A special offer for full package €170 is available till 19th of April, after that it is €200. If you buy full package or pay reservation fee before 22th of Febuary we will also organize FREE transfer from Tallinn or Riga airport to playing area and back to the airport.
Full package includes:
– Meals for every day of the tournament so no extra money is needed for food
– Accomodation for 2 nights and 3 days in a fully booked hotel (only Tartu Ärtu players and staff)
– All 3 days of tournaments
– All extra activities
– Lots of special prizes in addition to the winners
You can also lock this special offer for €50 and provide us with your flight details as soon as possible but no later than 19th of April. You can pay the rest €120 on the registration desk or online (we will send you the special link).
If you would like to pay with an invoice sent to a specific company please contact us and send the details.
Extra nights will cost 40 euros per person which includes accommodation and participation in the “before- and afterparty” of Tartu Ärtu 2026 junior bridge festival.
For those who arrive earlier, plan for 07.05 evening (Thursday)
There will be a community evening planned at Jaanisuss (Jaani 8, a board games venue in town centre). The evening theme will be “Go with the flow” which means no activities are mandatory but you will be provided with options:
- Play a lot of different board games
- Play a practice round of teams or rubber bridge
- Play table football and table tennis
- Walk around the city centre to explore Tartu (with enough interest, a local bridge player will give you a 1-2h tour of the city)
- Visit the legendary bars in the city centre
- Exclusive insight to one of the training methods used by Estonian juniors (challenge league)
All guests arriving early will also be eligible for a welcome drink and snacks. Good company, laughs and good time will be guaranteed in this offer.
For those who leave later, plan for 10.05 evening (Sunday)
There will be another community evening planned at Jaanisuss (Jaani 8, a board games venue in town centre). The evening theme will be “Take the max score in Tartu” which means that there will also be activity options but none of them are mandatory:
- All the options from the Thursday plan
- There will be a scavenger hunt (with enough interest) in the city centre which means that you will be provided with clues and tasks to complete for a prize.
- Reflection of Tartu Ärtu 2026 which means you get to discuss with the organisers about the future of the event and ideas for next year
- Visiting the ruins of a church (Toomemägi)
- Getting to know the niches of why Tartu is “University city” and used to be called a small wooden town.
If there are enough people staying for an extra night then a celebration banquet will also be present with the organisers of the event this evening.
Why to come to Tartu Ärtu and how big it is?
Last year Tartu Ärtu became the largest bridge event in the recent decade that Estonia has had. We had almost 40 junior pairs from a total of 8 different countries participating with a lot of positive feedback. We as organisers learned a lot from it and have many improvements for this year.
This year we expect to have at least 20 pairs only from the Baltic states, at least 5 pairs from our friends up North and if our calculations are correct then with all the awesome juniors from around Europe we should be looking at least 60 pair tournament which would make it the largest junior festival at least in this side of Europe! We are hoping you can make it as well 🙂
Tartu Ärtu 2026 rules and regulations
- Tournament organisers and goal
ThinkKing is proud to organize the Tartu Ärtu 2026 Junior Bridge Tournament, held at Raadimõisa Hotel in Tartu. Our mission is to promote bridge among junior players and bring together young enthusiasts from various countries to learn, make new friends, and enjoy competitive yet friendly bridge play. In addition to the tournament, participants will have the opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Tartu and experience Estonian culture firsthand. We warmly welcome juniors of all nationalities and skill levels, as our goal is to unite people through the love of bridge and foster connections across Europe and possibly even beyond.
The tournament is led by main organizer Riko Piirisild. For inquiries, you can reach him via email at riko.piirisild@gmail.com, by phone at +372 58177077, or through social media.
- Time and place
The tournament will take place from May 8th to 10th at Raadimõisa Hotel in Tartu.
Address: Mõisavärava tn 1, Raadi, 60534 Tartu maakond, Estonia
Timetable:
Friday 8th May
10:00-10:40 Gathering and check-in to rooms
10:40-10:50 Opening ceremony
10:50-14:00 First 2 pair sessions 12 boards each (small break in between sessions)
14:00-15:00 Lunch
15:00-19:50 3 pair sessions 12 boards each
19:50-20:50 Dinner
20:50-… Free time for activities with other juniors
Optional 21:30-01:30 18+ goulash teams tournament
Saturday 9th May
08:00-09:00 Breakfast
09:00-13:15 4 rounds of 8 board team tournament qualification
13:15-14:15 Lunch
14:15-18:30 4 rounds of 8 board team tournament qualification
18:30-19:30 Dinner
19:30-… Free time and extra optional activities
Sunday 10th May
08:00-09:00 Breakfast
09:00-12:05 2 rounds of 12 board team finals (A,B,C,D.. with 4 teams in each final based on qualification results)
12:05-13:05 Lunch and cleaning the rooms for check-out
13:05-14:35 1 round of 12 board team finals
14:45-15:00 Prize giving ceremony and farewell
- Participants
The tournament is open to all juniors who are born in the year 2001 or later. (are in u26 category) Pre-registration on our website thinkking.ee/Tartu2026 guarantees you a spot and also contains all the important information for the tournament.
Registration will open soon and we will send a reminder to all those pre-registered. Registration will close one week before the competition.
- Participation fee
Pre-registration offers special benefits for those who inform us of their arrival plans for 2025. Registration details can be found at thinkking.ee/Tartu2026. The participation fee is 200€ per person, which includes two nights of accommodation, all meals during the stay, and entry to all tournaments. For added flexibility, participants can pay an additional 40€ to extend their stay by one night before and/or after the event, with breakfast included.
- Tournament regulations
The Tartu Ärtu 2026 Junior Tournament will feature both pairs and teams championships.The pairs championship will include five sessions, each with 12 boards, played using matchpoints scoring. The teams championship will begin with an 8-round Swiss qualification on Saturday. Based on these results, the finals will take place on Sunday in Round Robin format, with groups of four teams playing 12 boards per round. In the event of tied results in either tournament, ties will be resolved based on the head-to-head result or, if necessary, by the tournament director in accordance with European Bridge League rules and guidelines.
- Prizes – TOTAL €3000 GUARANTEED!
- Prizes will be awarded to the top three pairs in the U16, U21, and U26 categories.
- In the Teams Championship, prizes will be given to the top three teams in the A Finals, as well as to the winners of each group.
- Additional special prizes will also be announced during the event.
- General
- The event will be held in a hotel exclusively reserved for the tournament. To help maintain a clean and comfortable environment, please remember to wear indoor shoes in the playing area.
- By participating in the tournament, you consent to photographs being taken during the event and agree to your name being published in the results and used for the promotion of future events.
- Any matters not specifically addressed will be handled by the organizing committee in accordance with hotel rules, fair play principles, and general standards of conduct.
Time of the tournament – 8-10 May 2026 (Friday to Sunday)
Location – Tartu, Raadimõisa hotel
For support in organizing logistics, please contact Riko Piirisild, riko.piirisild@gmail.com, I am more than happy to help and support in any way I can to have you all at the Tartu Ärtu 2026 junior bridge festival – don’t hesitate.