The French Chess Championship is the annual, national

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

tournament of France. It was officially first played in 1923 after the formation of the ''Fédération Française des Echecs'' in 1921. The first unofficial national tournament was played in 1880, in the

Café de la Régence The Café de la Régence in Paris was an important European centre of chess in the 18th and 19th centuries. All important chess masters of the time played there. The Café's masters included, but are not limited to: * Paul Morphy * François ...

, where further edition were held in 1881 and 1883. The 1903 and 1914 tournaments were the first real predecessors of the official championship. They ran under the name ''Championnat de France des amateurs'' (Championship of the chess enthusiasts).

Unofficial championships

Official championships

: Edouard, Vachier-Lagrave, Bacrot and Bauer were tied on a score of 7/10 going into the final round. However then there was the shock news of the death of Christian Bauer's 4 month old child. The players decided to cancel the 11th and final round. Edouard, Vachier-Lagrave and Bacrot were to play off for the title, but on further reflection it was decided that all 4 players should share the title.

Women's winners

: * ''No contest held between 1944 and 1954'' : * ''No contest held between 1957 and 1974'' :

Some crosstables

: : Average Elo: 2332 <=> Cat: 4 : Average Elo: 2307 <=> Cat: 3

References

External links

Heritage des Echecs Francais
* Larousse du jeu d'Échecs (1997) {{Chess national championships Chess national championships Women's chess national championships Chess in France 1923 in chess