on in Bruges? ☘️♟️

55+ — Eugene Donohoe, Peter Lynch, Bernard Boyle & CM Gerard MacElligott:
https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr1466128.aspx?lan=1&art=0&SNode=S0

Open — Gerard McIlroy & Ben McIlroy:
https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr1445745.aspx?lan=1&art=0&SNode=S0

Best of luck to all the Irish players in Bruges!

📅 Sligo Chess & Culture Festival
29 January – 7 February 2027
📍 Radisson Blu Hotel, Sligo

Irish Chess Union

♟️ The Sligo Chess & Culture Festival is about much more than chess.

One of the reasons we moved the festival to the Radisson Blu Hotel, Sligo was to place visitors right in the heart of everything that makes this part of Ireland so special.

Irish Country Magazine has just featured the hike to Queen Maeve's Cairn on Knocknarea, one of Sligo's most iconic landmarks. The trail offers spectacular views across Sligo Bay, Benbulben and the Wild Atlantic Way.

For many of our international visitors, the festival is more than a tournament. It's an opportunity to experience Ireland's history, landscapes, music, food and culture.

Whether it's hiking Knocknarea, surfing at Strandhill, enjoying traditional music, or exploring everything County Sligo has to offer, we hope you'll build a little extra time into your visit.

📖 Read the article here:
https://irishcountrymagazine.ie/why-this-county-sligo-trail-should-be-on-your-summer-hike-list/

📍 Knocknarea is just 15 minutes from the Radisson Blu Hotel, home of the 2027 Sligo Chess & Culture Festival.

Visit Sligo Sligo BID

👋 Welcome to the Sligo Chess & Culture Festival Community!

I'd like this group to be more than just a place for festival announcements. My hope is that it becomes a community where chess players from Ireland and around the world can connect throughout the year.

Whether you've played in the festival before, are planning to visit for the first time, or simply enjoy following what we're doing, you're very welcome here.

This group is a place to:
♟️ Meet other players
📸 Share photos and memories from past festivals
🚗 Arrange travel and accommodation
💬 Ask questions about the festival
🧩 Discuss chess and share interesting games, puzzles, and ideas
🎉 Celebrate each other's achievements

To get things started, I'd love to hear from everyone.

Please introduce yourself in the comments:
• Where are you from?
• Your current rating (if you have one)
• Have you played in the Sligo Chess & Culture Festival before?
• What's one chess goal you have for the coming year?

I'll start...

I'm Craig, Festival Director of the Sligo Chess & Culture Festival and Chairperson of Sligo Chess Club. I'm British/American and have called Sligo home since 2019. My current classical FIDE rating is 1514. I have never played in the festival before as I'm too busy behind-the-scenes.

My goal this year is to continue growing the festival while finding more time to improve my own chess—I spend far more time organising than playing!

Looking forward to getting to know everyone better!