Turning 18 this year, IM Roman Dehtiarov caused a major sensation by winning the European Individual Chess Championship 2026. The Ukrainian teenager, seeded 126th, captured the title after defeating GM David Anton Guijarro in a thrilling final-round encounter. Dehtiarov finished with an impressive score of 9/11, achieving a remarkable 2781 rating performance and achieving a GM title.
The 2026 edition of the European Individual Championship took place in Katowice, Poland, from 6 to 19 April, bringing together 501 players in a fiercely contested battle that went down to the wire.
Heading into the final round, as many as five players shared the lead with 8/10: Dehtiarov, GMs David Anton Guijarro from Spain, who was in the lead for most of the tournament; Aydin Suleymanli, Mahammad Muradli, and Nijat Abasov (all three from Azerbaijan). To make things even more exciting, Dehtiarov faced Anton, while Suleymanli took on Muradli.
Roman Dehtiarov (pictured above, right) scored what may be the most important victory in his career, defeating David Anton to claim the title while all his main rivals drew his games. Abasov, Suleymanli, and Muradli tied for second place on 8.5/11, with Abasov taking silver and Suleymanli bronze based on tiebreaks.
Six female players finished the championship with 6.5 points each, tying for the prizes for the best-ranked Women players in the tournament. With the best tiebreak criteria, IM Teodora Injac (SRB, 2410) won the top prize, IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE, 2452) was second; IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2399) came third, while IM Mai Narva (EST, 2411), IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (POL, 2393), and WGM Mariam Mkrtchyan (ARM, 2368) did not climb the podium.
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR, 2621) was the best-ranked senior player in the tournament with the score of 7.5/11, GM Hannes Stefansson (ISL, 2414) was second with 6.5/11, and legendary GM Oleg Romanishin (UKR, 2255) won third prize with the score of 5.5/11.
The closing ceremony of the event took place in the playing venue. The ceremony was attended by Vice President of the City of Katowice Maciej Stachura, ECU Vice Presidents Alojzije Jankovic and Gunnar Bjornsson, President of the Polish Chess Federation Radoslaw Jedynak, FIDE Secretary General Lukasz Turlej, President of the Silesian Chess Federation Mr. Michal Pazdziora, Ambassador of Georgia to Poland Diana Zhgenti, Director of the Arena Katowice Pawel Cebula, Director of the Department of Sports in the city of Katowice Dawid Kaminski, the Head of Commission of Sport in Katowice Adam Szymczyk, and other distinguished guests.
Photos: European Chess Union
Official website: https://eicc2026.eu/