Seniors SZFO Championship 2026
18 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 19 Jan 2026 to 25 Jan 2026 in St. Petersburg, Russia. 2 titled players. Top 10 Elo average was 1985, and top seed was Nikolai M. Mishuchkov (🇷🇺 RUS, IM, 2238).
Valeriy Zhikharev (🇷🇺 RUS, 2096) won with 5.5/7, ahead of Vladimir Napalkov (5.0) and Nikolai M. Mishuchkov (5.0). Zhikharev shared the lead from round 6 and broke clear in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 4: Nikolay Petrov (1526) beat Vladimir A. Nilov (1760), a +234-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 7 roundsValeriy Zhikharev led from R7; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.
IM Nikolai M. Mishuchkov takes the sole lead (4.0/5).
Valeriy Zhikharev lost to Vladimir Napalkov (Black).
Valeriy Zhikharev won 3 in a row (R5–R7).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Valeriy Zhikharev | * | 0 | ½ | — |
| 2Vladimir Napalkov | 1 | * | 0 | ½ |
| 3IMNikolai M. Mishuchkov | ½ | 1 | * | — |
| 4Vadim Balakin | — | ½ | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhikharev, Valeriy | 2096 | RUS | +12N | +8B | =3B | −2N | +5B | +6N | +10B | 5.5 | 25.0 | 28.5 | 21.00 | 2142 | +9.0 |
| 2 | Napalkov, Vladimir | 1971 | RUS | +13N | +9B | =4N | +1B | −3N | =7B | +8N | 5.0 | 26.0 | 29.5 | 20.25 | 2124 | +29.2 |
| 3 | Mishuchkov, Nikolai M.IM | 2238 | RUS | +10N | +14B | =1N | =8B | +2B | =9N | =5B | 5.0 | 25.0 | 28.0 | 19.75 | 2112 | -7.7 |
| 4 | Balakin, Vadim | 2002 | RUS | +7B | =11N | =2B | −5N | +15B | =10N | +9B | 4.5 | 23.5 | 26.5 | 16.50 | 1951 | -5.4 |
| 5 | Polevoi, Vladimir | 1819 | RUS | −9N | +17B | +14N | +4B | −1N | =8B | =3N | 4.0 | 25.0 | 26.0 | 12.75 | 2029 | +36.2 |
| 6 | Starkov, Valery | 1882 | RUS | +18N | −10B | +12N | =9B | =8N | −1B | +16N | 4.0 | 22.5 | 22.5 | 10.00 | 1896 | +1.4 |
| 7 | Morozov, Mikhail Vas. | 1723 | RUS | −4N | +18B | −8N | +17B | +14B | =2N | =12N | 4.0 | 20.5 | 20.5 | 8.25 | 1861 | +41.2 |
| 8 | Kravtchenko, Vladimir G. | 1891 | RUS | +15B | −1N | +7B | =3N | =6B | =5N | −2B | 3.5 | 27.5 | 30.5 | 13.50 | 1894 | +0.6 |
| 9 | Zaykov, Sergey | 2107 | RUS | +5B | −2N | +11B | =6N | =10B | =3B | −4N | 3.5 | 26.0 | 29.5 | 13.75 | 1948 | -27.2 |
| 10 | Dyatkinskii, Andrey | 1823 | RUS | −3B | +6N | =15B | +11N | =9N | =4B | −1N | 3.5 | 26.0 | 29.0 | 13.00 | 1963 | +23.2 |
| 11 | Nochovniy, Vladimir | 1901 | RUS | +17N | =4B | −9N | −10B | +13N | −16B | +14N | 3.5 | 21.0 | 22.0 | 9.75 | 1839 | -10.6 |
| 12 | Nilov, Vladimir A. | 1760 | RUS | −1B | +16N | −6B | −15N | +18B | +17N | =7B | 3.5 | 20.5 | 20.5 | 6.00 | 1697 | -11.8 |
| 13 | Schetchikov, VladimirFM | 1703 | RUS | −2B | =15N | +16B | −14N | −11B | +18N | +17B | 3.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 5.50 | 1716 | +0.2 |
| 14 | Sergeev, Alexey B. | 1940 | RUS | +16B | −3N | −5B | +13B | −7N | +15N | −11B | 3.0 | 23.0 | 26.0 | 9.50 | 1753 | -33.2 |
| 15 | Petrov, Nikolay | 1526 | RUS | −8N | =13B | =10N | +12B | −4N | −14B | +18N | 3.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 7.00 | 1714 | +22.2 |
| 16 | Skulenkov, Nikolay | 1698 | RUS | −14N | −12B | −13N | +18N | +17B | +11N | −6B | 3.0 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 4.50 | 1673 | -4.6 |
| 17 | Evsukova, Marina | 1600 | RUS | −11B | −5N | +18B | −7N | −16N | −12B | −13N | 1.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 0.00 | 967 | -34.4 |
| 18 | Shalnova, Elena | 0 | RUS | −6B | −7N | −17N | −16B | −12N | −13B | −15B | 0.0 | 21.0 | 22.0 | 0.00 | 899 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Morozov, Mikhail Vas.RUS+41.24.0 pts · #11
- 2Polevoi, VladimirRUS+36.24.0 pts · #5
- 3Napalkov, VladimirRUS+29.25.0 pts · #2
- 1Evsukova, MarinaRUS-34.41.0 pts · #17
- 2Sergeev, Alexey B.RUS-33.23.0 pts · #10
- 3Zaykov, SergeyRUS-27.23.5 pts · #7
- R4+234 Elo gap
- R5+217 Elo gap
- R6+203 Elo gap