Eighteen year-old 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.
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.
Among women participants, Teodora Injac, Stavroula Tsolakidou, and Nurgyul Salimova each scored 6.5/11, earning recognition as the top-performing female players.
