Leonardo Costa and Jana Schneider have emerged as the new German chess champions, both securing their second national titles.
The 2026 edition of the German Championship took place in Dresden from July 17 to 25. Both the DEM-Meisterklasse (Open) and the DFEM-Meisterklasse (Women’s) were 10-player round-robins played with classical time control. Although the Open event did not attract all of Germany’s top players – notably, 2025 champion Vincent Keymer opted not to defend his title – the starting field was still impressive, featuring seven Grandmasters.
After a draw against Niclas Huschenbeth in the opening round, Costa defeated Luis Engel and Dennis Wagner in the following two rounds to seize the lead. A loss to Alexander Donchenko in round four didn’t throw him off his game. Unfazed, Costa beat Georg Braun and sealed his momentum in the penultimate round with a victory over Bennet Hagner.
Despite losing their direct encounter to Costa, Engel bounced back with two consecutive wins and caught up to his main rival heading into the final round. However, a draw against Dmitrij Kollars brought the 18-year-old Costa to six points out of nine rounds, securing the title as his main rival fell to Alexander Donchenko.
“I’m very happy. No matter how well you prepare for a tournament, you can never expect a win like this. You always need a bit of luck,” Costa said right after his final game.
The women’s event that developed into a race of Jana Schneider and Diana Wagner was equally exciting, with the champion decided in the final round. Going into Round 9 Schneider and Wagner shared the lead on 6/8 with Lara Schulze and Kateryna Dolzhykova trailing by just a half-point.
Schneider recorded a crucial victory over Dolzhykova and clinched the title with an excellent score of 7/9. Meanwhile, Wagner fell to FM Lara Schulze, who overtook her to claim silver. Sarah Papp came in third, and Wagner took fourth place based on tiebreaks.
Schneider remained undefeated throughout the entire tournament, achieving five wins and four draws. “It still sounds a bit unreal,” she said a few minutes after her triumph. “I still can’t quite believe it.”
Final standings – DFEM-Masterklasse
Photo: Finn Engesser and Deutscher Schachbund
Official website: https://www.schachbund.de/