It's back again. - Penang and Johor Open back to back! Although nowadays it's callled the Penang Chess Festival and Johor Chess Festival because they've incorporated multiple events like the rapid and blitz. Back to back was the norm before the pandemic for Penang and Johor event but somehow stopped after Covid.
You can see from the table below, there's at least a two days gap so probably half a days spent travelling by bus (Penang made arrangements to charter the bus(ses) ) and the rest to settle in to the hotel and rest so it doesn't sound so hectic.
Penang Chess Festival 2025 Schedule
The Penang Chess Festival 2025 is scheduled to take place at the Wesley Methodist School Penang (International) [1].
| Date | Day | Event Details |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Dec-25 | Thursday | Check In: 2pm, Setup: 10am, R1: 7pm [1] |
| 19-Dec-25 | Friday | Open R2: 7pm [1] |
| 20-Dec-25 | Saturday | Open R3: 9am, R4: 3pm [1] |
| 21-Dec-25 | Sunday | Open R5: 9am, R6: 3pm [1] |
| 22-Dec-25 | Monday | Open R7: 9am, R8: 3pm [1] |
| 23-Dec-25 | Tuesday | Blitz: 3pm-7pm, Open R9: 9am, Priz: 2-3pm [1] |
| 24-Dec-25 | Wednesday | Check Out: Bus to JB 9am, KL players go to JB / go home [1] Team (PCL) R1: 9am-, R2: 12pm, R3: 6pm [1] |
| 25-Dec-25 | Thursday (X'MAS) | Team (PCL) R7: 9am-, R8: 11pm, Priz: 12.30 [1] |
Johor Open Schedule
The Johor Open event takes place immediately after the Penang events [1].
| Date | Day | Event Details |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Dec-25 | Friday | Johor Open R1: 3pm [1] |
| 27-Dec-25 | Saturday | Johor Open R2: 9am, R3: 3.30pm [1] |
| 28-Dec-25 | Sunday | Johor Open R4: 9am [1] |
| 29-Dec-25 | Monday | Johor Open R5: 9am, R6: 3.30pm [1] |
| 30-Dec-25 | Tuesday | Johor Open R7: 9am, R8: 3.30pm [1] |
| 31-Dec-25 | Wednesday | Johor Open R9: 9am [1] |
So how? Would you sign up for two tournaments in a row like this ? It certainly caters for the truly "gila" chess entusiasts and I can't wait to see who these are at the end of the year :)
So to the true chess enthusiasts, make sure you reserve those December dates for the coming twin events !!
