Norway Chess 2026: Praggnanandhaa R and Bibisara Assaubayeva win titles
Norway Chess 2026 brought together the world’s elite chess players for a super-tournament held from May 25 to June 5 in Oslo, Norway. The event proudly featured two elite tournaments running in parallel: the renowned Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women. Both competitions followed a 6-player double round-robin format with equal prize funds, highlighting a strong commitment to gender equality in chess. A signature of Norway Chess is its distinctive scoring format. When a classical game ends in a draw, an Armageddon game determines the winner, ensuring decisive results in every round. Praggnanandhaa wins Norway Chess 2026 after final-round classical victory Norway Chess 2026 concluded in Oslo on Friday with a dramatic final round, as Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored a decisive classical victory to claim the title. Entering the round half a point behind Wesley So, Praggnanandhaa knew that a victory would put him in a strong position to overtake the leader, Wesley So. Facing Vincent Keymer with the white pieces, the Indian grandmaster made the most of his opportunity and scored a crucial win. The full 3 points lifted Praggnanandhaa to 18 points and secured first place. Wesley So, who had led the tournament heading into the final day, drew his classical game against Alireza Firouzja in a balanced encounter before prevailing in the Armageddon tiebreak to claim 1.5 points and finish second. Firouzja completed the podium following a strong tournament. In the remaining game, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen defeated World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in classical time control. The Norwegian star, who had lost four classical games during the event, kept pushing in a long battle to finish on a winning note. Norway Chess 2026 final standings 1. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu IND 18 2. Wesley So USA 17 3. Alireza Firouzja FRA 15½ 4. Magnus Carlsen NOR 13 5. Vincent Keymer GER 11 6. Gukesh Dommaraju IND 8 Assaubayeva claims Norway Chess Women title Bibisara Assaubayeva delivered a stellar performance and securing the Norway Chess Women 2026 title with a round to spare. In the penultimate round, sole leader Assaubayeva drew her classical game against Anna Muzychuk. Muzychuk then drew the Armageddon game with the Black pieces, winning the decider under Armageddon rules to claim 1.5 points. Despite dropping the tiebreak, Assaubayeva’s lead at the top became mathematically insurmountable. The final round produced three decisive results in classical games, with no Armageddon deciders needed. Reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun defeated Assaubayeva with the white pieces, ending the champion’s unbeaten classical run. Zhu Jiner capped off her tournament with an important classical victory over Humpy Koneru, a result that secured second place for Zhu, just half a point behind Assaubayeva. The last-year champion Anna Muzychuk also finished strongly, defeating Divya Deshmukh and placing third. Norway Chess Women 2026 final standings 1. Bibisara Assaubayeva KAZ 16½ 2. Zhu Jiner CHN 16 3. Anna Muzychuk UKR 15 4. Ju Wenjun CHN 13½ 5. Divya Deshmukh IND 10 6. Humpy Koneru IND 9 Text: Norway Chess Photos: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza Official website: https://norwaychess.no/
Anastasiia Hnatyshyn clinches European Women’s Chess Championship 2026
15-year-old Ukrainian rising star WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, seeded only 76th, emerged as the outright winner of the European Women’s Chess Championship 2026. The 2026 edition of the championship, an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place in Batumi, Georgia, from May 25 to June 5, bringing together 165 players from 32 European federations. Hnatyshyn seized the sole lead after Round 5, but in Round 7 she suffered a defeat at the hands of IM Meri Arabidze of Georgia, allowing Arabidze and IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez of Spain to catch up with her. Gutierrez surged ahead in the next round, but Hnatyshyn drew level with her after Round 9, following her victory over the 2024 European Women’s Champion Ulviyya Fataliyeva. Hnatyshyn scored a crucial win over IM Eline Roebers in Round 10, entering the final round as the sole leader of the event, a half-point ahead of Vega Gutierrez and IM Olga Badelka of Austria. Playing with the Black pieces against Poland’s IM Klaudia Kulon, Hnatyshyn faced a well-prepared opponent who gained an early edge out of the opening. However, Hnatyshyn mounted a stubborn defense to secure the draw she needed to clinch the gold medal and the title. Meanwhile, the game between her closest rivals, Vega Gutierrez and Badelka , ended in a draw after a long fight in a balanced position, as both players pushed for a win to catch Hnatyshyn at the top. Following this result, Anastasiia Hnatyshyn emerged as the outright winner of the event with a score of 9/11 points. Vega Gutierrez, Badelka, and IM Nurgyul Salimova, who defeated Mai Narva in her final-round game, tied for second place, scoring 8.5/11 points each. Based on the Buchholz tiebreak Vega Gutierrez and Badelka took silver and bronze, respectively. It has been a phenomenal event for the Ukrainian sensation Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, who turns 16 in a week. She earned an IM norm, gained 214 rating points, became the top U20 girl in the live ratings, and qualified for the next FIDE Women’s World Cup. By winning the European Women’s Chess Championship 2026, Hnatyshyn also earned a direct WGM title. Final standings The closing ceremony took place on the final evening at the tournament venue, attended by the ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili, President of Georgian Chess Federation Akaki Iashvili, ECU Tournament Director Petr Pisk, tournament officials, players, and distinguished guests. The ceremony was inaugurated with the intonation of anthems of Georgia and the European Chess Union. The President of the Georgian Chess Federation, Akaki Iashvili, welcomed everyone to the closing ceremony. He thanked the European Chess Union for entrusting the organization of the tournament to the Georgian Chess Federation, emphasizing that the Georgian Chess Federation is always a proud host of top-level European and world chess events. He also thanked the organizing committee for their excellent work, expressing gratitude to all the staff and personnel who helped run the event at the highest level. He congratulated the winners, with special praises for 15-year-old Anastasiia Hnatyshyn. ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili addressed the distinguished guests and players, thanking the Georgian Chess Federation and its President, Akaki Iashvili, for the great organization of the championship. He also thanked Chief Arbiter Geert Bailleul and the entire arbiters’ team, Chairman of the Appeals Committee Stephane Escafre and its members, the anti-cheating team, the organizing committee, the media team, and the ECU TV crew for their excellent, well-coordinated work throughout the championship. ECU President warmly congratulated Anastasiia Hnatyshyn and the Ukrainian Chess Federation on the gold medal and title, while also congratulating the medalists and all participants for their excellent play and fighting spirit. WGM Salome Melia thanked everyone on behalf of the tournament organizing committee, offering special thanks to the President of the Georgian Chess Federation, the Ministry of Sport of Georgia, the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, and all institutions that helped the organization of the championship. Following the speeches and musical performances, Chief Arbiter Geert Bailleul announced the final standings, while ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili and Georgian Chess Federation President Akaki Iashvili awarded the medals and trophies. The closing ceremony concluded with the National Anthem of Ukraine and resounding applause for the medalists and the tournament champion, Anastasiia Hnatyshyn. Text and photos: European Chess Union