Roccamonfina "Dedicated to Friendship" Chess Tournament

A tournament that carries friendship in its title

Some events don't need huge numbers to be meaningful. The "Dedicated to Friendship" Chess Tournament in Roccamonfina, in the heart of the Alto Casertano, is one such occasion: a day in August, a room in the Town Hall, a few dozen chessboards, and a very clear idea of what it means to play together. The very name of the event—dedicated, edition after edition, to friendship—tells the story of the spirit with which it was born and has remained alive for over twenty editions, reaching its twenty-fourth in the summer of 2025.

The council chamber becomes a chessboard

The tournament is hosted in the council chamber of the Municipality of Roccamonfina, where game tables and clocks replace the seats of the city council. It is a choice that speaks volumes: chess enters the most institutional place in the village and transforms it, for one day, into a space of concentrated silence and friendly challenges. Participants traditionally gather in the morning—in 2025 at 9:45 AM—and the day continues through rounds of play until the awards ceremony.

Roccamonfina, the village in the volcano

The tournament is part of the summer calendar of a truly unique municipality. Roccamonfina, in the province of Caserta, is located inside the caldera of an ancient extinct volcano, within a natural amphitheater of chestnut woods that has shaped the landscape, agriculture, and local identity. It is no coincidence that the village presents itself to visitors as "the village in the volcano" and is known throughout Campania for its IGP Chestnut and Porcini Mushroom Festival, the event that attracts thousands of people in autumn. The chess tournament, meanwhile, occupies the other end of the season: the end of summer, when the village is still lively with vacationers and those who have returned home for the holidays.

A late August appointment

Recent editions have taken place around the last weekend of August: the twenty-fourth was played on Saturday, August 30, 2025. The timing is not accidental. August is the month when the small towns of the Alto Casertano multiply festivals, fairs, and evenings in the square, and the tournament offers a more intimate alternative, suitable for those looking for a moment of play and connection away from the noise of the stages. The format, open to enthusiasts of all levels, encourages meetings between generations: beginners and long-time players sit at the same tables.

Chess in the Aurunca area

The Roccamonfina tournament is not an isolated case. The area between the Roccamonfina Massif and the Garigliano plain has seen lively chess activity for years, with events and tournament series promoted also in the nearby towns of Sessa Aurunca and Teano, where chess is used as a tool for sociality and inclusion. In this fabric, the Roccamonfina event represents the longest-running and most recognizable summer stage.

What to expect

• A unique day of play, concentrated in a single weekend in late August
• Indoor venue, in the Town Hall council chamber, sheltered from the summer heat
• Participation open to players of different ages and levels, in a deliberately informal atmosphere
• An exceptional landscape, among the chestnut groves of the Roccamonfina volcano
• An opportunity to combine the tournament with exploring the village and the Alto Casertano area

A small event with a long history

Over twenty editions is no small feat for a village event. The "Dedicated to Friendship" Chess Tournament has weathered changes in administration, difficult seasons, and passing trends while remaining true to itself: no spectacle, no race for big names, but the consistency of an appointment that returns every summer to fill the Roccamonfina Town Hall with chessboards. It is, after all, the most coherent way to dedicate a tournament to friendship.