Solvay score 14/14 to win Spanish Primera División, Ivanchuk excels on board one

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/3/2026 – Club Ajedrez Solvay completed a perfect campaign at the Spanish "Primera División" in Linares, winning all seven matches to secure the title and promotion to the "División de Honor". Andreu Paterna finished second to claim the other promotion place, while Platja d'Aro took third. Vasyl Ivanchuk led the champions on board one, scoring 5/7 and gaining 13 rating points. | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation
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Solvay and Andreu Paterna return to the "División de Honor"

Club Ajedrez Solvay were crowned champions of the 2026 Spanish "Primera División" after completing the seven-round competition in Linares with a perfect record. The Cantabrian club won all seven of their matches to secure promotion to the "División de Honor" together with runners-up Andreu Paterna.

The tournament took place at the Hotel RL Aníbal from 27 August to 2 September. Eight clubs competed in a single round-robin, with classical matches played over six boards. Each lineup had to include at least one woman and three players eligible to represent Spain.

The top two teams earned promotion to the División de Honor for 2027, while the bottom two were relegated to Segunda División. Andreu Paterna finished second on 9 match points, with Platja d'Aro Club Escacs taking third place. Gros Xake Taldea and C.A. Fundación La Caja occupied the relegation places.

Spanish Chess Federation

The captains of the three teams that reached the podium alongside the tournament organisers in Linares | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Solvay's seven victories included three matches decided by the narrowest possible margin, as they defeated Gros Xake Taldea, Granada and Andreu Paterna by 3½-2½.

Seven players represented the champions during the event. Alberto Martín made two appearances and scored 1/2, while the remaining six players carried most of the workload throughout the week.

Vasyl Ivanchuk led the team on board one and finished with 5/7, corresponding to a 2634 tournament performance rating. The 57-year-old gained 13 rating points in Linares and climbed to 75th place on the live rating list. Among players in the top 100, only 58-year-old Boris Gelfand is older than the Ukrainian legend.

S L Narayanan also made a significant contribution, scoring 4½/7 on board two for a 2576 performance. Further down the order, Daniel Tabuenca collected 5/6 with a 2365 performance, while Inés Prado scored 4½/7 and posted a 2301 performance.

Solvay's success came one year after the club was relegated from the "División de Honor".

Ivanchuk (Solvay) 1-0 Lamard (Fundación La Caja)

Vasyl Ivanchuk

The great Vasyl Ivanchuk! | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Andreu Paterna finished second with four match wins, one draw and two defeats. The Valencian team also played a series of closely contested encounters: three of their four victories came by 3½-2½, while their two defeats ended with the same score.

Their strongest individual performer was Eric Sos Andreu on board five. The Spanish international master scored 5/7 and achieved a tournament performance rating of 2502.

Andreu Paterna

Andreu Paterna | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Platja d'Aro Club Escacs

Platja d'Aro Club Escacs | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

Final standings

Team Fed. MP GP Rtg. Avg.
1 Club Ajedrez Solvay CNT 14.0 27.5 2504
2 Andreu Paterna VAL 9.0 23.5 2596
3 Platja d'Aro Club Escacs CAT 8.0 23.0 2526
4 Ciudad Naranco AST 7.0 20.0 2490
5 Granada SIDN-Cívica-Nazaríes-Trevenque AND 6.0 24.0 2429
6 Club Ajedrez Sestao VAS 6.0 18.5 2485
7 Gros Xake Taldea VAS 6.0 18.0 2533
8 C.A. Fundación La Caja CAN 0.0 13.5 2344

Full pairings and results at info64.org...

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Topics: Spanish Primera Division 2026, Vassily Ivanchuk
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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