National Championships – International Chess Federation

Kazakhstan Championship: Sauat Nurgaliyev and Zarina Nurgalieva capture titles

editor_d — Tue, 12 May 2026 21:00:09 +0000

15-year-old IM Sauat Nurgaliyev and 16-year-old WIM Zarina Nurgalieva (no relation) are the newly crowned Kazakhstan chess champions, both winning their maiden national titles.

The 2026 Kazakhstan Championship, held in open and women’s sections, took place in Astana from May 2–12. Both competitions were 14-player round-robins with classical time control (90 minutes + 30 seconds increment). Both competitions served as qualifiers for the national teams to represent Kazakhstan at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.

The open section proved exceptionally tight, as most participants were closely matched in rating. After Round 8, as many as three players – IM Zhandos Agmanov, the 2025 champion GM Kazybek Nogerbek, and Nurgaliyev – were sharing the lead on 5.5/8. A pivotal moment came in Round 9: Agmanov and Nogerbek split a point in their game, while Nurgaliyev defeated Vladislav Malygin and seized the sole lead, a position he maintained to the very end.

Heading into the final round, a full point ahead of his closest rivals, Nurgaliyev made a quick draw with FM Dinmukhammed Tulendinov and secured the title with a score of 9/13. Agmanov pulled off a final-round victory and finished just a half-point behind the champion, becoming a three-time silver medalist. Notably, both the champion and the runner-up completed the event unbeaten.

Heading into the final round a full point ahead of his closest rivals, Nurgaliyev made a quick draw with FM Dinmukhammed Tulendinov and secured the title with a score of 9/13. Agmanov pulled off a final-round victory and finished just a half-point behind the champion. Notably, both the champion and the runner-up completed the event unbeaten.

Three players tied for third place on 8/13, with GM Ramazan Zhalmakhanov taking bronze based on his superior Sonneborn-Berger tiebreaker.

Final standings – Open

The women’s competition was even more thrilling, as four participants – WGM Liya Kurmangaliyeva, WIM Zarina Nurgalieva, the 2025 champion WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet, and IM Meruert Kamalidenova – all crossed the finish line on 9/13, resulting in a four-way tie for the first place. The rapid single round-robin that followed failed to produce a clear winner the winner: Nurgalieva and Kamalidenova both scored 2/3 forcing a two-game blitz tiebreaker.

Nurgalieva dominated both games, recording a 2–0 victory to claim the national title.

Final standings – Women

Photos: Kazakhstan Chess Federation

2025 U.S. Championships: Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip defend titles

editor_d — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 16:42:59 +0000

GM Fabiano Caruana and IM Carissa Yip were crowned U.S. Champions, winning their fourth and third consecutive titles, respectively.

The 2025 U.S. Championships (Open and Women’s) were 12-player round-robins with a classical time control and a combined prize fund of $402,000. Held at the upgraded facilities of the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri, the tournaments attracted the strongest American players, with the exception of Hikaru Nakamura.

The Open competition turned into a thrilling duel between Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So. Despite missing a win in their sixth-round clash, Caruana seized the lead in Round 9 and preserved it to the very end, securing his fifth national title with a score of 8/11. Wesley So finished a half-point behind the champion to take the silver medal. Levon Aronian completed the podium with 6.5/11; all three finished the event undefeated.

The Women’s event followed an equally exciting script, with Anna Zatonskih, Carissa Yip, and Alice Lee sharing the lead with just two rounds to go. Yip finished strongly with two victories over Nazi Paikidze and Thalia Cervantes Landeiro to capture her fourth national title.

Meanwhile, Anna Sargsyan pulled off two crucial wins over Zatonskih and Lee to claim the silver medal. Irina Krush scored 1.5 points in the final two rounds to secure the bronze.

Photos: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

Official website: saintlouischessclub.org/event/2025-us-chess-championships/

Polish Championship 2025: Paweł Teclaf and Klaudia Kulon claim titles

editor_d — Thu, 15 May 2025 11:05:38 +0000

GM Paweł Teclaf and IM Klaudia Kulon are the new chess champions of Poland. Hailing from Kartuzy, the 21-year-old Teclaf claimed his maiden national title, while Kulon captured her second crown, repeating her 2021 success.

Held at Kraków’s historic Wawel Castle from May 6-14, the 2025 PGE Polish Chess Championship featured both Open and Women’s sections. . Unlike several previous knockout editions, the 2025 competition followed a 10-player round-robin format. The total prize fund was 157,000 PLN, with top prizes of 30,000 PLN (approximately $8,000) awarded to the champions of both sections.

The Open tournament proved to be a tightly contested event, culminating in a thrilling duel between Paweł Teclaf (pictured below, left) and Jakub Kosakowski (pictured below, right). Entering the final ninth round as joint leaders with 5.5/9, both players drew their games, to finish tied at 6/9. A rapid tiebreak match was played to determine the champion.

After drawing the first game with the black pieces, Teclaf clinched the title by winning the second. Notably, he emerged the only undefeated player in the competition.

The 2024 champion Radosław Wojtaszek completed the podium edging out Szymon Gumularz on better tiebreaks.

Final Standings – Open

In the Women’s event, Klaudia Kulon started strong with three straight wins and took an early lead, which she never relinquished. Although she stumbled in Round 4 with a loss to Oliwia Kiolbasa, Kulon bounced back with another three victories, securing the title with a round to spare.

IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, the only undefeated player in the women’s section, delivered a consistent performance but managed only three wins, finishing in second place with 6/9.

IM Alina Kashlinskaya and GM Monika Socko both scored 5.5/9, tying for third place. Kashlinskaya claimed the bronze medal on tiebreaks.

Final Standings – Women

Photos: Julia Michniak and Jakub Pietraszewski

Official website: mp2025.pzszach.pl/

Nikolay Noritsyn and Li Yunshan win 2025 Canadian Championship

editor_d — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:56:05 +0000

IM Nikolay Noritsyn and WIM Li Yunshan have been crowned the 2025 Canadian Chess Champions, claiming their third and maiden national titles, respectively.

The 89th Canadian Chess Championship and the 22nd Canadian Women’s Chess Championship—both 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control—were held simultaneously from April 17–22 in Toronto, Ontario.

The competition featured 90 of Canada’s strongest players, hailing from nine provinces. The lineup included three Grandmasters, 13 International Masters, and three Woman International Masters.

FM Tymur Keleberda (pictured above, left) led the tournament with a perfect 4/4 after four rounds. He then drew with GM Bator Sambuev in round 5, setting up a key round-6 clash with IM Nikolay Noritsyn (pictured above, right). Noritsyn won this pivotal game to emerge as the sole leader after round 6. He maintained his half-point advantage through the final rounds, finishing in clear first with 7.5/9 to secure the national title. The champion remained unbeaten, scoring six wins and three draws.

GM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, the other undefeated competitor, finished half a point behind in second place. GM Razvan Preotu and IM Raymond Kaufman tied for third with 6.5/9, with Preotu taking bronze thanks to a superior Buchholz tiebreak score.

89th Canadian Chess Championship final standings

In the women’s event, WCM Ashley Qian started strong with a perfect 5/5. She then drew with top seed WIM Li Yunshan (pictured above, left) in round 6, maintaining a half-point lead. Alongside these two, WIM Svitlana Demchenko (pictured above, right) and WFM Morgen Mills consistently ranked in the top four from round 4 through the final round. Demchenko entered the last round with a half-point lead, but lost to Li, while Mills defeated WFM Oksana Golubeva resulting in a three-way tie for Li, Demchenko, and Mills, all on 7/9.

Li clinched gold based on her superior Buchholz Cut 1 tiebreak score while Demchenko edged out Mills on the second Buchholz tiebreak to claim silver.

22nd Canadian Women’s Chess Championship final standings

Written by FA Heidi Gay / Annex Chess Club

Photos: Derek Ma / Annex Chess Club and John Upper / Chess Federation of Canada

2025 Uzbekistan Championship: Nodirbek Yakubboev and Umida Omonova win titles

editor_d — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 11:26:25 +0000

GM Nodirbek Yakubboev and WIM Umida Omonova are the newly crowned champions of Uzbekistan.

The 2025 Uzbekistan Championship, featuring Open and Women’s categories and a total prize fund of USD 66,000, took place at the International Chess School in the Kyzyltepa district of the Navoi region from April 18–28. Both competitions were 16-player knockout tournaments with classical time control.

Top seed Nodirbek Yakubboev (2665) lived up to expectations, advancing to the final after eliminating Azizbek Kuvvatov, Khumoyun Begmuratov (after a rapid tiebreak), and Mukhiddin Madaminov.

In the bottom half of the draw, a surprise unfolded: second seed GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (2648), the only other player rated over 2600, was knocked out in the quarterfinals by IM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov. Suyarov, in turn, fell to Ortik Nigmatov in the semifinals. As a result, Yakubboev and Nigmatov met in the final.

After a quick draw in the first game, Nodirbek won the second game with the white pieces to clinch the title. In the match for third place, Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov prevailed over Mukhiddin Madaminov in a grueling tiebreaker.

The women’s event also produced a major upset, as top seed Afruza Khamdamova (2326) was defeated by Nodira Nadirjanova—rated nearly 200 Elo points lower—in the semifinals. Meanwhile, in the other half of the draw, Umida Omonova reached the final, battling past Makhim Orazmukhammedova, Nilufarkhon Imomkuzieva, and Marjona Malikova.

In the final match between Omonova and Nadirjanova, Umida quickly seized the lead, winning the first game with the black pieces. She achieved a winning position in the second game but opted for a draw, securing the championship title.

In the third-place match, Khamdamova defeated Malikova to take the bronze medal.

Complete results Open and Women

Photos: Uzbekistan Chess Federation

2025 Danish Championship: Jesper Thybo claims maiden title

editor_d — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 12:45:27 +0000

Jesper Thybo emerged victorious at the 2025 Danish Championship, securing the gold medal with a round to spare.

For many years, the coveted national title had eluded the talented 26-year-old grandmaster—he was runner-up in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024—but in 2025, Jesper finally got the monkey off his back.

The 2025 Danish Championship (Masters), a 10-player round-robin tournament with classical time control, took place from April 9–17 in Svendborg, a small town that has hosted the event for nine consecutive years.

This year, the Danish Chess Union placed extra emphasis on fair play. President Poul Jacobse stressed that no player should leave with a sense of injustice. There was heightened monitoring of player movement in and out of the playing hall.

Jesper Thybo seized the lead in Round 4 and remained unstoppable thereafter. He finished with five consecutive victories, scoring an impressive 8 out of 9.

IM Filip Boe Olsen (pictured below, right) finished 1.5 points behind Thybo, falling just half a point short of earning a GM norm. The 2022 champion, IM Martin Haubro, completed the podium with 6/9.

Final standings:

1. GM Jesper Søndergaard Thybo – 8/9
2. IM Filip Boe Olsen – 6½
3. IM Martin Haubro – 6
4. GM Sune Berg Hansen – 5
5. GM Bjørn Møller Ochsner – 4½
6. IM Nicolai Kistrup – 4
7. IM Martin Percivaldi – 3½
8–9. FM Viktor Haarmark Nielsen – 3
8–9. IM Kim Pilgaard – 3
10. FM Jeppe Hald Falkesgaard – 1½

Photos: Thomas Vestergård

Official website: nyheder.skak.dk/

Singapore Championship 2025: Tin Jingyao and Gong Qianyun retain titles

editor_d — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:56:23 +0000

GM Tin Jingyao and WGM Gong Qianyun successfully defended their titles as Singapore’s national chess champions.

The 76th Singapore National Championship, featuring a record prize pool, took place at the Asian Civilisations Museum from February 4–25. Men and women competed in a single event but were ranked separately.

GM Tin Jingyao dominated the tournament, achieving a perfect score of 9/9 with an impressive tournament performance rating of 3000.

GM Siddharth Jagadeesh finished second, 2.5 points behind the champion, while four players—IM Enrique Paciencia, FM Jayden Wong, Tang Yiheng, and Elliot Wong—tied for third place with 6/9. Paciencia claimed bronze thanks to a superior Buchholz tiebreak score.

In the women’s competition, WGM Gong Qianyun won her 11th National Championship title after defeating WIM Anjela Khegay in an exciting tiebreaker. Both players had finished the tournament with 5/9. This victory marks an extraordinary milestone, as it is also Gong’s 10th consecutive title, cementing a decade of her supremacy in Singaporean women’s chess.

WIM Anjela Khegay took silver, while Eden Pang completed the podium with bronze.

Final standings:

Photos: Singapore Chess Federation

Eldiyar Orozbaev and Begimai Zairbek Kyzy win 2025 Kyrgyzstan Championship

editor_d — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:01:39 +0000

IM Eldiyar Orozbaev and WFM Begimai Zairbek Kyzy are the new chess champions of Kyrgyzstan.

Organized by the Kyrgyz Chess Union in collaboration with the Directorate for Non-Olympic Sports of the Kyrgyz Republic, and supported by the general sponsor, financial company MBulak, the 2025 Kyrgyzstan Chess Championship took place from February 13 to 23 at Kyrgyz State Technical University, named after I. Razzakov.

A total of 92 players participated in the championship, including 65 men and 27 women. Both the open and women’s events were Swiss tournaments (eleven and nine rounds, respectively) with classical time control. A panel of arbiters, led by IA Aziz Umarbekov, officiated the competitions.

The open tournament was fiercely contested, culminating in a tiebreaker to determine the national champion. Remarkably, five of the top ten finishers, including the champion, are under twenty years of age. After IMs Eldiyar Orozbaev, Asylbek Abdyjapar, and Semetei Tologon Tegin tied for first place with 9/11, the top two players based on Buchholz tiebreak scores—Orozbaev and Abdyjapar—competed in a rapid tiebreak match. Top seed Orozbaev emerged victorious, winning both games to claim the title. Despite his excellent performance, Abdyjapar had to settle for second place, while Tologon secured bronze.

Final Standings – Open

In the women’s competition, which also featured a very young lineup, WFM Begimai Zairbek Kyzy (pictured below) claimed the national title with a strong score of 7.5 points out of 9.

WFM Nuray Sovetbekova finished second, just half a point behind, while WCM Aizhan Sezdbekova completed the podium with 6.5 points.

Final Standings – Women

This event showcased the high level of competition in Kyrgyzstan, with the country’s best players battling for the titles. The Kyrgyz Chess Union expresses its gratitude to all participants, sponsors, and partners for their support in advancing chess in Kyrgyzstan. Congratulations to the winners!

Photos: Kyrgyz Chess Union

Romanian Championship 2024: Parligras and Lehaci clinch titles

editor_d — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 22:21:18 +0000

Only 0.5 Buchholz points separated GMs Mircea-Emilian Parligras and Constantin Lupulescu, who scored 7.5/9 and tied for first place in the open section of the 2024 Romanian Championship. Thanks to a slightly better tiebreaker, Mircea-Emilian won his fourth national title in classical chess.

The Romanian Championship 2024 in Open, Women and Amateur sections took place in Complex Steaua de Mare in the coastal town of Eforie Nord from February 24 to March 02. All three competitions were 9-round Swiss events with classical time control.

The open event was a close race, with several top-rated participants sharing first place most of the way. Only after Round 7 Mircea-Emilian Parligras emerged as the sole leader and came to the final round a half-point ahead of Constantin Lupulescu. Parligras made a quick draw with Filip Magold and secured the title, although Lupulescu beat Vladislav Nevednichy and caught up with the leader.

As many as four players tied for third place, with David Gavrilescu taking bronze by way of a superior Buchholz. Interestingly, the three rating favorites (rated 2500+) occupied the entire podium.

Final standings:

1	GM	Parligras, Mircea-Emilian	2537	7½
2	GM	Lupulescu, Constantin	2589	7½
3	GM	Gavrilescu, David	2524	6½
4	FM	Magold, Filip	2400	6½
5	FM	Cnejev, Vladimir-Alexandru	2311	6½
6	IM	Ghimpu, Samuel-Timotei	2467	6½
7	GM	Nevednichy, Vladislav	2445	6
8	FM	Ilinca, Felix-Antonio	2377	6
9	FM	Tudor, Henry Edward	2239	6
10	FM	Antal, Hunor-Zoltan	2272	5½

The women’s event saw the triumph of WIM Miruna-Daria Lehaci, who bagged her second straight national title. Miruna-Daria grabbed the lead after defeating one of her main rivals, Alessia-Mihaela Ciolacu, and preserved her top position in the standing to the very end. Although she made three draws at the finish, it was enough to secure the title with 7/9.

Alessia-Mihaela Ciolacu, Elena-Luminita Cosma, Mihaela Sandu, and Corina-Isabela Peptan scored 6.5 and finished a half-point behind the champion with Ciolacu and Cosma winning silver and bronze respectively, thanks to superior tiebreaks.

Final standings:

1	WIM	Lehaci, Miruna-Daria	2227	7
2	WIM	Ciolacu, Alessia-Mihaela	2175	6½
3	WGM	Cosma, Elena-Luminita	2238	6½
4	WGM	Sandu, Mihaela	2270	6½
5	IM	Peptan, Corina-Isabela	2314	6½
6	WFM	Obada, Ema	1969	6
7	WCM	Trifoi, Mihaela-Ioana	2003	6
8	WCM	Stanciu, Andreea-Briana	1960	5½
9	WCM	Batagan, Ilinca-Petra	1859	5½
10	WCM	Schiopu, Oana-Magdalena	1750	5

Photos: Federația Română de Șah Facebook

Georgian Women’s Championship: Lela Javakhishvili wins fifth title

editor_d — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 20:10:46 +0000

Lela Javakhishvili emerged as the winner of the Georgian Women’s Championship 2024. One of the most titled Georgian chess players, Lela clinched her fifth national title. She previously won this event in 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2016.

The Georgian Women’s Chess Championship 2024, a 10-player round-robin with classical time control, took place from February 9-18 in the country’s capital Tbilisi.

As is often the case in Georgian Women’s championships, it was a very close race among the top-rated players and the members of the national team IM Lela Javakhishvili, GM Nino Batsiashvili, IM Meri Arabidze and GM Bella Khotenashvili.

Photo: Chess Federation of Georgia

Lela Javakhishvili delivered an outstanding performance, scoring 7.5/9. Most importantly, the native of Telavi defeated her main rivals, Nino Batsiashvili and Meri Arabidze, in the direct encounters to clinch the title. The champion became the only unbeaten player in the event. Nino Batsiashvili (7/9) and Meri Arabidze (6.5/9) stayed in the contest for the most part but could not keep up with the champion and took silver and bronze, respectively.

Final standings:

1	IM	Javakhishvili, Lela	2438	7½
2	GM	Batsiashvili, Nino	2447	7
3	IM	Arabidze, Meri	2461	6½
4	GM	Khotenashvili, Bella	2464	6
5	IM	Melia, Salome	2355	4
6	WFM	Mgeladze, Kesaria	2040	4
7	WCM	Tsetskhladze, Mariam	1881	3
8		Donghvani, Nia	2029	2½
9	WFM	Lomaia, Diana	2001	2½
10	WFM	Kirtadze, Anastasia	2089	2

Photos: Georgian Chess Federation Facebook