The Les Menuires International Chess Open, a new summer fixture in Savoie

Updated 18 October 2026 · Échecs en Savoie, independent guide

From 11 to 18 July 2026, Les Menuires in summer hosted the resort's 1st International Chess Open, rated by the FFE and FIDE. The Masters tournament, with a €20,000 prize fund, brought together 86 players including 12 grandmasters; it was won by Indian grandmaster Rohith Krishna S, with 7 points out of 9, on tie-break.

Les Menuires in summer: the resort takes up chess

Les Menuires is part of the commune of Belleville (Saint-Martin-de-Belleville), at the heart of the Trois Vallées ski area. Known primarily for skiing, the resort has for several years developed a summer offer: hiking, mountain biking and family activities. In 2026 it added an unexpected event to its programme: an international chess open, placing the resort on the summer tournament map alongside La Plagne.

The 1st edition in brief

A notable fact: the organiser is not a Savoie club, but a club from the Lyon suburbs, which chose the mountains to launch an ambitious summer open. The tournament's official page on the FFE website remains the reference for the regulations.

2026 Masters tournament results

Rohith Krishna S and Raja Rithvik R finished level on 7 points; the tie-break gave the win to Rohith Krishna S. Raja Rithvik, already runner-up at the La Plagne festival in 2024, confirms that he enjoys Alpine opens. The results of the Promotion and Future tournaments were not published in any source this guide could consult.

The three tournaments: who can play?

A family can therefore come with players of very different levels: a parent in the Masters tournament, a teenager in Promotion, a child in the Future tournament. This is one of the strengths of resort festivals. To take part, you need a licence (see our page on the chess licence) and must register with the organiser.

What to do in Les Menuires in summer besides chess

This guide stays focused on chess, but a week-long open also means free mornings. A few simple ideas for the time between two rounds:

• A walk at altitude in the morning, without tiring yourself before the game.
• An analysis session on a terrace with the previous day's opponents: that is often where you improve most.
• Blitz among friends in the evening, to unwind.
• Discovering Les Belleville: Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and its hamlets, below the resort.

For these moments away from the playing hall, a small portable board makes all the difference. A magnetic travel chessboard slips into a rucksack and keeps its pieces in place even on a tilted terrace table.

La Plagne then Les Menuires: the July sequence

In 2026, the La Plagne International Festival was played from 4 to 10 July, and the Les Menuires open from 11 to 18 July. The two Tarentaise resorts thus offer two consecutive weeks of competition to players who want to spend the summer in the mountains. The 2027 dates have not yet been published: keep an eye on the Savoie committee's list of tournaments on the FFE website. To plan the whole stay, see our page on chess on holiday in the Alps.