Benidorm Chess Open brings together 416 players from 31 countries and four continents

A total of 416 chess players from 31 countries around the world have been competing since Saturday, October 25th, in Benidorm Chess Open 2025, an international tournament presented today in the city at Meliá Hotel. The event, organised by Caballo Blanco Chess Club and in collaboration with the Valencian Community Chess Federation, guarantees the discipline of chess as an inclusive sport, with 25 blind chess players participating against sighted players.

The presentation was attended by the Councillor for Sports, Javier Jordá, and the regional representative, José Ramón González de Zárate, as well as Ana Pastor, First Vice President of the Valencian Community Chess Federation; Alberto Varela, director of the Meliá Benidorm Hotel; Alfonso Vilches, tournament director; and Fernando Brotons, CEO of Tour-Sports Sports Promotions.

The competition will run until November 2nd as Open A SUPRA 1800 and Open B SUB 2000, valid for FIDE ELO and governed by international standards. The event will award €25,510 in prize money. This fifth edition will feature three main innovations related to the Open A competition: approximately 40 games will be broadcast online, using electronic boards, and can be followed on the main chess streaming platforms worldwide.

In an inclusive context, twenty of the twenty-five blind chess players are Spanish, and five come to the City of Tourism from the Polish Federation of Blind and Visually Impaired Chess Players. This is a milestone, as the Polish delegation does not participate in any tournaments other than those exclusively for the blind.

“We want to maintain this tournament as a benchmark for organizational quality and offer chess lovers and their companions in Spain a sublime chess tournament experience, thanks to the combination of competition, training, and entertainment in unbeatable surroundings and facilities,” said Alfonso Vilches. Ana Pastor, for her part, emphasized “the commitment to inclusion, one of the most beautiful aspects of this sport” and emphasized that the organization and the federation are working to ensure that each participant “has a high-level experience.”

Regarding player representation, there are participants from up to 31 countries. “We promoted this tournament five years ago, still in its early stages with restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have managed to grow and consolidate an event that is established as a benchmark on the international calendar, adhering to principles that we highly value as an experiential, sporting, and sports tourism event,” commented Fernando Brotons. In this sense, the players and their companions will generate approximately 3,500 overnight stays in the city.

The Councillor for Sports closed the tournament presentation, praising the consolidation and organisational success of the event, while also emphasising that "it is growing in participation, visibility, and, above all, inclusion."