PRAGUE INTERNATIONAL CHESS FESTIVAL 2026 - E5 round-robin tournament
Round-RobinStandard
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 26 Feb 2026 to 06 Mar 2026 in Praha, Czech Republic. 4 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1279, and top seed was Lauritz Grimberg (🇩🇪 GER, 1619).
Stepan Koukola (🇨🇿 CZE, 1588) won with 8.0/9, ahead of Otto Zakoucky (6.5) and Paula Pena Comenge (6.5). Koukola won solo starting round 6.
Location
🇨🇿Praha, Czech Republic
Dates
26 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
Federations · 4 represented
🇨🇿Czech Republic×6
🇪🇸Spain×1
🇺🇦Ukraine×1
🇩🇪Germany×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsStepan Koukola led from R2 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
Co-leaders
2
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
R2–R9 · LEAD HELD
Stepan Koukola never relinquished the lead after R2; final gap +1.5 over the runner-up.
R9 · DECISIVE LEAD06 Mar
Stepan Koukola opens a +1.5-point gap over the chasing pack (closest: Paula Pena Comenge); the title is out of reach before R9.
R9 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Stepan Koukola beat Paula Pena Comenge (White).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇿Koukola, Stepan | 1588 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 31.75 | 37.0 | +104.8 | 1909 |
| 3 | 🇨🇿Zakoucky, Otto | 1592 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 25.00 | 38.5 | +21.2 | 1701 |
| 2 | 🇪🇸Pena Comenge, Paula | 1591 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 23.25 | 38.5 | +42.8 | 1701 |
| 5 | 🇨🇿Cyhelsky, Ludek | 1601 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 17.00 | 40.0 | -10.6 | 1548 |
| 7 | 🇨🇿Klima, Martin | 1609 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 14.75 | 40.5 | -22.4 | 1495 |
| 8 | 🇨🇿Katasonov, Mikhail | 1594 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 14.25 | 41.0 | -27.8 | 1442 |
| 6 | 🇩🇪Grimberg, Lauritz | 1619 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.0 | 13.50 | 41.0 | -49.2 | 1494 |
| 4 | 🇨🇿Soukup, Erik | 1591 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 14.50 | 42.0 | -19.2 | 1549 |
| 9 | 🇺🇦Pryhov, Yevhenii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | 1 | 2.5 | 6.00 | 42.5 | 0.0 | 1348 |
| 10 | FIDE 23788933 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | 1.0 | 3.00 | 44.0 | 0.0 | 1277 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Koukola, StepanCZE+104.88.0 pts · #1
- 2Pena Comenge, PaulaESP+42.86.5 pts · #2
- 3Zakoucky, OttoCZE+21.26.5 pts · #3
Top rating losers
- 1Grimberg, LauritzGER-49.24.0 pts · #6
- 2Katasonov, MikhailCZE-27.84.0 pts · #8
- 3Klima, MartinCZE-22.44.5 pts · #7