GM Alan Pichot and IM Marta García Martín emerged as the champions of the 2026 Spanish Absolute and Women’s Chess Championships. Argentine-born Pichot won his first Spanish crown, while García Martín successfully defended her title, claiming her third Women’s Championship overall.
The Spanish Chess Championship 2026, a 9-round Swiss tournament, was held in Linares from August 17-25. While men and women competed in the same pool, final rankings were determined separately by gender.
With many top seeds closely matched in rating, the event developed into a tightly contested race with no sole leader emerging until the very end. Going into the final round, fourth-seed Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli, fifth-seed Pichot and eleventh-seed Alex Villa Tornero shared the top spot with 6.5/8 each. They were closely followed by the last-year champion David Anton Guijarro, former runner-up Jaime Santos Latasa, Daniil Yuffa, and IMs Daniel Garcia Ramos and Juan Plazuelo Pascual – all tied on 6/8.
Pichot pulled off a crucial victory in the clash with Villa Tornero and secured the title with an excellent score of 7.5/9. Yuffa and Iturrizaga Bonelli (who drew with IM Daniel Eduardo Pulvett Marin) tied for second place with Yuffa claiming silver thanks to a superior Buchholz tiebreak.
In the women’s standings, Marta García Martín took clear first with 6/9. The 2024 champion, IM Sabrina Vega, finished a half-point behind the champion winning silver, while WFM Adhara Rodríguez Redondo completed the women’s podium.
