The Gonzaga Chess Classic is an official FIDE rated 6 round swiss tournament. The 2009 tournament will be the eight annual Gonzaga Classic. The tournament will run from the 30th of January to the 1st of February 2009 in Gonzaga College Sandford Road, Dublin 6. Enter Now

The Gonzaga Classic will be divided into four sections this year. The four sections are Challengers (N/A-1200), Major (1200-1600), Championship (1600-Upwards) and Master (1900 upwards) . The entrance fees will be as follows €30 Challengers, €35 Major and Championship/Master both €40. Five Euro discount will be given if payment is recieved before January 15th.

The Gonzaga Classic is a charity event. All the proceeds go to the Annual Gonzaga Charity. This year all proceeds will be going to the Habitat for Humanity Project in Madagascar. Habitat for Humanity Madagascar sees housing as a means of helping people out of poverty and empowering communities to develop. As the tournament is a charity event, it therefore requires support and sponsorship. Although the Classic has some sponsors, more are definitly needed. Any financial aid or even products for our raffle or shop would be much appreciated. Click Here to Help

Although the 6 round swiss tournament will be the main event, the weekend is guaranteed to be fun for anyone who comes along ( Chess-expert or Not ). There will be a raffle and a shop run in aid of the St Vincent De Paul charity. Also a Swap-chess ( team chess ) will be held after the prize giving on Sunday night. It will consist of 8 "5 minute-a-side" rounds with a five minute break after each round. A team can be made between any two people as long as the joint rating of the two players don't add up to a rating of more than 3200.

If swap chess is not your thing though, you could try your witz against the Fritz! This year there will be a challenge, open to all, called "The Fritz Blitz"!! The objective of the challenge is to make as many moves as possible against the chess engine Fritz 11 in a blitz game. The human player will have 10 minutes at his\her disposal against Fritz, whilst Fritz will have 5 minutes at its disposal against the human player. All-in-all, the 8th Annual Gonzaga Chess Classic promises to be an unforgettable event.