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Event Details
The English Championships, English Women’s Championship, and English Women’s U1700 Tournament will take place between Friday 18th July and Monday 21st July 2025 at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth-Warwick, 212 Abbey End, Kenilworth CV8 1ED
Eligibility
Players must be born in England or have lived in England for at least the preceding 12 months. In addition if they have a FIDE registration, it must be ENG. All players must be ECF Gold members or above.
Tournament rules
Click here
Format and playing schedule
There will be two championship competitions – English and English Women’s Championships. There will also be an English Women’s U1700 Tournament running alongside the English Women’s Championship. All tournaments will have a total of seven rounds over four days with the playing schedule as follows for all events –
| Friday – Round 1 – 11:00 to 15:00 | Sunday – Round 5 – 10:00 – 14:00 |
| Friday – Round 2 – 16:30 – 20.30 | Sunday – Round 6 – 16:00 – 20:00 |
| Saturday – Round 3 – 10.00 – 14:00 | Monday – Round 7 – 10:00 – 14:00 |
| Saturday Round 4 – 16:00 – 20:00 | Monday – Playoffs (if required for championship events) as soon as practical after Round 7 |
Time control
Game in 90 minutes per player with 30 second increments from move 1.
Qualification for the English Championships
Direct entries will be accepted from eligible players where –
- They have a FIDE title of GM, WGM, IM or WIM; or
- They have a rating over 1900 ECF in the respective rating list as at February 2025 or later and have entered for the event before the capacity limit is reached (at which point entries will be closed)
There will be up to eight reserved places for general wildcard entries from players who have not otherwise qualified regardless of their rating.
Qualification for the English Women’s Championships
Direct entries will be accepted from players where –
- They have a FIDE title of GM, WGM, IM or WIM; or
- They have a rating over 1700 ECF in the respective rating list as at February 2025 or later and have entered for the event before the venue capacity limit is reached (at which point entries will be closed)
There will be up to four reserved places for general wildcard entries from players who have not otherwise qualified regardless of their rating.
Eligibility for the English Women’s U1700 Tournament
Entries will be accepted from players with an ECF K or A standardplay rating of less than 1700 in the April 2025 rating list. Players whose standardplay rating has increased over 1700 since entering the competition will be given the option of transferring to the English Women’s Championship event, or an entry fee refund if they do not wish to transfer.
Rating
All events will be FIDE-rated and ECF-rated.
Capacity
We will be implementing a venue-based limit on total player numbers across all competitions
| ENTER ONLINE Open |
| ENTER ONLINE Women’s / Women’s U1700 |
Entry fees will be as follows:
English Championship – £70
English Women’s Championship and English Women’s U1700 Tournament – £35
Entrants lists – pending …
Prizes – Open Championship
1st – £2000
2nd – £1250
3rd – £750
4th – £300
Performance Prizes
2100 plus Highest W-We £100
U2100 Highest W-We £100
Additional prize – Best Under 18 player (born 1st January 2007 or later) – £100
English Open Championship Tony Miles trophy for the winner
Prizes – Women’s Championship
1st – £1500
2nd – £1000
3rd – £750
Performance Prize – Highest W-We – £100
Additional prize – Best Under 18 player (born 1st January 2007 or later) – £100
English Women’s Championship trophy for the winner
Prizes – Women’s U1700 Tournament
1st – £300
2nd – £200
3rd – £150
Highest W-We – £50
Highest placed U10 player – £50
Byes
Applications for half-point byes in Championship events will be considered for the first two rounds only. Applications must be made in advance of the championships and will be subject to agreement at the organiser’s discretion.
Up to two half-point byes will be allowed in the Women’s U1700 Tournament, to be taken in any round except for the final round 7.
Zero point byes may be requested where required, but of course must be notified to the controllers in advance of pairings for the affected round.
Refreshments
Only refreshments obtained at the hotel may be consumed on the premises.
Pairings
Pairings will be made using the Swiss Manager program. Players failing to arrive in the playing area within 30 minutes of the start for each round will be defaulted. Players whose opponents default will be offered a re-pairing if possible.
GDPR
Personal data collected will be handled according to the GDPR details accessible here [PDF]
Enquiries
Please send email enquiries as follows —
English Championships – director.homechess@englishchess.org.uk
English Women’s Championships – director.womenschess@englishchess.org.uk
Accommodation
Players wishing to book accommodation for the tournament at the Holiday Inn, Kenilworth should contact the Events Team via email at sales@hi-kenilworth.com with their booking requirement. Alternatively, if you wish to contact by phone the number is 01926 855957 – Conference and Events Team.
Please explain that you will be taking part in the ECF Chess Tournament so that you can take advantage of the preferential rate which is being offered by the hotel to players at the event.
Open entrants list to date – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-championships-2025-entrants/
Women’s and Women’s U1700 entrants list to date – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2025-entrants/