Cyprus Closed Women Chess Championship 2026
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 06 Mar 2026 to 29 Mar 2026 in Larnaca, Cyprus. 5 titled players. Top 10 Elo average was 1306, and top seed was Christianna Markidou (🇨🇾 CYP, WFM, 1711).
Aida Paunescu (🇨🇾 CYP, WCM, 1612) won with 7.5/9, ahead of Aikaterina Sarkisian (6.5) and Victoria Sokolova (6.5). Paunescu won solo starting round 5.
The biggest upset came in round 5: Aikaterina Sarkisian (1565) beat Larisa Sokolova (WCM, 1693), a +128-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsWCM Aida Paunescu led from R5 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight. Title race converged from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 1 by R5.
WCM Aida Paunescu never relinquished the lead after R5; final gap +1.0 over the runner-up.
WCM Aida Paunescu beat WCM Victoria Sokolova (White).
WCM Aida Paunescu 5 wins (R1–R5)WCM Victoria Sokolova 6 wins (R3–R8)Aikaterina Sarkisian 3 wins (R1–R3)
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇾WCMPaunescu, Aida | 1612 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 29.00 | 37.5 | +90.4 | 1864 |
| 3 | 🇨🇾Sarkisian, Aikaterina | 1565 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 23.75 | 38.5 | +71.2 | 1744 |
| 2 | 🇨🇾WCMSokolova, Victoria | 1700 | 0 | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 21.75 | 38.5 | +12.0 | 1723 |
| 4 | 🇨🇾WCMSokolova, Larisa | 1693 | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 20.75 | 39.0 | -2.8 | 1672 |
| 5 | 🇨🇾WCMPica, Eleni | 1687 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 18.75 | 39.0 | -2.8 | 1673 |
| 6 | 🇨🇾WFMMarkidou, Christianna | 1711 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 14.50 | 40.0 | -26.2 | 1570 |
| 7 | 🇨🇾Bouzana, Christina | 1664 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 12.50 | 40.5 | -53.2 | 1524 |
| 8 | 🇨🇾Georgiou, Katerina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.00 | 44.0 | 0.0 | 1309 |
| 9 | FIDE 5909520 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 0 | 1.0 | 1.00 | 44.0 | 0.0 | 831 |
| 10 | 🇨🇾Stefanou, Athina | 1429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 1.0 | 1.00 | 44.0 | -59.6 | 860 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Paunescu, AidaWCMCYP+90.47.5 pts · #1
- 2Sarkisian, AikaterinaCYP+71.26.5 pts · #3
- 3Sokolova, VictoriaWCMCYP+12.06.5 pts · #2
- 1Stefanou, AthinaCYP-59.61.0 pts · #10
- 2Bouzana, ChristinaCYP-53.24.5 pts · #7
- 3Markidou, ChristiannaWFMCYP-26.25.0 pts · #6
- R5+128 Elo gap