National Individual Championship 2026
8 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 04 Apr 2026 to 12 Apr 2026 in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg. 2 titled players from 2 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2144, and top seed was Michael Wiedenkeller (🇱🇺 LUX, IM, 2399).
Michael Wiedenkeller (🇱🇺 LUX, IM, 2399) won with 5.5/7, ahead of Aleksei Aliferenko (4.0) and Pierre Gengler (3.0). Wiedenkeller won solo starting round 6.
The biggest upset came in round 1: Rene Kalmes (2005) beat Fred Berend (IM, 2213), a +208-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 7 roundsIM Michael Wiedenkeller led from R2; +1.5-point edge over the runner-up.
IM Michael Wiedenkeller never relinquished the lead after R2; final gap +1.5 over the runner-up.
IM Michael Wiedenkeller drew with Aleksei Aliferenko (White).
IM Michael Wiedenkeller 3 wins (R1–R3)Aleksei Aliferenko 3 wins (R1–R4)Claude Kaber 3 wins (R4–R6)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1IMMichael Wiedenkeller | * | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 2Aleksei Aliferenko | ½ | * | 1 | 1 |
| 3Claude Kaber | 0 | 0 | * | 0 |
| 4Pierre Gengler | 0 | 0 | 1 | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wiedenkeller, MichaelIM | 2399 | LUX | +7B | +6N | +4B | F | =2B | +3N | +5B | 5.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 12.50 | 2491 | +3.6 |
| 2 | Aliferenko, Aleksei | 2191 | UKR | +4B | F | +5B | +3B | =1N | F | =6N | 4.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 12.00 | 2382 | +23.4 |
| 3 | Gengler, Pierre | 2130 | LUX | F | +4N | F | −2N | +5B | −1B | +7N | 3.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 6.00 | 2209 | +10.2 |
| 4 | Kaber, Claude | 2049 | LUX | −2N | −3B | −1N | +7B | +6N | +5N | F | 3.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 4.50 | 2149 | +14.6 |
| 5 | Kalmes, Rene | 2005 | LUX | +8N | =7B | −2N | +6B | −3N | −4B | −1N | 2.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 1.75 | 2062 | +7.6 |
| 6 | Mertens, Marc | 2127 | LUX | F | −1B | +7N | −5N | −4B | F | =2B | 1.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 2.50 | 1988 | -19.6 |
| 7 | Esmer, Kemal Eymen | 2040 | LUX | −1N | =5N | −6B | −4N | F | F | −3B | 0.5 | 19.5 | 19.5 | 1.25 | 1776 | -56.0 |
| 8 | Berend, FredIM | 2213 | LUX | −5B | F | F | F | F | F | F | 0.0 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 0.00 | 1205 | -7.7 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Aliferenko, AlekseiUKR+23.44.0 pts · #2
- 2Kaber, ClaudeLUX+14.63.0 pts · #3
- 3Gengler, PierreLUX+10.23.0 pts · #4
- 1Esmer, Kemal EymenLUX-56.00.5 pts · #7
- 2Mertens, MarcLUX-19.61.5 pts · #6
- 3Berend, FredIMLUX-7.70.0 pts · #8
- R1+208 Elo gap
- R4+122 Elo gap