Book your flights! We are delighted to announce the 24th BCC Open will take place at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel Bangkok over the Songkran period from 10–18 April 2027.
The format will be similar as before, with Masters, Challenger and Blitz Tournaments running concurrently. Full details and regulations will be published by 28 November, with registration form coming shortly afterwards.
At this year’s 23rd BCC Open competitors achieved four title norms: two for GM, one for IM and one for WGM, and we are expecting similar great results at the 24th. Check out the tournament magazine at https://heyzine.com/flip-book/f1c2458fe3.html.
Spaces are limited so – once the form is open – make sure to register early.
Six chess players representing all six inhabited continents will travel to Antarctica and the Geographic South Pole this Antarctic summer season to attempt the Polar Chess Expedition, the most geographically extreme chess tournament ever played.
The FIDE-rated tournament will be played at rapid chess time-control, with every round broadcast live. Play opens with early rounds on the Antarctic ice before culminating at 90° South, in an attempt to be certified as the southernmost chess tournament ever played.
The six players, each represent a different continent, and every player also serves their national or regional chess federation in some capacity
Shaun Press, FIDE Master (Papua New Guinea), Oceania
Tris-Ann Richards, Woman Candidate Master (Saint Lucia), North America
The field is led by Grandmaster Nigel Short of England, who in 1993 became the first Englishman in over a century to challenge for the World Chess Championship, taking on Garry Kasparov. Nigel currently serves as FIDE’s Director for Chess Development and lends the event both competitive weight and international recognition.
The story behind the Polar Chess Expedition
The idea took root two years ago when Aung came across an interview in which Nigel mentioned that he had won tournaments on every continent except Antarctica. ‘I’ve won tournaments on six continents. Antarctica is the one still missing,’ says Nigel.
Aung decided to embark on the project. Together with Nigel, they spoke to national chess federations across all six continents, turning a shared idea into a FIDE-rated tournament. “Nigel had the idea; my job was to make it real. Now it is, and we’re taking it to the end of the earth,” says Aung.
Two of the players sum up the appeal of the challenge in their own words.
‘I live by a simple rule: If something scares you a little, it’s probably worth doing. By that measure, chess at the bottom of the world was never really a question,’ says Jesse February, the tournament’s Africa representative.
“Chess has taken me to some strange places over the years. This might be the first one where the biggest opponent isn’t across the board; it’s the weather,” says Shaun Press, representing Oceania.
World record attempt: southernmost chess tournament ever played
The Polar Chess Expedition is aiming to set a new world record. Potential record categories include the southernmost chess tournament ever played and the first chess event to bring players representing all six inhabited continents to the Geographic South Pole.
For two of the players carrying continents to a chessboard for the first time, the record is personal as much as historic.
‘Saint Lucia is a small island, but chess has never asked me to think small. Representing my country, and an entire continent, is proof you can do big things from small places; there’s no ceiling on where the game can take you,’ says Tris-Ann Richards, representing North America.
‘Chess has always been a bigger board than the one in front of you. Carrying South America to the bottom of the earth is just the latest way I’ve found to keep playing for something larger than myself,’ says Damaris Abarca González, representing South America.
Winners of the 23rd BCC Open should be delighted that their rewards include points on the FIDE Circuit, part of the selection process for the Candidates. IM Dau Khuong Duy’s win gives him 3.85 points and 65th in the current rankings (at time of publishing). GM Brandon Jacobsen, already having 2.8 points, moves up to 39th place.
Other beneficiaries are GMs Ganguly, Short, Van Wely, Stremavicius and Gorshtein, and IM Aronyak Ghosh (who also achieved a GM norm).
The final round of this 23rd edition of the Bangkok Chess Club Open delivered an unusually large share of suspense until the last minute. At the outset, seven co-leaders on 6,5/8 were vying for the final victory.
Well, maybe not quite. One of them, IM Ghosh Aronyak, had a different prize in mind: a draw against IM Suresh Harsh would secure him a precious GM norm. Suresh, it turned out, didn’t prove harsh at all and the point was quickly shared by mutual consent.
The game between Nigel Short and Ido Gorshtein developed slowly, with White enjoying some initial space advantage as well as offering an early draw. Though not devoid of imbalances, the position remained within drawing territory throughout the game and peace was concluded shortly after the time control.
On board 3, Lithuanian GM Titas Stremavicius faced a well-rested Khuong Dau with the white pieces. Fresh from his GM norm, the Vietnamese youngster defended confidently to reach a drawn Rook endgame in which his pawn deficit was of no consequence.
On board one, the first seed Loek Van Wely faced two-time BCC winner Surya Ganguly in what could prove the decisive game of the tournament. After fighting for initiative with some success, the Dutch grandmaster found himself down the exchange. Ganguly simplified to a safer position, but in which his extra pawn ultimately would not suffice for the win.
Van Wely, Loek (2621) – Ganguly, Surya Shekhar (2561)
After the game the two Grandmasters expressed their satisfaction, both with their overall play over the course of the event and with the pleasant atmosphere which prevailed throughout the tournament. They also underlined the toughness of the field, before concluding that playing in the BCC Open is well worth taking a long trip and that they would gladly return for the upcoming editions, time and family-related constraints permitting.
These results, added to the victories of Jacobson, Saydaliev mean that the tournament concludes on an unprecedented 9-way tie for first place, all with 7 points out of 9. The Sheraton resort and Spa Hua Hin’s event manager is scrambling to build a bigger podium as we write these lines.
Perhaps more to the point is the fact that the winner of this 23rd BCC Open on tie-breaks is IM Dau Khuong Duy, who consistently occupied the top tables for most of the event. He is followed by GMs Brandon Jacobson and Surya Ganguly. IM Dau achieved a unique feat of winning both the 23rd BCC Open and the 23rd BCC Blitz tournaments.
Other prize winners include WIM Hagawane Aakanksha (best female) while co-winner Nigel Short takes first place in the Senior category ahead of Loek Van Wely. On a very respectable 6,5/9 thanks to his strong finish, IM Prin Laohawirapap is the first Thai player in the overall rankings.
Finally, the Challenger group concluded with the expected victory of Adaljay on 8/9, ahead of Man Danushka, sole second on 7.5.
This concludes this year’s coverage of the Bangkok Chess Club Open. Please do follow us on www.bangkokchess.com for updates on the next edition!
