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Magnus Carlsen won the 2026 Chess.com Open after defeating Jan-Krzysztof Duda in Sunday's concluding matches. Notably, Carlsen played the entire event on a tablet rather than a laptop, an unusual setup at this level of online competition. Duda reached the decider from the Losers Bracket after eliminating Denis Lazavik, having previously fallen to Carlsen in the Winners Final by a 3–2 score decided in Armageddon.
Because of the double-elimination format, Duda needed to defeat Carlsen twice on the final day to take the title, whereas Carlsen, still unbeaten in matches, required only a single match victory. The Polish grandmaster contested the final on his 28th birthday, adding a personal note to an already demanding task against the world number one.
Duda was not without precedent in such encounters: he had defeated Carlsen in the semifinals of the 2021 FIDE World Cup before going on to win the title against Sergey Karjakin, and he had also ended Carlsen's 125-game unbeaten streak in classical chess at the 2020 Norway Chess tournament. Even so, their overall head-to-head record has been clearly in Carlsen's favour, with 52 wins to Duda's 18, alongside 37 draws, corresponding to a 65.24% score for the Norwegian.
Source: Mega Database 2026
Duda made a strong start in the Grand Final, winning the initial four-game match 2½–½ to force a Reset. This match saw Carlsen beginning with the white pieces, as he achieved a promising position, but allowed the game to end in a draw by threefold repetition rather than pressing for further chances.
Duda then took command of the match, winning the next two games. In both cases, he demonstrated sharp tactical awareness in complex positions, converting his opportunities convincingly to hand Carlsen his first match defeat of the event and extend the contest to a deciding Reset.
The title was therefore settled in a shorter two-game match, in line with the Losers Bracket format. Carlsen again had white in the first game and, despite coming off a clear match loss, remained composed. He later remarked that he had not felt especially troubled by the situation, indicating that he did not consider himself to have been outplayed overall.
Carlsen's approach proved effective, as he gradually outmanoeuvred Duda from a Tarrasch Defence structure, increasing the pressure until a tactical sequence - featuring a skewer of Black's queen and rook - forced resignation in an already difficult position.
In the second game of the reset, Duda needed a win to stay in the match. He succeeded in creating complications, pushing his e and f-pawns deep into Carlsen's position and later sacrificing the exchange in pursuit of dynamic chances. However, the 10-minute time control without increment meant that time management played a decisive role throughout the event, and again proved critical here.
Duda invested more time navigating the complications, and as the position simplified into a rook and knight endgame, Carlsen managed to neutralise the initiative.
Although Duda continued to seek winning chances, the combination of a simplified position and dwindling time made the task increasingly difficult. Duda eventually lost on time, though a loss or a draw meant the same at that point.
Carlsen thus secured the tournament title and the $50,000 first prize, while Duda finished second and received $35,000. Both players qualified for the 2026 Esports World Cup.
"I didn't really plan to play this tournament until the last couple of days. I don't really have a laptop here, so I would've had to use Ella's MacBook..."
— chess24 (@chess24com) April 26, 2026
- Magnus on why he played on a tablet and not a computer. pic.twitter.com/yPlzRmQ9ss
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