A huge sensation!

The 2026 European Chess Championship, organised by the Polish Chess Federation in Katowice, brought together 501 players in an 11-round Swiss open played from 7 to 19 April. Besides a €100,000 prize fund, with €20,000 reserved for the winner, the tournament also offered 20 qualifying places for the next edition of the FIDE World Cup.

An unexpected winner emerged in the final standings, as Ukrainian IM Roman Dehtiarov defeated David Anton on the top board in the last round to take clear first place with 9/11 points. The 17-year-old entered the tournament as the 126^th seed with a 2452 rating, making his triumph the most remarkable result seen in the event in recent years.

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The strength of the field underlines the scale of Dehtiarov's achievement. This year's European Championship included 21 players rated above 2600, 87 players rated at least 2500 and no fewer than 95 grandmasters. Dehtiarov, by contrast, was rated below 2500 and started the event as an international master. Thanks to this victory, he is set to receive the grandmaster title automatically.

Dehtiarov finished the tournament with eight wins, two draws and only one defeat. His sole loss came in round five against Turkish GM Isik Can, yet he still managed to end on a remarkable plus-seven score. Throughout the event, he defeated six players who started the tournament with a higher rating than his own, including three opponents rated above 2600.

Particularly impressive was the way he finished the event. In round ten, Dehtiarov defeated French GM Maxime Lagarde, rated 2621, to join the leaders going into the final day. He then faced David Anton, rated 2656 and seeded second in the tournament, in the decisive last-round encounter. Dehtiarov's victory gave him outright first place and denied Anton at least a share of the title.

The new European champion, 17-year-old Roman Dehtiarov, during his final-round game | Photo: Official website

The Ukrainian youngster produced a tournament performance rating of 2781, good enough to gain 45.6 rating points. That rise leaves him just short of the 2500 Elo mark normally required for the grandmaster title, although the European Championship victory itself is enough to secure the title automatically.

Following the tournament, Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov shared a moving story about Dehtiarov on X. Eljanov explained that after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Dehtiarov had the opportunity to leave the country but instead chose to remain in Kharkiv with his father.

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When the war started in early 2022, I tried to help several Ukrainian families relocate to Europe (mostly to England, thanks to Malcolm Pein and Andrew Churavin).

In one case, everything was arranged for a family from Kharkiv - until their 14-year-old son, a talented chess player, refused to leave at the last moment. He didn't want to abandon his father.

He stayed in one of the most dangerous places in Ukraine. With very limited chances to travel and barely any practice, he still became Ukrainian Champion.

Now he's grown up - and just caused the biggest sensation in the history of the European Championship!

Remember the name: Roman Dehtiarov!

Not for nothing, our city Kharkiv is called "reinforced concrete!"

Roman Dehtiarov made sure to find a Ukrainian flag before receiving the winner's trophy! | Photo: Official website

A trio of Azerbaijani players finished just half a point behind the winner on 8½/11. Nijat Abasov, the 29^th seed and a participant in the 2024 Candidates Tournament, shared second place with 4^th seed Aydin Suleymanli and 20^th seed Mahammad Muradli. All three entered the final round tied for first place alongside Dehtiarov and Anton, and drew their last-round encountars. Abasov and Suleymanli took second and third place on tiebreaks.

A large group of 19 players finished another half point back on 8/11. Since only the top 20 finishers qualified for the next FIDE World Cup, not every player on that score advanced. Three players narrowly missed out on qualification due to inferior tiebreak scores.

Understanding Middlegame Strategy Vol 13: Reversed Colour Systems – Grünfeld & Dutch

In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of Dutch and Grünfelkd structures with colours reversed.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen - Spassky

The podium, with Azerbaijani GMs Nijat Abasov and Aydin Suleymanli in second and third place | Photo: Official website

Dehtiarov 1-0 Pichot

Round six

Final standings

...501 players

All available games

Links

• Official website
• Full technical information on Chess-Results