National Chess Championship Cycle 2026-2027
- Belize Chess Federation
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
After the successful completion of our 2024-2025 National Chess Championship Cycle, we saw the birth of our new Belize Junior Chess Champion Isaiah Garay and NM Alfred Awe retaining his title as Belize National Chess Champion. Looking forward for the 2026 - 2027 Cycle, the BCF will be updating the cycle with different qualifications methods as well as several format changes that will be explained here.
Format Changes
The biggest changes to the National Chess Championship is that we will no longer hold a title match but instead hold a Single Round Robin Tournament. The time control for the championship finale will be changed from Rapid to Classical!
Format: Swiss
Time Control: 90 + 30
Ten Players will be selected through the different qualification paths.
Qualification Paths
The 2026-2027 Belize Chess Championship will have several different avenues that players can use to qualify for the finals.
The qualification paths are as follows:
Defending National Champion
Belize Grand Swiss 2027
Belizean Crown Cup
Belize Chess Classic 2026
Belize Chess Classic 2027
Belize Championship Circuit 2026 1st
Belize Championship Circuit 2027 1st
Belize Championship Circuit 2027 2nd
Belize Championship Circuit 2027 3rd
Highest Rated Player
*Highest Rated player is selected provided the player has played at least 30 games rapid or classical games from February 2026 through September 2027.
*Players who qualified through another path will not be considered for Highest Rated Player spot.
Belize Championship Circuit
The Belize Championship Circuit will consist of all tournaments throughout Belize, which will serve as a qualification path for the Belize National Chess Championship. Players will receive points based on their performance and the strength of the tournament. A player's final Circuit score will be the sum of their seven best results of the year.
Circuit points obtained by a player from a tournament will be calculated as follows:
P=B×k×w
where:
P - Points obtained by player from the tournament
B - Basic points
k - Tournament strength factor, calculated as k=(TAR−1400)/100
w - Tournament weighting
2.0 - Standard classical tournaments
1.6 - Belize Grand Swiss / Belizean Crown Cup
1.2 - Rapid tournaments
1.0 - National Blitz Championship
0.8 - Mixed Rapid & Blitz tournaments
0.8 - Freestyle Rapid
0.7 - Blitz tournaments
Basic points
Points will be awarded as follows:
1st - 11
2nd - 8
3rd - 7
4th - 6
5th - 5
6th - 4
If the tournament was won outright, basic points for 1st place would be 11 points. Otherwise, 10 basic points would be used for calculation.
For tied positions, points will be distributed based on computer tiebreaks unless a blitz tiebreak is held.
Tournament is required to have minimum of 8 players to be counted towards Circuit.
TAR Will be based on top 8 players in the event.
Standings for the Belize Championship Circuit can be found here:
New Event Additions
In addition to the Belize Grand Swiss, we will be adding the Belizean Crown Cup and the Belize Chess Classic to the championship cycle.
Belizean Crown Cup
The Belizean Crown Cup will be a Single Elimination knockout tournament held in 2027, the winner will earn a qualification spot for the National Championship.
Format: Knockout
Time Control: 30+2 w/ Notation
Belize Chess Classic
The Belize Chess Classic will be a FIDE rated Classical tournament using FIDEs new Fast Classic time control. This tournament will be held in 2026 and 2027 with the winner of each edition earning a qualification spot.
Format: Swiss
Rounds: 4
Time Control: 45+30 w/ Notation
Junior Chess Championship
The Junior Chess Championship shall be conducted on an annual basis, commencing with the 2026 edition, which is scheduled to take place in October 2026.
The Championship shall be organized as a five (5) round Swiss-system tournament. The time control shall be thirty (30) minutes per player with a two (2) second increment per move from move one (30+2). The recording of moves (notation) shall be compulsory for the duration of each game.
Final standings shall be determined by total points scored. In the event of a tie affecting podium positions (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place), such ties shall be resolved by a blitz playoff. The format and time control of the playoff shall be determined and published by the organizers prior to the commencement of the event.
Eligibility
Participation shall be restricted to players who have not attained the age of sixteen (16) years before January 1st of the calendar year in which the Championship is held.
Qualification Path
Players must have a national rating of at least 1350 as of the published rating list prior to the event.
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