Charlotte Chess Center announced the Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz 2026. The event will take place from July 3 to 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

The Memorial will feature 4 tournaments among chess players and content creators:

  • July 3: Rapid Championship
  • July 4: Blitz Championship
  • July 5: Creator Invitational
  • July 5: Blitz Final

The Rapid and Blitz Championships will feature 🇺🇸 Hikaru Nakamura, 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana, 🇺🇿 Javokhir Sindarov, 🇺🇸 Wesley So, 🇺🇸 Hans Moke Niemann, 🇺🇦 Olexandr Bortnyk, and others. Invited creators include Levy Rozman, Alexandra Botez, Andrea Botez, Dina Belenkaya, Sagar Shah, and others. David Howell, Peter Leko, and Judit Polgar will provide commentary for the event.

Rapid Championship will feature Masters and Challengers sections with a 7-Round Swiss format and a 10+5 time control. The 3+2 Blitz tournament will use an 11-Round Swiss format, with the top 10 from Masters advancing to a Round-Robin Final. Total prize fund for the tournament is $50,000.

The Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz 2026 is an international festival created to honor the life and legacy of Daniel Naroditsky. The event is organized by Charlotte Chess Center Foundation and takes place for the first time.

Credit: Lennart Ootes