Nine rounds have been played at the European Individual Chess Championship 2026 and there are only two rounds left before the announcement of the new European Champion.
GM Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2586) and GM David Anton Guijarro (ESP, 2656) are in the joint lead ahead of the second free day, with the score of 7.5 points each.
Playing on the top board today, GM David Anton Guijarro (ESP, 2656) drew with blacks against GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2653). The Spanish representative quickly neutralized white’s starting advantage, and got the small edge, but Suleymanli was precise in the defense and the game eventually finished in a draw, putting the Spanish representative on 7.5/9 points.
Meanwhile, GM Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2586) secured a decisive advantage early on against the lower-rated IM Benny Aizenberg (ISR, 2451). Abasov won a pawn after only 15 moves and gradually improved his position to score the full point, joining David Anton Guijarro at the top of the leaderboard.
The leading duo is closely followed by 10 players who trail by half a point. The pack includes: GM Ediz Gurel (TUR, 2635), GM Maxime Lagarde (FRA, 2621), GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2653), GM Nikita Meshkovs (LAT, 2532), GM Haik Martirosyan (ARM, 2633), GM Nikolozi Kacharava (GEO, 2500), IM Roman Dehtiarov (UKR, 2452), GM Valery Kazakouski (LTU, 2572), GM Gleb Dudin (HUN, 2566), and GM Mahammad Muradli (AZE, 2605).
Today’s round was opened by the President of the Slovak Chess Federation Mr. Milan Roman and the President of the Management Board of Arena Katowice – hosting playing venue of the tournament. The distinguished guests performed the first ceremonial move on the top board.
The players are heading tomorrow for the second free day, and the games will continue on Saturday, 18th of April.
All results, rankings and pairings can be found here.