The opener for the 5th edition of Altibox Norway Chess is a 9-round blitz tournament held in the Clarion Hotel Air in Stavanger on 5 June. The top finishers will get to choose their pairing number, and hence more games with the white pieces, for the main event that starts on 6 June. The time control is 3 minutes per player for the whole game, with a 2-second increment per move. Although the main purpose of the blitz is to determine the pairings for the main event there is also a small separate prize fund. Official website: norwaychess.no