Chess semi final Winter - Under the aegis of BSCF
8 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 13 Feb 2026 to 15 Feb 2026 in Sliven, Bulgaria. Top 10 Elo average was 1795, and top seed was Dimitar Vandev (🇧🇬 BUL, 1991).
Momchil Zhelev (🇧🇬 BUL, 1868) won with 6.0/7, ahead of Radoslav Ochkov (5.5) and Mario Bayatov (4.5). Zhelev shared the lead from round 6 and broke clear in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 1: Momchil Zhelev (1868) beat Dimitar Vandev (1991), a +123-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 8 · 7 roundsMomchil Zhelev led from R7 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight. Title race converged from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 1 by R7.
Momchil Zhelev takes the sole lead (6.0/7).
Momchil Zhelev drew with Radoslav Ochkov (White).
Momchil Zhelev won 4 in a row (R4–R7).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇧🇬Zhelev, Momchil | 1868 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 17.00 | 22.0 | +71.6 | 2094 |
| 2 | 🇧🇬Ochkov, Radoslav | 1935 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 15.00 | 22.5 | +13.2 | 2005 |
| 3 | 🇧🇬Bayatov, Mario | 1852 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.5 | 12.50 | 23.5 | +17.6 | 1889 |
| 4 | 🇧🇬Vandev, Dimitar | 1991 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 12.25 | 23.5 | -17.2 | 1871 |
| 5 | 🇧🇬Ochkova, Vasilena | 1772 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2.5 | 6.00 | 25.5 | -30.8 | 1696 |
| 6 | 🇧🇬Marinov, Dimitar D | 1629 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 4.75 | 25.5 | +24.0 | 1717 |
| 7 | 🇧🇬Ochkova, Maria | 1579 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1.5 | 4.00 | 26.5 | +0.4 | 1594 |
| 8 | 🇧🇬Danev, Veselin | 1733 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1.0 | 2.00 | 27.0 | -74.8 | 1495 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Zhelev, MomchilBUL+71.66.0 pts · #1
- 2Marinov, Dimitar DBUL+24.02.5 pts · #6
- 3Bayatov, MarioBUL+17.64.5 pts · #3
- 1Danev, VeselinBUL-74.81.0 pts · #8
- 2Ochkova, VasilenaBUL-30.82.5 pts · #5
- 3Vandev, DimitarBUL-17.24.5 pts · #4
- R1+123 Elo gap
- R1+104 Elo gap