Rapid chess tournaments around Barcelona 11

Rapid games sit between blitz and classical chess: long enough to think, short enough to fit several rounds into a single morning or afternoon. Here you find the rapid tournaments of the city and the towns around it, from opens played in a day to club opens with a round a week through the autumn. Catalan organisers often call them partides ràpides or escacs actius.

Many rapid opens belong to a Festa Major: in the Poblenou, in the Congrés area of Sant Andreu, and in Esplugues, Gavà and Castelldefels, often on a Sunday morning in summer or early autumn. The Memorial Josep Lorente in Sant Boi fills a whole Sunday in June, the Poble-sec has an active-chess international open, the Foment Martinenc holds its active-chess tournament in spring and Sant Boi's Fira de la Puríssima brings another in late autumn. Tres Peons runs rapid opens of its own, among them an open for players below a set rating. Each organiser sets its own time control, and some rapid events count for a rating.