Estonian Team Championships: Diagonaal repeats victory, Kaksikodad claims overall crown
Photo: Karl Erik Olde The 2026 Estonian Chess Team Championships concluded in Tallinn this past weekend. Held from February 6–8 at the Paul Keres Chess House, the competition featured fourteen teams in the Open tournament and four in the Women’s section. MK Kaksikodad (pictured below) claimed first place in the combined standings, lifting the club’s historic traveling trophy – established in 1991 – for the first time. Kaksikodad shared first place in the Women’s tournament and finished third in the Open. SK Reval-Sport, which had won the cup the two previous years, did not participate. Photo: Photo: Karl Erik Olde SK Diagonaal (pictured on the top) won the Open event for the second consecutive year, scoring nine match points out of ten. Their lineup included Estonia’s top-rated player, GM Aleksandr Volodin, along with Dmitri Petrov, Valeri Golubenko, Vyacheslav Koop, and Andrei Skladtshikov. The runner-up, Tonu Truusi MKK, netted an equal amount of match points but finished half a game point behind the champions. Their team featured International Masters Sergei Zjukin and Andrei Shishkov, FIDE Master Ilja Haitin, Marti Medar, and Georg Abozenko. Third place went to the first team of MK Kaksikodad (FIDE Master Oliver Wartiovaara, Georg Aleksander Pedoson, Candidate Masters Tormi Kull and Daniil Shnurov, Aaron Rajandu, Markus Hansson, and Karl Kristofer Orgse). Final standings – Open Photo: Markus Hansson In the Women’s tournament, three teams shared first place, each scoring four match points out of six and finishing equal on all tie-break criteria. As a result, the titles were awarded to MK Vektor (Women’s FIDE Master Sofia Blokhin, Maria Helena Rudiger, and Alexis Miriam Reren), MK Kaksikodad (Woman Candidate Master Maria Ioanna Haapsal and Leelo Mia Thimm), and Tallinna MK (Women International Masters Margareth Olde – the reigning Estonian Women’s Champion – and Margit Brokko, along with Woman Candidate Master Grete Olde), which had won the Women’s tournament in the previous two years. Final standings – Women Estonian Chess Federation’s website: https://maleliit.ee/
Teacher training in Eritrea lays foundation for future chess talent
The Eritrean National Chess Federation (ENCF) has taken a significant step in strengthening grassroots chess development through a teacher training programme held from February 2-6, 2026. The course trained educators to coach junior and high school students. The five-day course focused on equipping educators with the practical coaching skills, age-appropriate training methods and the effective ways to introduce chess within school environments. Sessions were highly interactive, combining theory with hands-on activities designed to make learning engaging and accessible for young players. Participants described the training as both informative and enjoyable, noting its emphasis on creativity, critical thinking and student engagement. Beyond technical instruction, the programme also highlighted chess as a tool for education, discipline and character development. Officials from the ENCF said the initiative is part of a long-term strategy to build a sustainable pipeline of players by investing in coaches at the school level. With a growing pool of trained and motivated teachers, the federation is confident the impact will be felt in the near future. “Now that we have devoted and well-prepared coaches, we are confident that strong players will emerge within the next two to three years,” an ENCF official noted. The training programme represents a major milestone for chess development in Eritrea, laying a solid foundation for future national talent and reinforcing the federation’s commitment to structured, school-based chess growth.