Bruges Masters 2025

This tournament had been on my wish list for several years and I finally made it this year. My children had already played there 3 times before and the unique après-chess atmosphere had always made me want to participate myself. A hotel in the immediate vicinity of the tournament hall was booked to provide myself and my companion (daughter Evelien) with maximum comfort and enjoyment.

Bruges is for me the most beautiful city in Belgium and several times a year I try to make a day trip there. We now also know a nice number of places where you can eat and drink very well (my favorite is Cambrinus with classics like rabbit, beef stew and Ostend fish casserole on the menu, advance reservation highly recommended, fair prices). However, staying in the heart of Bruges has become considerably more expensive in recent years during high season. I paid well over the first prize of the tournament for a shared room with breakfast.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see a nice field of participants in this edition. The first editions with participation of multiple professionals will probably not return but with place 21 on the starting list, I was very satisfied as a 2257 elo player. With a bit of luck I would get some nice pairings which also happened with GM Dgebuadze and IM Grutter.

The organization offered cheap accommodation in a boarding school but only few participants made use of this. A boarding school often means sharing showers, toilets, little privacy and noise disturbance. I heard no complaints but I didn’t see it working for myself and my 18-year-old daughter. I turned out not to be the only one as some participants chose very long commutes between home and playing hall.

That players are willing to commute for hours to participate obviously testifies to the great appeal of the tournament but this is not always favorable for results. I saw several Brussels players losing more and more elo as the tournament progressed. Additionally, many games after move 40 degenerated into pure chaos playing on 30 seconds increment. Some get a kick out of this but I’m not a fan. That I could win 3 drawn positions that way did make it easier to digest.

I also noticed that the Bruges Masters had many more older players participating than other summer tournaments. For some it’s already their umpteenth edition and I think this all has to do with the appeal of the historic city nearby. I didn’t see much myself due to game preparations but many others chose a more relaxed approach. One of my opponents admitted he came straight from a museum.

It explains why even the 65-year-old Michael Gurevich was tempted to participate. He was once top 10 in the world and today is very sparing with his participation in open tournaments. That he could avoid having to play double rounds with 2 byes made it a perfect balance between chess and tourism for him. A nice bonus was that this strategy helped him considerably with the tournament victory. Michael avoided the entire top (not a single GM or IM as opponent) and scored neatly 6.5/7.

The rules are the same for everyone so everyone may apply that tactic. However, you can hardly consider something like that as positive. Most people didn’t lose sleep over it. The chairs and tables for the après-chess were always very popular. A wide selection of delicious beers did the rest.

A downside of all that fun was also the noise which especially affected the top boards. It’s a recurring problem when schools are chosen as playing venues, especially when playing right next to a playground. The noise was very disturbing for many. I thought the more noise the better since I have custom-made earplugs but that’s obviously not how it should be.

The tournament had a record number of participants this year. Free parking right in front of the tournament hall, station 10 minutes walking distance, ample and fast drink and food service, quick updates of results and pairings, free pens, free box of chocolate seafood, city tour with guide, … For 2025 I name this tournament as the most beautiful in Belgium. I’ll come back when I know how to find better and cheaper accommodation (I’ll publish about that Horror Inn later on my blog) because that was the only thing that really bothered me.