GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov is the primary participant to win the Prague Chess Competition Masters twice after a simple draw towards GM Hans Niemann within the last spherical was sufficient to win by a full level. Lengthy-term chief GM Jorden van Foreest crashed and burned towards GM Parham Maghsoodloo, who caught him in second place. GM Aravindh Chithambaram additionally made the tie for second after defeating GM David Navara. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju lastly gained, towards GM David Anton, thereby avoiding final place and climbing 5 locations to world number-15.
16-year-old IM Vaclav Finek has gained the 2026 Prague Chess Competition Challengers after beating GM Thomas Beerdsen to take clear first place regardless of second-place GM Daniil Yuffa scoring a lightning-fast win over IM Jachym Nemec. Finek qualifies for the 2027 Masters and has additionally gained his last GM norm to earn the title. GM Divya Deshmukh tricked IM Stepan Hrbek to grab third place with a efficiency that places her again within the ladies’s prime 10.
Masters: Abdusattorov Cannot Cease Profitable
It was consistent with this yr’s Prague Masters that we bought 4 massive fights—and one skilled draw to clinch the title.
Spherical 9 Outcomes: Masters
In the long run Abdusattorov completed unbeaten, a full level forward of his pursuers. Gukesh prevented final place on the tiebreak of successful his head-to-head encounter with Anton.
Ultimate Standings: Masters
The dream run continues for Abdusattorov, who has now gained three robust classical round-robins in a row: the 2025 London Chess Traditional, the 2026 Tata Metal Chess Masters, and the Prague Masters. Within the course of he is climbed from world number-17 to number-four on the stay ranking record, opening up an virtually 18-point lead over Keymer.
Abdusattorov sadly did not qualify for this yr’s FIDE Candidates Event, however he is elevated his lead within the 2026-7 FIDE Circuit that can resolve one spot within the 2028 Candidates—he ought to earn 23.14 factors in Prague so as to add to the 25.78 factors he gained in Wijk aan Zee.
Abdusattorov went into the ultimate spherical with a half-point lead and selected a safety-first method: “I simply wished to make a draw at present as a result of I believed this can be a good technique…. If [Jorden] wins with the black items towards Parham, OK, at the least he deserves to play a tiebreak.” What adopted was, certainly, a fast and painless draw.
When Abdusattorov was interviewed by WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili after the sport, he did not but know if he’d must play a tiebreak, however he was more than happy together with his personal outcome:
I’m typically very proud of my efficiency total. I didn’t lose a single sport, I gained three, it was a bit bit fortunate in some unspecified time in the future, but in addition I might rating extra by beating Vincent as a result of I had a great benefit. General, I feel it was a really balanced match for me.
A rollercoaster win over the world champion had been the icing on the cake.
Abdusattorov commented, “Basically, I’m a morning particular person, so it’s pure for me to be in fine condition within the morning,” in regards to the last spherical beginning 4 hours sooner than typical, however that will not have utilized to a few of his rivals.
That will be one clarification for all that went flawed for Van Foreest within the last spherical, however the different was the blow he’d suffered the day earlier than. “It could possibly be tilt from yesterday’s sport, as a result of there was zero probability to lose that endgame, and he misplaced,” stated Maghsoodloo of a sport the place Van Foreest gave up a pawn within the opening. “Clearly Jorden is bluffing,” stated Abdusattorov, whereas Maghsoodloo agreed: “Both he is bluffing or it is only a brilliancy!”
No hidden depth emerged, however the clock instances gave some hope of Van Foreest getting the win he wanted to drive a playoff. When he went for 27…Nxd2??, nevertheless, it was the top of the highway for his title hopes.
“What he did was insane!” was Maghsoodloo’s verdict, with the belief that the Dutch number-two had merely missed the double assault 29.Qb6! a few strikes later. There was no method again.
That meant Maghsoodloo ended a match on +1 that he had begun with a loss—and in second place. The Iranian star stated his play had been “a reasonably good degree,” and he famous his outcomes with White: “Out of my white items I scored +2, towards Gukesh, Keymer, Abdusattorov, and Jorden, which is superb!”
For Van Foreest, in the meantime, gaining ranking factors and climbing above Gukesh to world number-14 was hardly unhealthy, but it surely was onerous to overlook he’d been dominating the match after 5 rounds and had climbed to the brink of the world prime 10.
The opposite participant to hitch Maghsoodloo and Van Foreest on 5/9 was defending champion Aravindh, who shrugged off dropping three of his first 5 video games to complete with three wins in 4 and 6.4 ranking factors gained for the occasion. Within the last around the Indian star beat native hero Navara, who ended with two losses however total had performed a superb occasion. Even the final spherical featured a unbelievable discover, 40…e4!, that might have saved the day.
If the pawn is taken, 41…Bb8+ out of the blue wins the rook on a6. Aravindh managed to regroup brilliantly, nevertheless, and exploit one inaccuracy to go on and win the sport.
Navara completed on 50 p.c, degree with GM Nodirbek Yakubboev, who ended with a win over the pre-tournament prime seed GM Vincent Keymer. Keymer’s 2026 has been surprisingly erratic and whereas 4 losses had been ultimately compensated by six wins in Wijk aan Zee, right here the stability was two wins and three losses, costing 13.9 ranking factors.
The star participant whose misfortunes have been most in focus, nevertheless, is the world champion. Gukesh went into the ultimate spherical having misplaced three video games and gained none, at quantity 20 on the stay ranking record, and one level adrift of Anton in final place. That was a gap he could not absolutely dig himself out of in a single spherical, however a win noticed him climb to quantity 15 and out of final place, on the tiebreak of the direct encounter.
Gukesh’s comfort win is our Recreation of the Day, which GM Rafael Leitao analyzes under.
That wasn’t, in fact, all of the motion in Prague. 14-year-old Polish WCM Kaja Rzadkowska gained the Futures with 7/9.
In the meantime 45-year-old Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran, with a profession peak of world number-25, certified for the 2027 Challengers by successful the Karel Janecek Open. Sasikiran provided a draw within the last spherical however, when it was rejected, went on to win and rating 8/9.
It is noteworthy that 14-year-old German prodigy Christian Gloeckler virtually pulled off the outstanding feat of qualifying for each the Tata Metal and Prague Challengers—he completed half a degree again on 7.5/9.
That brings us to the Challengers.
Challengers: Finek Wins On Demand To Qualify For Masters
All 5 video games had been decisive in a dramatic last spherical.
Spherical 9 Outcomes: Challengers
Each leaders gained, that means Finek took the title and the spot in subsequent yr’s Masters.
Ultimate Standings: Challengers
Finek went into the ultimate spherical with a half-point lead over Yuffa, but it surely did not take lengthy for that result in be worn out. Nemec went for a tempting piece sac solely to stumble right into a crushing queen sacrifice.
There was no protection as Black gained in 20 strikes, denying Nemec a grandmaster norm. Yuffa was apologetic:
This was such serendipity! Even in my weirdest dream, I couldn’t foresee and anticipate that it might find yourself like that. To be sincere, I really feel very, very sorry for my opponent as a result of that was the road the place I misplaced to Gukesh lower than a yr in the past, roughly in the identical variety of strikes.
Yuffa, actually, solely resigned on transfer 35 towards Gukesh in spherical three of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, however he was misplaced by round transfer 13. Yuffa had studied the place he went flawed and taught the identical lesson to his 17-year-old opponent.
Yuffa was thrilled to have gained a 3rd sport in a row, calling it “destiny or future, as a result of within the final half-year I managed to lose three consecutive video games thrice!” The win appeared to present each probability of a playoff for first place towards Finek, however the 16-year-old had different concepts.
“I began to play for a win once I noticed it,” stated Finek about seeing Yuffa’s win. He was already making good progress with Black when Beerdsen’s 33.Ne2? allowed the crushing 33…d4!.
That win was Finek’s third and last GM norm, so he’ll be a 17-year-old grandmaster when he performs within the 2027 Prague Masters. “I like that I can play with very robust gamers subsequent yr,” he stated of the problem forward.
Third place within the Challengers was taken by Divya, who had been on the ropes towards Hrbek however efficiently set a entice to complete on a +1 rating.
That capped a wonderful outcome for Divya as she prepares for the FIDE Girls’s Candidates Event later this month.
Curiously Divya misplaced only one sport, to her fellow Candidate GM Zhu Jiner, who dropped from second to fourth place on the Girls’s standings whereas Divya climbed again into the highest 10.
In order that’s all for the 2026 Prague Chess Competition. We hope you loved the 9 rounds of attacking chess!
How To Rewatch
The 2026 Prague Chess Competition occurred on February 25-March 6 on the Don Giovanni Resort in Prague, Czech Republic. The format was a round-robin with 10 gamers in Masters, Challengers, and Futures teams, in addition to an Open match. The time management was 90 minutes for the primary 40 strikes, adopted by 30 extra minutes for the remainder of the sport, with a 30-second increment per transfer beginning on transfer one.
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