XYCHESS Classic Grand Prix Jan26 U2200
Open SwissStandard
16 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 31 Jan 2026 to 01 Feb 2026 in Gzira, Malta. 5 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1616, and top seed was Steve Mizzi (🇲🇹 MLT, 1842).
Steve Mizzi (🇲🇹 MLT, 1842) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Jacob Zammit (4.0) and Paolo Rovatti (4.0). Mizzi shared the lead from round 4 and broke clear in the final round.
Location
🇲🇹Gzira, Malta
Dates
31 Jan 2026 → 01 Feb 2026
Time control
Standard: 60 minutes with 30 seconds increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Federations · 5 represented
🇲🇹Malta×10
🇮🇹Italy×1
🇮🇳India×1
🇵🇱Poland×1
🇨🇭Switzerland×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsSteve Mizzi led from R5; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up. Title race converged from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 1 by R5.
Co-leaders
7
2
1
2
1
R5 · LEADER CHANGE01 Feb
Steve Mizzi takes the sole lead (4.5/5).
R4 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Steve Mizzi beat Jacob Zammit (White).
WIN STREAKS · 2 top finishers
Steve Mizzi 4 wins (R2–R5)Jacob Zammit 3 wins (R1–R3)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Steve Mizzi | * | 1 | — | 1 |
| 2Jacob Zammit | 0 | * | 1 | — |
| 3Paolo Rovatti | — | 0 | * | — |
| 4Mark Mikhail Gusarov | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mizzi, Steve | 1842 | MLT | =6N | +10B | +8N | +2B | +4N | 4.5 | 12.0 | 14.0 | 12.75 | 1955 | +11.4 |
| 2 | Zammit, Jacob | 1835 | MLT | +13B | +7N | +3B | −1N | +6B | 4.0 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 10.50 | 1850 | +4.4 |
| 3 | Rovatti, Paolo | 1703 | ITA | +10N | +5B | −2N | +11B | +12N | 4.0 | 11.0 | 13.0 | 9.00 | 1778 | +8.2 |
| 4 | Gusarov, Mark Mikhail | 1548 | MLT | +9N | =8B | +5N | +12B | −1B | 3.5 | 11.5 | 13.5 | 8.00 | 1736 | +38.0 |
| 5 | Abins Kottungal Basheer | 1501 | IND | +11B | −3N | −4B | +15N | +9B | 3.0 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 5.00 | 826 | -26.8 |
| 6 | Briffa, Zachary | 1462 | MLT | =1B | +13N | −12B | +9B | −2N | 2.5 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 5.75 | 1589 | +18.0 |
| 7 | Ozsoy, Ozkan | 1584 | MLT | +15N | −2B | −9N | =8B | +14N | 2.5 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 3.50 | 1554 | -3.6 |
| 8 | Manz, Michael | 1658 | SUI | +14B | =4N | −1B | =7N | −11N | 2.0 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 4.50 | 1533 | -20.4 |
| 9 | Ozsoy, Ozgun | 0 | MLT | −4B | +14N | +7B | −6N | −5N | 2.0 | 11.5 | 13.0 | 4.00 | 1331 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Gauci, David | 1429 | MLT | −3B | −1N | +16B | −13N | +15B | 2.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 1.00 | 869 | -14.6 |
| 11 | Radomski, Adam | 0 | POL | −5N | F | +15B | −3N | +8B | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 3.00 | 1496 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Grech, Gabriel | 1563 | MLT | +16B | F | +6N | −4N | −3B | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.50 | 1446 | -18.8 |
| 13 | Vella, Brian | 1462 | MLT | −2N | −6B | =14N | +10B | F | 1.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.75 | 1454 | -5.2 |
| 14 | Brincat, Kaiden | 0 | MLT | −8N | −9B | =13B | +16N | −7B | 1.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.75 | 1295 | 0.0 |
| 15 | FIDE 8667365 | 0 | — | −7B | +16N | −11N | −5B | −10N | 1.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.00 | 708 | 0.0 |
| 16 | FIDE 1355392 | 0 | — | −12N | −15B | −10N | −14B | F | 0.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 702 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Gusarov, Mark MikhailMLT+38.03.5 pts · #4
- 2Briffa, ZacharyMLT+18.02.5 pts · #5
- 3Mizzi, SteveMLT+11.44.5 pts · #1
Top rating losers
- 1Abins Kottungal BasheerIND-26.83.0 pts · #13
- 2Manz, MichaelSUI-20.42.0 pts · #8
- 3Grech, GabrielMLT-18.82.0 pts · #10