Spanish Championship: Alan Pichot and Marta García claim titles

by Press release
8/28/2026 – Alan Pichot and Marta García Martín won the 2026 Spanish Absolute and Women's Chess Championships in Linares. Pichot, born in Argentina, claimed his first Spanish title after defeating Alex Villa Tornero in the final round to win the tournament outright on 7½/9. Daniil Yuffa took silver on tiebreaks ahead of Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli. In the women's standings, García defended her title with 6/9, ahead of Sabrina Vega and Adhara Rodríguez Redondo. | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation
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Press release by FIDE

GM Alan Pichot and IM Marta García Martín emerged as the champions of the 2026 Spanish Absolute and Women's Chess Championships. Argentine-born Pichot won his first Spanish crown, while García successfully defended her title, claiming her third Championship overall.

The Spanish Chess Championship 2026, a 9-round Swiss tournament, was held in Linares from August 17-25. While men and women competed in the same pool, final rankings were determined separately by gender.

With many top seeds closely matched in rating, the event developed into a tightly contested race with no sole leader emerging until the very end. Going into the final round, fourth-seed Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli, fifth-seed Pichot and eleventh-seed Alex Villa Tornero shared the top spot with 6½/8 points each. They were closely followed by the last-year champion David Anton Guijarro, former runner-up Jaime Santos Latasa, Daniil Yuffa, and IMs Daniel Garcia Ramos and Juan Plazuelo Pascual – all tied on 6/8.

Pichot pulled off a crucial victory in the clash with Villa (see game with annotations below) and secured the title with an excellent score of 7½/9. Yuffa and three-time Spanish champion Iturrizaga - who drew with IM Daniel Pulvett - tied for second place, with Yuffa claiming silver thanks to a superior Buchholz tiebreak.

In the women's standings, Marta García took clear first with 6/9. The nine-time Spanish champion IM Sabrina Vega finished a half-point behind the champion, winning silver, while WFM Adhara Rodríguez Redondo completed the women's podium.

Eduardo Iturrizaga, Alan Pichot, Daniil Yuffa

Eduardo Iturrizaga (3rd place), Alan Pichot (1st place) and Daniil Yuffa (2nd place) receiving their trophies | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Sabrina Vega, Marta García, Adhara Rodríguez

Sabrina Vega (2nd), Marta García (1st) and Adhara Rodríguez (3rd) reached the podium in the women's category | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Pichot 1-0 Villa

Alan Pichot, Alex Villa, Ljubomir Ljubojevic

The deciding encounter between Alan Pichot and Alex Villa, with 75-year-old living legend Ljubomir Ljubojevic following the action! | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Final standings

Name FED Rating Points APRO BH
1 GM m Pichot, Alan AND 2562 7.5 2363 50.0
2 GM m Yuffa, Daniil VAL 2562 7.0 2422 52.0
3 GM m Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo MAD 2582 7.0 2420 51.5
4 IM m Pulvett Marin, Daniel Eduardo VAL 2485 6.5 2395 50.5
5 GM m Anton Guijarro, David AND 2641 6.5 2394 51.0
6 GM m Santos Latasa, Jaime VAL 2620 6.5 2394 48.5
7 IM m Villa Tornero, Alex CAT 2460 6.5 2350 49.5
8 IM m Merario Alarcon, Andres AND 2416 6.5 2274 44.5
9 GM m Perez Candelario, Manuel EXT 2541 6.5 2237 43.5
10 IM m Tejedor Fuente, Enrique CNT 2435 6.5 2194 38.0
11 IM m Garcia Ramos, Daniel CAT 2443 6.0 2395 51.5
12 GM m Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel CAT 2484 6.0 2360 49.0
13 FM m Tabuenca Mendataurigoitia, Danie CNT 2365 6.0 2344 49.5
14 IM m Plazuelo Pascual, Juan MAD 2446 6.0 2331 48.5
15 IM m Ayats Llobera, Gerard CAT 2443 6.0 2324 47.5
16 IM m Cesar Maestre, Bernardo CAT 2379 6.0 2316 47.0
17 FM m Carbonell Sancho, Marc VAL 2373 6.0 2299 46.5
18 IM m Marin Ferragut, Pau BAL 2359 6.0 2287 46.0
19 IM m Lacasa Diaz, Josep Anton CAT 2330 6.0 2279 44.0
20 IM f Garcia Martin, Marta VAL 2331 6.0 2273 45.5
21 FM m Domingo Nunez, Alejandro AND 2372 6.0 2248 43.5
22 IM m Prado Lobo, Jonas CAT 2373 6.0 2237 44.5
23 FM m Gomez Aguirre, Juan Alberto AND 2343 5.5 2363 51.5
24 FM m Krauchi Romero, Martin BAL 2361 5.5 2343 49.5
25 GM m Cuenca Jimenez, Jose Fernando MUR 2509 5.5 2337 47.0

...142 players

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