Hastings is one of the oldest names in chess. The town hosted a famous international tournament in 1895, and its Christmas congress has been played most winters since the 1920s, with world champions among the players over the years. Today it is an open congress: club players play in the same venue as grandmasters, over the days between Christmas and the first week of January.
If this is your first time, here is what to expect, and what to sort out before you set off.
How the congress is laid out
The main event is an open tournament with one round a day, which attracts titled players from many countries. Around it run shorter tournaments for other strengths and other diaries: some over a weekend, some played in the mornings or afternoons, so you can enter one alongside another or just come for a few days.
The sections, their rating limits and their time controls change from year to year. Read the current programme on the congress's own website before you enter, and pick a section where you will get good games rather than the longest one.
Before you enter
- Your ratings. Sections are usually split by rating. Have your ECF rating and, if you have one, your FIDE rating to hand.
- Your memberships. Most congresses in England ask for an ECF membership number, and some charge non-members an extra fee. FIDE-rated sections need a FIDE ID, which English players get through the ECF.
- Entries close. Popular sections can fill. Enter early, and check whether the fee covers one section or several.
- Somewhere to stay. It is holiday season on the coast. Book early if you are staying over.
At the board
Arrive before the first round to collect your pairing and find your board. The default time, how long you can be late before you lose the game, is set by the congress rules, and at some events it is short. Do not cut it fine.
Scoresheets are usually paper. Electronic devices are forbidden in the playing area unless the arbiter has approved them, and congress rules often say a phone may only be kept switched off in a bag. If you want to record on a phone, ask the arbiter before the round and accept the answer; at most congresses the answer will be paper.
Between rounds
One round a day leaves time to walk on the seafront, look over your game with your opponent, and prepare for the next one. Many players go over their games in the bar or an analysis room if the venue has one. Keep your voice down near the playing hall: other sections may still be playing.
Results and pairings go up on the congress website and on noticeboards at the venue. Pairings for the next round usually appear in the evening, so you can look at your opponent's games before bed if you want to.
Keeping your games
A congress gives you five to nine serious games in a week, and the scoresheets are easy to lose. Type each game in the same evening while you still remember what you were thinking, and add a note or two. In Plyfolio, the event and the round go on each game, so the whole congress sits together in your library when you get home.
General information as at 5 November 2026, not legal advice or an arbiter's ruling. Event dates, entry details and rules change from year to year; check with your event, league or arbiter before you rely on any of this.
Written by Remiam. More from Remiam