"Wijk aan Zee ... is (I think!) the oldest long-running major international chess event".
This got me curious, I hope Dennis and others don't mind or even enjoy me sharing some research (first own brain plus Google, then Wikipedia):
If we emphasize/insist on Wijk aan Zee, it was held there since 1968 - 1938-1967 in nearby Beverwijk (same municipality). With this criterion, it would be exactly tied with Biel, also since 1968 (or almost as Biel is held in summer). Dortmund exists since 1973. Some "competitors" would be Capablanca Memorial (since 1962, but different cities in Cuba), Reykjavik Open (since 1964, but biennial until 2008) and Rubinstein Memorial (since 1963, always Polanica-Zdroj, Poland).
If we include "the Beverwijk period", the question might be since when it can be called "major": Organizers at the venue had told me some years ago that it had started as some sort of company championship, then became a mainly national event, then an international one. Note that while the name changed from Hoogovens to Corus Chess to Tata Steel, the sponsor was in a way always the same company undergoing reorganizations/mergers/acquisitions.
If we waive the same location criterion or become pretty flexible (same country is enough), the "winner" 20 years ahead of Hastings would be the U.S. Open, held across the U.S.A. since 1900. Here we can also discuss since when it would be "major": it started out as the "Western Open" becoming the U.S. Open in 1939. At a glance, most winners were Americans or foreigners living in the U.S.A., the most notable exceptions would be Bent Larsen, Viktor Korchnoi and Boris Spassky.
"Wijk aan Zee ... is (I think!) the oldest long-running major international chess event".
This got me curious, I hope Dennis and others don't mind or even enjoy me sharing some research (first own brain plus Google, then Wikipedia):
If we emphasize/insist on Wijk aan Zee, it was held there since 1968 - 1938-1967 in nearby Beverwijk (same municipality). With this criterion, it would be exactly tied with Biel, also since 1968 (or almost as Biel is held in summer). Dortmund exists since 1973. Some "competitors" would be Capablanca Memorial (since 1962, but different cities in Cuba), Reykjavik Open (since 1964, but biennial until 2008) and Rubinstein Memorial (since 1963, always Polanica-Zdroj, Poland).
If we include "the Beverwijk period", the question might be since when it can be called "major": Organizers at the venue had told me some years ago that it had started as some sort of company championship, then became a mainly national event, then an international one. Note that while the name changed from Hoogovens to Corus Chess to Tata Steel, the sponsor was in a way always the same company undergoing reorganizations/mergers/acquisitions.
If we waive the same location criterion or become pretty flexible (same country is enough), the "winner" 20 years ahead of Hastings would be the U.S. Open, held across the U.S.A. since 1900. Here we can also discuss since when it would be "major": it started out as the "Western Open" becoming the U.S. Open in 1939. At a glance, most winners were Americans or foreigners living in the U.S.A., the most notable exceptions would be Bent Larsen, Viktor Korchnoi and Boris Spassky.
Main source: footer of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_International_Chess_Congress ("Major recurring international chess tournaments") and checking some of the links, e.g. it says "Chigorin Memorial (since 1909)" but it certainly wasn't an annual event.
Ok, I'll go out on a limb and say Nodirbek Abdusattorov could win the tournament if Carlsen faulters.