International Dortmund Chess Days
Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025
52nd International Dortmund Chess Days
from 2 August to 10 August
Prize fund: 20.000 €
Prize fund over 20,000 euro at the Open of the 52nd
International Dortmund Chess Days
International women’s tournament with Elisabeth Pähtz and Dinara Wagner
The top national German chess players will be guests in Dortmund this summer as part of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy. In the Open, top German players will compete with international grandmasters for a €20,000 prize fund.
Miaoyi Lu 20241224The two best German female chess players will play in parallel in an international women’s tournament at the Alte Schmiede cultural centre. There, Elisabeth Pähtz and Dinara Wagner will face, among another player, 15-year-old Lu Miaoyi, one of the world’s greatest young chess talents.
The International Dortmund Chess Days will take place from 2 August to 10 August 2025 in the heart of the Ruhr region. The 52nd edition will once again be a chess festival for players of all classes with A-Open and B-Open. Thanks to the support of Sportland.NRW, high youth prices will once again be awarded in the tournaments.
The organiser IPS e.V. is expecting more than a dozen strong grandmasters to take part in the A-Open of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025. National player GM Dmitrij Kollars has already confirmed his participation. He caused sensational results in Dortmund several times, including with his victory over world champion Vladimir Kramnik in 2023. Last year’s winner Nico Zwirs from the Netherlands has also registered. In 2024 he celebrated the greatest success of his chess career. Further master players will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
The B-Open of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy will be played in eight rounds in the morning for players up to a rating of 2050, so that the grandmasters can be watched live in the afternoon. Grandmaster Artur Yusupov, former world no. 3 and popular commentator and chess coach, will be on site as a live commentator. The B-Open will be further enhanced by an additional round compared to last year.
Dmitrij Kollars 2022The international women’s tournament is also a further development of the previous year. In 2024, Elisabeth Pähtz and Dinara Wagner fought a six-game duel, the match ended in a hard-fought draw. Pähtz has been the most successful female German chess player for many years. She was the first German woman to earn the grandmaster title. Her large collection of titles includes the European Women’s Rapid Chess Champion title. Dinara Wagner won the Sportland.NRW Cup of the Chess Days in 2023. Further successes, such as winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Nicosia in 2023, have seen her catch up with Pähtz in recent years and she is currently the German number 1 in the world rankings.
Lu Miaoyi became a women’s grandmaster at the age of 13. As one of the strongest young players in chess, she is already a Chinese champion and a member of the Chinese national team. Chess fans will be eagerly awaiting her first appearance in Dortmund. The tournament will be completed in March. The winner of the International Chess Tournament for the International Women’s Day 2025 from Augsburg will be invited. A strong partnership with the Yusupov Chess School to jointly promote women’s chess. The four players will compete against each other in 6 rounds.
‘An extremely exciting field of participants. The comparison between the top German players and one of the most promising young players in the world will be particularly interesting,’ says tournament director Andreas Jagodzinsky, looking ahead to the international tournament.
In recent years, the organiser IPS e.V. has developed the Chess Days into a major chess festival for everyone, from professionals to amateur players. In addition to the long-standing main sponsors Sparkasse Dortmund and the City of Dortmund, the Alte Schmiede cultural centre and the IntercityHotel Dortmund are once again involved as partners. District Marketing Huckarde also supports the event, which promotes Huckarde as an event with 400 participants.
230302 Alte Schmiede min‘The participants can stay overnight in the heart of the city, while the Alte Schmiede cultural centre offers excellent conditions for a chess festival under one roof,’ says Christian Jochmann, Managing Director of IPS e.V., looking forward to the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025.
Detailed information on the tournament, announcement and venue can be found at www.sparkassen-chess-trophy.de. Registration is now open. Spectators live on site are very welcome
Editor’s note:
If you have any questions, please contact the Sparkassen Chess Trophy press officer Patrick Zelbel at patrick.zelbel@initiative-pro-schach.de
A-Open
For players with DWZ/ELO 1951 or higher (players between 1951 and 2050 can chose between A- and B-Open)
Prize fund 16.010 €
Prices
4.000, 2.400, 1.600, 1.120, 960, 800, 640, 480, 320, 160
Special prices
ELO/DWZ 2101 — 2300: 120, 70
ELO/DWZ 1951-2100: 120, 70
Women: 700, 500, 300
Seniors, born before 01.01.1965: 350, 250, 100
Youth players U14 (born 2011 and younger): 150, 125, 100
Youth players U18 (born 2010-2007): 150, 125, 100
Sportland NRW Cup for the best U18 youth player (male + female) from a club in NRW: €100 each
Entry fee
Adults: 80 € — U18 (born 2010-2007): 65 € — U14 (born 2011 and younger): 55 €
(W)GMs an (W)IMs will receive their entry fee back if the tournament is completed properly.
