Malta Junior U12 Championship
14 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 07 Mar 2026 to 15 Mar 2026 in Qormi, Malta. Top 10 Elo average was 759, and top seed was Nikol Borg (🇲🇹 MLT, 1596).
George Borg Mercieca (🇲🇹 MLT, 1480) won with 6.0/7, ahead of Thomas Azzopardi (6.0) and Nikol Borg (5.5). Borg Mercieca shared the lead from round 5, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 5: George Borg Mercieca (1480) beat Nikol Borg (1596), a +116-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 7 roundsTight race until R7; 2 players tied at 6.0/7, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.
2 players finish on 6.0/7. Borg Mercieca takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (27.0).
Thomas Azzopardi beat George Borg Mercieca (Black).
Thomas Azzopardi 4 wins (R4–R7)George Borg Mercieca 6 wins (R2–R7)Nikol Borg 3 wins (R1–R3)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishersGrille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borg Mercieca, George | 1480 | MLT | −2B | +9N | +7B | +5N | +3N | +4B | +8B | 6.0 | 27.0 | 30.5 | 24.50 | 1673 | +31.2 |
| 2 | Azzopardi, Thomas | 1518 | MLT | +1N | +8B | −3N | +11B | +4B | +10N | +5B | 6.0 | 26.5 | 29.5 | 24.00 | 1714 | +40.8 |
| 3 | Borg, Nikol | 1596 | MLT | +7B | +5N | +2B | =4N | −1B | +8N | +9B | 5.5 | 27.5 | 31.0 | 22.75 | 1510 | -14.4 |
| 4 | Borg Mercieca, Elena | 1519 | MLT | +13N | +6B | +10N | =3B | −2N | −1N | +7B | 4.5 | 28.0 | 30.0 | 15.25 | 1430 | -23.2 |
| 5 | FIDE 5606748 | 0 | — | +?N | −3B | +13N | −1B | +11N | +14B | −2N | 4.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 6.50 | 731 | 0.0 |
| 6 | FIDE 5606063 | 0 | — | +?B | −4N | F | F | +?B | +13N | +10B | 4.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 5.00 | 1504 | 0.0 |
| 7 | FIDE 5606551 | 0 | — | −3N | +12B | −1N | +?B | +13N | =9B | −4N | 3.5 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 6.25 | 736 | 0.0 |
| 8 | FIDE 5606098 | 0 | — | +11B | −2N | =?B | +?N | +10B | −3B | −1N | 3.5 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 6.00 | 1324 | 0.0 |
| 9 | FIDE 5605628 | 0 | — | +?N | −1B | +14N | −10B | +12B | =7N | −3N | 3.5 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 5.75 | 717 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Ozsoy, Ozgun | 1474 | MLT | +12N | +14B | −4B | +9N | −8N | −2B | −6N | 3.0 | 24.0 | 25.5 | 7.50 | 725 | -34.4 |
| 11 | FIDE 343491995 | 0 | — | −8N | +?B | F | −2N | −5B | +?B | +14N | 3.0 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 1.50 | 716 | 0.0 |
| 12 | FIDE 5606772 | 0 | — | −10B | −7N | F | =14B | −9N | +?B | +?N | 2.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 0.75 | 674 | 0.0 |
| 13 | FIDE 5606730 | 0 | — | −4B | +?N | −5B | +?N | −7B | −6B | F | 2.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 0.00 | 733 | 0.0 |
| 14 | FIDE 5606713 | 0 | — | F | −10N | −9B | =12N | +?B | −5N | −11B | 1.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 1.25 | 674 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Azzopardi, ThomasMLT+40.86.0 pts · #1
- 2Borg Mercieca, GeorgeMLT+31.26.0 pts · #2
- 3FIDE 56056280.03.5 pts · #12
- 1Ozsoy, OzgunMLT-34.43.0 pts · #13
- 2Borg Mercieca, ElenaMLT-23.24.5 pts · #3
- 3Borg, NikolMLT-14.45.5 pts · #4
- R5+116 Elo gap