I have been playing chess in Zurich for about 2 years now. At the beginning, with my limited German knowledge, I found it somewhat confusing to navigate how to join a local club and what are the opportunities/typical events for someone to play chess in Zurich. Therefore, I will summarise what information I have collected over these two years on this post. The post assumes no experience with local chess clubs.
I will separate the events to two categories:
- team events
- individual tournaments
Team events
On team events, players form a group of a specified number of players. Then, they decide who plays on board 1, on board 2, etc. We call that a team. Then, they meet the opposing team and play a match. Each player plays only one game for the match on the corresponding board. A player who wins gains 1 point, draws 0.5, and loss 0. The team score is the sum of the points that the players collect. The team with the higher score wins.
Below are the different team events that happen in Zurich.
Company tournament (FMM)
Time control: 90 minutes for the first 36 moves, 30 minutes rest of the game.
Team size: 5-6 players (depending on the league)
Rounds: 5-6 (depending on the league)
Duration: October – March
Time: 18:30
Match day: Weekday (depending on the hosting company)
Rating (Elo): Unrated (but there are individual prizes at the end).
The company tournament (FMM) is a tournament with 3 different leagues. To participate, you need to be affiliated with a company that already participates in FMM or enrol your company. You can find a list of participating companies. If you are lucky and your company already participates, seek internally the organisers and tell them you want to play. They are always happy, when someone shows interest.
If you are interested in playing representing your company, but it does not participate yet, you can add it to the list. It is easier than it sounds, if you know enough people who also want to play. I would gladly help, if you want to do that.
Zürcher Mannschafts-Meisterschaft (ZMM)
Time control: 60 minutes + 30 seconds per move.
Team size: 5-6 players (depending on the league)
Rounds: 4-5 (depending on the league)
Duration: October – March
Time: 19:30
Match day: Weekday (depending on the hosting club)
Rating: Unrated.
On this tournament, you play against other teams from the canton of Zurich. To participate, you need to be a member on a local chess club. See later on this post on how you can join one.
You can find the results and the schedule of the current season chess-results. The site of chess-results is used for all kinds of tournaments, so it may also be useful for discovering past tournaments that may re-occur in the future.
Schweizerischen Gruppenmeisterschaft (SGM)
Time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, 30 minutes for the rest of the games + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move, if on Saturday. Otherwise, 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Team size: 4 – 8 (depending on the league)
Rounds: 6 – 7 (depending on the league)
Duration: October – March
Match day: Saturday or weekday. The choice depends on the club/team.
Time: 14:00 if Saturday, 19:30 if weekday.
Rating: Swiss. Also FIDE in higher leagues.
The tournament is organized by the Swiss chess federation. The participating teams are from all over Switzerland. In the lower leagues, they try to minimize the distances that someone has to cover in order to play, so teams from the same region are usually grouped together.
It has the longest time controls from the tournaments I have participated, and it is my favourite combined with the fact that the games happen on Saturday afternoon.
Schweizerischen Mannschaftsmeisterschaft (SMM)
Time control: 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Team size: 4 – 8 (depending on the league)
Rounds: 6 – 9 (depending on the league)
Duration: April – September
Match day: Depends. Weekday on lower leagues. Saturday on higher ones.
Time: 14:00 if Saturday, 19:30 if weekday.
Rating: Swiss. Also FIDE in higher leagues.
This is the “sister” league to SGM. Once SGM finishes, SMM starts, and the other way around. You can think of it as the summer edition of the Swiss club league. There are two separated tournaments, because of mostly historical reasons. There used to be two Swiss federations about chess that got merged.
Individual tournaments
There are also individual tournaments where the pairings only depend on the players and not on their affiliation with a team. Taking the chronologically, as they happen within the year
Zürcher Stadtmeisterschaft (ZSM)
Time control: 75 minutes + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Rounds: 7
Duration: April – May
Time: 18:45
Match day: Wednesday
Rating: Swiss.
The city championship happens every April/May close to Bahnhof Enge (Kirchgemeindehaus Enge). There is a game every Wednesday, for 7 weeks. There are 4 categories, split by national rating. You can find more details on the Zurich’s chess federation website and the corresponding subpages.
Zürcher Osteropen
Time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, 30 minutes for the rest of the games + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Rounds: 7
Duration: During Eastern. (19 April 2019 – 22 April 2019)
Rating: Swiss/FIDE.
There are two sections. Open, where even GMs play and under 1820 category, where only players under that rating can play. It is a relatively new tournament, that started in 2018. The prizes, though, are quite generous. You can find more details on the tournament’s site.
Reti Amateur Open
Time control: 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Rounds: 5
Duration: Friday – Sunday in the middle of November. (16 – 18 November 2018)
Rating: Swiss
Restrictions: Rating under 2250.
It is the only individual tournament that I know in Zurich, which happens within 3 days (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) and has long time control. This is great for people who don’t have time to dedicate to chess during holidays. In the last two years that I have participated, it was a great experience to me since I had many opportunities to play with much higher rated players than me (and lose). It is great because, afterwards, during the analysis of the games with the opponent, I feel I am learning a lot.
You can find more information on the tournament website.
Zürcher Weihnachtsopen
Time control: 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Rounds: 7
Duration: 26 December – 30 December.
Rating: Swiss/FIDE
Maybe the largest open chess event that happens in Zurich. It has two sections. In the Master section (from 2000 Elo) you will find many titled players. The other section is for players up to 2050 Elo. The prizes in the Master section reach 3000 francs for the first place, while the for the up to 2050 section, the first place gains 1000 francs.
You can find more details on the website, and if you are quick enough, you can still register for the tournament this year.
Local clubs
For the group events, you need to join a team. FMM is a special case and that depends on your company. For all other team events you need to join a local club. A local club membership usually also includes a membership to the Swiss Chess Foundation. This allows you to get an official rating.
Joining a local club apart from allowing to play in these tournaments, it also provides an atmosphere conductive to becoming a better chess player, by meeting other people interested in chess and potentially developing some new friendships.
You can find a list of local chess clubs on the site of Zurich chess association. Given that there are quite a few clubs, there are a few different strategies that you follow to select a club to become a member:
- Close to your neighbourhood.
- Playing on weekdays that you are free.
- You know someone there.
So far, all the people I have met from various chess clubs have been very nice. Don’t hesitate to join a club even if you don’t currently know anyone there.
In case you want some specific recommendations:
- Letzi is the club I am member. I am very happy and I would recommend it. Altstetten is also flat, so it is easily reachable by bike.
- SG Zurich is the most historical club in the world, created in 1809.
- ASK Reti is associated with ASVZ. Therefore, if you already member of ASVZ, you can attend events at ASK Reti.
Concluding thoughts
Chess is fun. You get the opportunity to meet other people and get a small break from everyday life. If you are not sure about joining a club, try going to one for a couple of times, meet some people there and then decide. It is also a great opportunity to practice some German, but not necessary if you feel too shy about it.
Unremarkable thoughts 