The 2026 European Individual Chess Championship commenced today in Katowice, Poland, which will be the host for 501 chess players in the next two weeks.
The event broke the participation record with 501 players from 43 European federations competing over 11 rounds for the prize pool of 100.000 EUR and qualification spots for the next FIDE World Chess Cup.
The Opening ceremony of the event took place shortly before the start of the first round with the attendance of the ECU President, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Mayor of city of Katowice Mr. Marcin Krupa, the President of the Polish Chess Federation Mr. Radoslaw Jedynak, ECU Vice Presidents Mr. Gunnar Bjornsson and Mr. Alojzije Jankovic, the FIDE Secretary General Mr. Lukasz Turlej, the President of the Silesian Chess Association Mr. Michal Pazdziora, the President of MOKATE Mr. Adam Mokrysz and other distinguished guests.
The ceremony was inaugurated with the intonation of the ECU anthem and the anthem of the hosting country – Poland. The Mayor of the city of Katowice, Mr. Marcin Krupa then took the floor, and warmly welcomed all the players and guests to Poland. He expressed his eagerness that Katowice hosts one of the most important European tournaments in a year, and wished the players best of luck in the tournament and pleasant time in the town.
The ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili then addressed the distinguished guests and players expressing his sincere gratitude to the Polish Chess Federation led by President Mr. Radoslaw Jedynek and Silesian Chess Federation and Michal Pazdziora for the organisation of the event. “Thanks to you, the European chess continues to grow stronger and more united”, added Mr. Azmaiparashvili. The ECU President then warmly addressed the players, wished them the best of luck, fair play, and brilliant achievements in the game. The speech finished with the ECU moto: “Play chess – Chess makes you smarter”.
The President of MOKATE, Mr. Adam Mokrysz, was invited to the stage and wished a great and successful tournament to the tournament participants. He invited them to enjoy the venue, the town, and MOKATE products which are the main part of the players’ refreshments areas.
FIDE Secretary General Mr. Lukasz Turlej welcomed the players and guests to Katowice, “European capital of chess”. He wished the contenders the best of luck, great games, and nice stay in Poland.
The President of the Polish Chess Federation Mr. Radoslaw Jedynak, then took the floor and emphasized that the Polish Chess Federation is proud to be a host of European Individual Championship 2026. Mr. Jedynak also addressed the guests, and wished players a strong and successful competition.
The President of the Silesian Chess Federation Mr. Michal Pazdziora welcomed everyone to Katowice, and expressed his pleasure that the event is hosted in the region of Silesia.
The event was officially declared opened by the Mayor of Katowice, Mr. Marcin Krupa, and the round was inaugurated after Mr. Krupa and the ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, made the first ceremonial move on the top board game between GM Igor Kovalenko and Reinis Paikens.
The players were eagerly anticipating the start of the clocks, and the beginning of the tournament. Most of the favourites convincingly sailed through the first-round victories, but there were also a few surprising draws on the top boards.
GM David Navara (CZE, 2643) drew his game against Yehonatan Azoulay (ISR, 2298) with the black pieces, GM Maxime Lagarde (FRA, 2621) didn’t manage to prevail against David Martirosyan (CZE, 2281), GM Daniil Yuffa (ESP, 2595) drew with whites against Daniil Yasmo (GER, 2271), GM Constantin Lupulescu (ROU, 2587) was hold to a draw by WIM Manon Schippke (FRA, 2269), and there were a few more interesting upsets on the remaining boards.
All results, pairings and rankings after first round can be found here.
Detailed information about the event can be found on Official website.
Photos by ECU Press