London Chess League FIDE Weekender - March 2026 - Open
20 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 20 Mar 2026 to 22 Mar 2026 in London, England. 5 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1936, and top seed was David J Walker (🇬🇧 ENG, FM, 2206).
Junhao Xian (🇨🇳 CHN, 2205) won with 5.0/5, ahead of David Hunn (4.0) and Robert M Taylor (3.5). Xian won solo starting round 4.
The biggest upset came in round 1: Joseph Williams (1759) beat Tom Balmond (1903), a +144-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsJunhao Xian led from R4; +1.0-point edge over the runner-up.
Junhao Xian never relinquished the lead after R4; final gap +1.0 over the runner-up.
Junhao Xian beat David Hunn (Black).
Junhao Xian 5 wins (R1–R5)David Hunn 3 wins (R3–R5)Robert M Taylor 3 wins (R1–R3)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Junhao Xian | * | 1 | 1 | — |
| 2David Hunn | 0 | * | — | 1 |
| 3Robert M Taylor | 0 | — | * | 1 |
| 4Lorenzo Pasqualetto | — | 0 | 0 | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xian, Junhao | 2205 | CHN | +8B | +2N | +7B | +3N | +4B | 5.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 15.00 | 2775 | +23.4 |
| 2 | Hunn, David | 1863 | ENG | +10N | −1B | +16N | +14B | +6N | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.5 | 6.50 | 2094 | +27.2 |
| 3 | Taylor, Robert M | 2188 | ENG | +5N | +6B | +13N | −1B | =7N | 3.5 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 8.25 | 2103 | -6.4 |
| 4 | Balmond, Tom | 1903 | ENG | −13B | +9N | +17B | +5N | −1N | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.5 | 5.50 | 1949 | +11.6 |
| 5 | Napolitano, Domenico | 1841 | ENG | −3B | +19N | +8B | −4B | +9N | 3.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 4.00 | 1924 | +10.8 |
| 6 | Pasqualetto, Lorenzo | 1853 | ITA | +19B | −3N | +12B | +13N | −2B | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.50 | 1897 | +5.8 |
| 7 | Stewart, Ashley | 2081 | ENG | +9B | +12N | −1N | F | =3B | 2.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 5.25 | 2082 | +2.2 |
| 8 | Ellson, Louie | 1842 | ENG | −1N | =10B | −5N | =12B | +16N | 2.0 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 2.25 | 1786 | -9.8 |
| 9 | Nurvet, Zhulin | 1781 | BUL | −7N | −4B | +19N | +18B | −5B | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.50 | 1758 | -8.0 |
| 10 | Sood, Vineet | 1740 | ENG | −2B | =8N | −11N | +16B | =18N | 2.0 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 1.75 | 1803 | +7.0 |
| 11 | Phillips, Max | 0 | ENG | F | −14N | +10B | +17N | F | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.50 | 1781 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Breton, Martin | 1773 | ENG | F | −7B | −6N | =8N | +13B | 1.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 2.00 | 1796 | +2.0 |
| 13 | Williams, Joseph | 1759 | ENG | +4N | F | −3B | −6B | −12N | 1.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 3.00 | 1728 | -9.6 |
| 14 | Takvorian, Sebouh | 1742 | ENG | F | +11B | F | −2N | F | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 2.00 | 1062 | -13.6 |
| 15 | Stell, Edmund | 1741 | ENG | F | F | +20B | F | F | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 2358 | +10.4 |
| 16 | Acharya, Nikesh | 1730 | ENG | F | =17N | −2B | −10N | −8B | 0.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.25 | 1489 | -40.3 |
| 17 | Helsby, Matthew | 1799 | ENG | F | =16B | −4N | −11B | F | 0.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.25 | 1624 | -18.4 |
| 18 | Sandbrink, Kai | 1778 | SUI | F | F | F | −9N | =10B | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 1568 | -11.0 |
| 19 | V, Krish | 1546 | ENG | −6N | −5B | −9B | F | F | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 1025 | -20.0 |
| 20 | Irie -Williams, Silk | 1557 | ENG | F | F | −15N | F | F | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.00 | 944 | -10.4 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Hunn, DavidENG+27.24.0 pts · #2
- 2Xian, JunhaoCHN+23.45.0 pts · #1
- 3Balmond, TomENG+11.63.0 pts · #6
- 1Acharya, NikeshENG-40.30.5 pts · #16
- 2V, KrishENG-20.00.0 pts · #19
- 3Helsby, MatthewENG-18.40.5 pts · #15
- R1+144 Elo gap