Many interesting chess events are taking place these days, but perhaps the biggest one will take place this weekend in Katowice, Poland! Already for the 7th time Polish-Hungarian Friendship Chess Tournament will be organised with players from many countries and 20 grandmasters participating. This year there is a record of over 900 participants registered!



Polish-Hungarian Friendship Tournament always attracts hundreds of players and spectators./Photo:M.Walusza


Together with the tournament there will be held Polish Individual and Team Championship in blitz. This means that the overall number of chess-players this weekend in Katowice might exceed 1000!

The top seed of the tournament is polish super-star, Radosław Wojtaszek, well known for his wins in 2017 Dortmund and 2018 chess.com Isle of Man International. Radek won the 3rd edition of the tournament in 2015.



Radek Wojtaszek is a tricky combination - super-nice and super-dangerous!/Photo: Tata Steel Tournament Organizers


Behind Wojtaszek on the list there are also other top polish grandmasters, like Wojciech Moranda, Michał Krasenkow, Bartosz Soćko or Mateusz Bartel and grandmasters from abroad like Vojtech Plat from Czech, Toms Kantans from Latvia or Kirill Shevchenko from Ukraine. Top seed among women is Karina Szczepkowska from Poland.

In one of the previous editions, even Judit Polgar, the best female player in the history of chess, was one of the guests!



Judit Polgar is a true champion who inspires new generations./Photo:M.Walusza


Polish-Hungarian Friendship Chess Tournament is a result of a long relationship between Katowice and hungarian city Miskolc. Few years ago idea occurred to organize a tournament to celebrate it. Today we are looking with pride, how the event is growing bigger and bigger with every year. - says the tournament director and vice President of FIDE, Łukasz Turlej. Both cities, Katowice and Miskolc, are official partners of the tournament.



Łukasz Turlej is a director of a tournament since the first edition./Photo: Karol Bartnik


What makes this event so unique is that it truly is a tournament for everyone. There will be 6 groups, one open and five different groups for junior players. It’s a great opportunity for kids to have fun…



Would you say it’s a chess tournament?:)/Photo:M.Walusza


Play chess with their peers…



Kids turn into all kinds of creatures ones in Katowice!/Photo:M.Walusza


Get some autographs...



GM Monika Soćko, top polish female player, giving autographs to young fans./Photo:Karol Bartnik


Or just look how the top players play…



That’s one intense kitty look!/Photo:M.Walusza


This is a wonderful boost of motivation for young talents. No wonder Poland has so many talented junior players ;)

The total prize fund during a weekend will be over 16.000 EUR and all the kids in two youngest groups will receive medals. As you see, in Katowice there is a treat for everyone!

Main website of the tournament: http://chesscup.com.pl/pl/  

Link to the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/872417806430551/