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Chess in Moscow City: tournaments and evenings in restaurants

Chess in Moscow City means Moscow Vibe Chess Club evenings and tournaments in the restaurants of the towers and in Afimall City. The format is simple: several short games over the evening, a new opponent after each one, and time to talk between rounds. The app handles the pairings and the standings, so you don't need an arbiter or any ratings. Our first meetup in the City took place on 5 October 2026 at the Coffee Bean coffee shop on Presnenskaya Embankment.

What makes the City so convenient for chess is its layout. The towers stand shoulder to shoulder, covered walkways connect them to the shopping mall, and the metro is right under the complex. Nobody has to cross town: you walk out of the office and ten minutes later you're sitting at a board.

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Chess at Coffee Bean: our first meetup in Moscow City

On 5 October 2026 we held our first chess evening in Moscow City, at the Coffee Bean coffee shop, 6 bldg 1 Presnenskaya Embankment. We started at 7 pm. We went with the simplest format, free play: boards on the tables, everyone picks their own opponent, no pairings and no standings. Seven people signed up through the bot.

Chess in Moscow City: two people playing a game at a table in Coffee BeanGames at two tables in Coffee Bean, with the lights of the Moscow City towers outside the windowA player thinking over a move above a board with wooden pieces
Games at Coffee Bean, Moscow City, 5 October 2026.

The coffee shop turned out to be a great place for chess. The tables stand by floor-to-ceiling windows with the lights of the towers behind the glass, surrounded by wood paneling and bookshelves. It's calm at the board, and you don't have to shout to chat between games.

We set out the boards and pieces around the room before the start: two people at each small table by the window, several pairs at once at the long table. Anyone arriving after work found a free board straight away.

A table with a chessboard in the corner of the coffee shop by a floor-to-ceiling windowA board with the pieces set up by the window, the night lights of Moscow City behind the glassA high table with a chessboard under a pendant lamp, armchairs beside it
Tables by the windows: boards set up before the evening began.

Free play is ideal for a first time: you don't have to wait for everyone to arrive or know in advance how many people will come. Once the group settles, the same room will work for a Swiss-system tournament too: Coffee Bean has enough tables for several rounds at once.

Dates of upcoming meetups in the City appear in the app, along with sign-up, a reminder the day before and the venue address.

A chess table against a wall with a painting and bookshelvesA round table with a board against a shelf of booksClose-up of wooden chess pieces against a row of book spinesPieces set up on a small round table next to a bookcaseA table with a board and armchairs under a lamp in the Coffee Bean hallA board with pieces in the foreground, more tables with boards deeper in the room
The Coffee Bean hall before the start: wooden pieces, bookshelves, lamps over the tables.

Upcoming chess tournaments in Moscow City

We hold evenings in the City from time to time: there's no fixed weekly schedule, and each meetup is set up separately. The next one is announced in the app, where you can also see the place, time, format and who has already signed up.

You can sign up in one tap right from the event card. The app is free, opens in your browser and inside Telegram, and needs no separate registration.

See upcoming events in the app

Free, nothing to install. If there's no meetup in the City coming up yet, the app shows evenings in other parts of Moscow.

Chess evening formats in the City

Chess evening
Several short games over the evening, with a new opponent after each one. Between rounds there's time to talk, which is really the whole point.
Swiss-system tournament
For eight people or more. The app handles the pairings, the standings update as the evening goes on, and at the end there are results and prize places.
Blitz 5+3
For those with a short evening: each game takes about ten minutes, so in two hours you get to play seven different opponents.
Free play
No pairings and no standings: boards on the tables, and you pick your own opponent. Works well when the group keeps changing and people drift in one at a time.
A long table in Coffee Bean with three boards ready for playThree boards on a long table under lamps, a Coffee Bean sign on the wallA table with three sets of pieces set up in the coffee shop hall
A long table at Coffee Bean with three boards: this is how pairs sit at a tournament.

Chess in Moscow City restaurants

A chess evening can be held at any of these places: 75 venues across the complex in total. All it takes is a table, light and an agreement with the manager to use the room for the evening; we bring the boards and clocks. We help you arrange the venue too: weeknights in the City are usually quieter than weekends, and a tournament for twenty people is an attractive prospect for them.

The list includes places where a group can sit down together. Fast-food chains and takeaway coffee are left out on purpose: you can't hold a chess evening there. Venues in the City change often, and this list was compiled in September 2026.

Chess tournament: Federation Tower

12 Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

The tallest tower in the complex. 360 Restaurant is on the 89th floor, SIXTY on the 62nd.

  • 360 Restaurant

    Federation Tower · floor 89

  • SIXTY

    Federation Tower · floor 62

  • All Day

    Federation Tower · floor 1

  • Remy Kitchen Bakery

    Federation Tower · floor 1

Chess tournament: OKO Towers

21 bldg 1, 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proezd, Moscow

RUSKI on the 85th floor of the North Tower is one of the highest restaurants in Europe.

  • RUSKI

    OKO Towers · floor 85

  • Jamaa

    OKO Towers · floor 84

  • CityVoice and MOMO

    OKO Towers · floor 6

  • Crystal Cafe Made In Georgia

    OKO Towers · floor 2

Chess tournament: Imperia Tower

6 bldg 2, Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

Two view floors one above the other: High Bar on the 56th and Vysota 57 on the 57th.

  • Vysota57 Lounge

    Imperia Tower · floor 57

  • High Bar

    Imperia Tower · floor 56

  • Misha Fisher

    Imperia Tower · floor 1

  • City Tower

    Imperia Tower · floor 1

  • Karl Schnitzel

    Imperia Tower · level -1

  • Umami Ramen Bistro

    Imperia Tower · level -1

  • Pims

    Imperia Tower · level -1

Chess tournament: City of Capitals

8 bldg 1, Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

The venues are on the ground level, the easiest to reach from the office without taking a lift.

  • Bamboo.Bar

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • Tutto Bene

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • BUBA by Sumosan

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • SimpleWine Bar

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • Wine City

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • FLIP (FL/P)

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • Baguetteria

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • Khlebosoul

    City of Capitals · floor 1

  • Soul in the Bowl

    City of Capitals

Chess tournament: Evolution Tower

4 bldg 2, Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

  • Barvikha Lounge Moscow City

    Evolution Tower · floor 1

  • Samsamania

    Evolution Tower · floor 2

  • Karavaev Brothers Deli

    Evolution Tower · level -1

Chess tournament: Mercury City Tower

15, 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proezd, Moscow

  • Buffalero di Mare

    Mercury City Tower · floor 1

Chess tournament: Embankment Tower

10 Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

  • La Torre

    Embankment Tower · floor 5

  • Lambic

    Embankment Tower · floor 1

  • OBED BUFET Moscow City

    Embankment Tower · floor 1

Chess tournament: Neva Towers

1 bldg 17-18, 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proezd, Moscow

  • IVANKA

    Neva Towers · floor 4

  • 288 CITY

    Neva Towers · floor 2

  • Bluefin

    Neva Towers · floor 1

  • Angel Cakes

    Neva Towers · floor 1

Chess tournament: IQ-kvartal

10 bldg 2, Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

  • Redwood

    IQ-kvartal · floor 1

Chess tournament: Afimall City

2 Presnenskaya Embankment, Moscow

The heart of the complex: walkways from the towers converge here, so in winter you can get there without stepping outside.

  • Osteria Mario

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • IL Patio

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Meat&Fish

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Steak It Easy

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • True Cost Bar & Grill

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Sticks (Sushi & Wine Bar)

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • FRANK by Basta

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Vasilchuki Chaihona No. 1

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Zames

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Georgian House

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Shvili

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Khinkalnaya EZO

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Khinkalnaya

    Afimall City · floor 6

  • Gruzinsky Dom

    Afimall City · floor 6

  • Misha Fisher in Jaffa

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Rybnaya Manufaktura No. 1

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Thai Kitchen

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Pho Bo

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Insam

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Meat Up

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Farsh

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • ROFL cafe

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Varenye

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Myata PLATINUM

    Afimall City · floor 5

  • Myata Lounge

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • ANKARA Café

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • Galata

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • CVC Chinese Cuisine

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • Tokyo Ramen

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • RamenBowl

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • Gagawa

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • Lepim i Varim

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • Upside Down Cafe

    Afimall City · floor 4

  • Cantina Mariachi

    Afimall City · floor 1

  • Gorod-Sad

    Afimall City · floor 1

  • Good Food Bowl

    Afimall City · floor 1

  • Star Hit Cafe

    Afimall City · floor 1

  • MC Traders

    Afimall City · floor 1

  • French Bakery SeDelice

    Afimall City · floor 1

Corporate chess tournament in Moscow City

Tens of thousands of people work in the City, and an after-work evening is easier to pull together here than anywhere else in Moscow: the venue is in the next tower, and getting there takes minutes. A chess tournament for employees is set up so that everyone can take part, whether they last played at school or yesterday.

  • - No travel needed: the venue is in the next tower or in Afimall, minutes from the office instead of an hour across Moscow.
  • - Works with any headcount. Eight people make a tournament, thirty make a multi-round tournament, fifty get several tables plus free play running in parallel.
  • - Experienced players and people who only remember how the pieces move can both take part: the Swiss pairing system matches people of similar strength from round two onward.
  • - Management doesn't need to find an arbiter, rated players or equipment: we bring the boards and clocks, and the app runs the tournament.
  • - The evening ends with standings and prize places, and that's what people keep talking about in the group chat for the next week.

How the corporate format works in general, what it costs and what a company needs to provide: corporate chess tournaments. If you need the tournament right in the office rather than in a restaurant: chess tournament at work.

A round table with a chess set under a yellow lamp, columns deeper in the roomBlack and white pieces on the board before a game startsClose-up of wooden chess piecesA table with a board by a window overlooking the Moscow City towersA chessboard on a small table next to a bookshelf and a windowA player in a jacket making a move on a chessboard in a coffee shop
Chess after work: an evening at Coffee Bean, Moscow City.

Quiz and other evening formats

A tournament isn't the only way to fill an evening. In a City restaurant we can run a chess quiz: teams answer questions and solve positions at the board, and nobody needs to know how to play. This format suits a mixed group better, where half the people would never sit down at a board.

Two more formats sit alongside the quiz: a simultaneous exhibition, where one strong player takes on everyone at once, and chess team building with team scoring. Both run in the same room on the same evening as the tournament.

More on the formats: chess quiz, chess team building and simultaneous exhibition.

Where Moscow City is

The Moscow International Business Center stands on Presnenskaya Embankment in the Presnensky district, on the left bank of the Moskva River. The official addresses of the complex are on Presnenskaya Embankment and 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proezd; Afimall City, with a restaurant on its sixth floor, sits in the middle, between the towers.

Metro
Delovoy Tsentr and Moskva-Siti. Both stations are inside the complex, with exits straight into Afimall
MCC
Delovoy Tsentr, at the northern edge of the complex, closer to Neva Towers and OKO
MCD-1
Moskva-Siti city station (formerly Testovskaya)
By car
Every tower and Afimall has underground parking. After 7 pm there are noticeably more spaces than during the day
On foot
Covered walkways link the towers and the mall: in winter you can walk from the metro to a restaurant without going outside

Chess clubs and schools across the city: chess schools and clubs in Moscow. Where else in Moscow people play over the board: where to play chess in person.

How to put an evening together

  1. 1Pick a place. A restaurant from the list above or any other in the complex. You need a room or an area where the tables can be arranged for boards.
  2. 2Set a date. Weeknights in the City are quieter than weekends: people are already here and don't have to travel.
  3. 3Gather the players. The event link goes to your group chat, and participants sign up themselves. Everyone can see who's coming.
  4. 4Run the tournament. The app does the pairings, shows everyone their table and opponent, keeps the standings and produces the results.

You can run the evening yourself, for free: the app at playvibechess.com/app takes care of the whole tournament side. If you need a host, equipment or help with the venue, message us on Telegram.

FAQ about chess in Moscow City

Where exactly in Moscow City can you hold a chess tournament?

In any restaurant in the complex with a separate room or an area with tables: in the Federation Tower, OKO, Imperia, City of Capitals, Evolution, Neva Towers, the Embankment Tower, IQ-kvartal, Mercury City Tower and in Afimall City. The full list of venues is on this page.

Where in Moscow City has chess already been played?

The first Moscow Vibe Chess Club meetup in the City took place on 5 October 2026 at the Coffee Bean coffee shop, 6 bldg 1 Presnenskaya Embankment. It was a free play session: boards on the tables, and everyone picked their own opponent. Announcements of upcoming evenings in the City are in the app, where you can also sign up.

How many people do you need for a tournament?

Eight or more: that gives you a proper Swiss-system event of four or five rounds. Groups smaller than eight still play, but it becomes free play: you pick an opponent at the board, with no pairings and no standings.

Do I need to know how to play chess?

Knowing how the pieces move is enough. The Swiss system is designed so that after round one you're paired with people at your own level, and lopsided games are rare.

How do I get to Moscow City?

Delovoy Tsentr and Moskva-Siti metro stations, the Moskva-Siti city station on the MCD-1 line, and Delovoy Tsentr on the MCC. There are covered walkways between the towers and Afimall, so in winter you can walk from the metro to the restaurant without going outside.

Can we hold a corporate chess tournament after work?

Yes, it's the most common request in the City: people leave the office and ten minutes later they're at a board in the next tower. The evening lasts two to three hours, and the commute home doesn't get any longer.

Who brings the boards and clocks?

We do. A set for every table you need, clocks, and score sheets if required. All the venue has to provide is tables and light.

How much does a tournament in Moscow City cost?

It depends on the number of participants, the venue and whether you need a host. The app itself is free: if you organize the evening yourself, there's nothing to pay for the organizing at all.

City venues interested in hosting a chess evening: chess events for Moscow restaurants. Chess evenings all over Moscow: Moscow Vibe Chess Club. How the Swiss system works: Swiss-system tournament.