PRAGUE INTERNATIONAL CHESS FESTIVAL - CHALLENGERS TOURNAMENT 2026
Round-RobinStandard
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 24 Feb 2026 to 06 Mar 2026 in Praha, Czech Republic. 10 titled players from 7 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2552, and top seed was Benjamin Gledura (🇭🇺 HUN, GM, 2652).
Vaclav Finek (🇨🇿 CZE, IM, 2538) won with 6.5/9, ahead of Daniil Yuffa (6.0) and Divya Deshmukh (5.0).
The biggest upset came in round 1: Stepan Hrbek (IM, 2463) beat Daniil Yuffa (GM, 2604), a +141-point gap.
Location
🇨🇿Praha, Czech Republic
Dates
24 Feb 2026 → 06 Mar 2026
Time control
Standard: 90min/40moves+30min/end+30sec increment per move starting from move 1
System
Round-robin · 9 rounds
Titled players · 10
GM×7
IM×3
Federations · 7 represented
🇨🇿Czech Republic×3
🇮🇳India×2
🇳🇱Netherlands×1
🇪🇸Spain×1
🇨🇳China×1
🇭🇺Hungary×1
🇩🇰Denmark×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsIM Vaclav Finek led from R3 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
Co-leaders
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
R3–R9 · LEAD HELD
IM Vaclav Finek held the sole lead from R3 through R9 without losing it.
R5 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
IM Vaclav Finek beat GM Daniil Yuffa (White).
R7–R9 · WIN STREAK
GM Daniil Yuffa won 3 in a row (R7–R9).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇿IMFinek, Vaclav | 2538 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6.5 | 28.25 | 38.5 | +21.9 | 2720 |
| 2 | 🇪🇸GMYuffa, Daniil | 2604 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 24.50 | 39.0 | +7.8 | 2671 |
| 3 | 🇮🇳GMDivya Deshmukh | 2497 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 22.50 | 40.0 | +12.6 | 2601 |
| 5 | 🇭🇺GMGledura, Benjamin | 2652 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 4.5 | 19.50 | 40.5 | -13.5 | 2541 |
| 4 | 🇩🇰GMBjerre, Jonas Buhl | 2629 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.5 | 18.25 | 40.5 | -10.3 | 2543 |
| 6 | 🇨🇿IMNemec, Jachym | 2466 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 16.75 | 40.5 | +11.6 | 2562 |
| 8 | 🇮🇳GMGanguly, Surya Shekhar | 2568 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4.0 | 17.25 | 41.0 | -7.2 | 2507 |
| 7 | 🇳🇱GMBeerdsen, Thomas | 2525 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 4.0 | 16.25 | 41.0 | -1.4 | 2512 |
| 9 | 🇨🇿IMHrbek, Stepan | 2463 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 3.5 | 14.75 | 41.5 | +2.0 | 2482 |
| 10 | 🇨🇳GMZhu, Jiner | 2578 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 2.5 | 12.50 | 42.5 | -23.5 | 2383 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Finek, VaclavIMCZE+21.96.5 pts · #1
- 2Divya DeshmukhGMIND+12.65.0 pts · #3
- 3Nemec, JachymIMCZE+11.64.5 pts · #6
Top rating losers
- 1Zhu, JinerGMCHN-23.52.5 pts · #10
- 2Gledura, BenjaminGMHUN-13.54.5 pts · #5
- 3Bjerre, Jonas BuhlGMDEN-10.34.5 pts · #4
Biggest upsets
- R1+141 Elo gap
- R2+127 Elo gap
- R2+115 Elo gap