The European Individual Chess Championship 2026 concluded yesterday in Katowice, Poland, with the historical result by IM Roman Dehtiarov from Ukraine who stunned the field and emerged as the Winner of the event!
Set to turn 18 years old this year, IM Roman Dehtiarov (UKR, 2452) was the 126th-seed on the starting list of players, but finished the event with impressive score of 9/11 points, with a single loss in the fifth round! He emerged as the sole winner of the event after defeating GM David Anton Guijarro (ESP, 2656) in the final round, and finished the tournament with the outstanding performance of 2782! Clinching the title, Roman Dehtiarov earned a direct Grandmaster title and a seat for the next FIDE World Chess Cup.
Three Azerbaijani Grandmasters who had a co-leadership ahead of the final round, finished the event tying for the second place with the score of 8.5 points each. Having the best tiebreak criteria, GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2653) won silver medal, GM Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2586) claimed bronze, and GM Mahammad Muradli (AZE, 2605) finished the event in the fourth place.
The best-ranked Junior U20 players in the tournament were awarded with special prizes at the closing ceremony, with IM Roman Dehtiarov (UKR, 2452) emerging as the best-ranked junior player along with the overall win in the tournament, GM Ediz Gurel (TUR, 2635) was second with 8 points, GM Ihor Samunenkov (UKR, 2596) was third with 7.5 points and better tiebreaks than IM Matic Lavrencic (SLO, 2472) and IM Svyatoslav Bazakutsa (UKR, 2477) who had the same score.
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.
The best-ranked Polish players were GM Jan Malek (POL, 2533), GM Szymon Gumularz (POL, 2590) and GM Jan Klimkowski (POL, 2498), each scoring 7.5 points. According to tiebreaks, Jan Malek won first prize, Szymon Gumularz came second, and Jan Klimkowski took third place in this special category.
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR, 2621) was the best-ranked senior player in the tournament with the score of 7.5 points, GM Hannes Stefansson (ISL, 2414) was second with 6.5 points, and legendary GM Oleg Romanishin (UKR, 2255) won third prize with the score of 5.5 points.
The Closing ceremony of the event took place in the playing venue. The ceremony was attended by Vice President of the City of Katowice Mr. Maciej Stachura, ECU Vice Presidents Mr. Alojzije Jankovic and Mr. Gunnar Bjornsson, President of the Polish Chess Federation Mr. Radoslaw Jedynak, FIDE Secretary General Mr. Lukasz Turlej, President of the Silesian Chess Federation Mr. Michal Pazdziora, Ambassador of Georgia to Poland Ms. Diana Zhgenti, Director of the Arena Katowice Mr. Pawel Cebula, Director of the Department of Sports in the city of Katowice Mr. Dawid Kaminski, the Head of Commission of Sport in Katowice Mr. Adam Szymczyk, and other distinguished guests.
The top-ranked 20* players will qualify for the next FIDE World Chess Cup. (*Under the current FIDE World Cup regulations, FIDE is the only body responsible for the qualification spots)
The European Individual Chess Championship 2026 broke the participation record with 501 participants from 43 European federations.
Final rankings can be found here.
Photos by ECU and Rafal Oleksiewicz – Complete photo gallery can be found here