The III International Chess Tournament UzChess Cup CHALLENGERS
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 08 Jun 2026 to 15 Jun 2026 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 10 titled players from 7 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2580, and top seed was Bogdan-Daniel Deac (🇷🇴 ROU, GM, 2656).
Mahammad Muradli (🇦🇿 AZE, GM, 2617) won with 7.5/9, ahead of Aditya Mittal (5.5) and Bogdan-Daniel Deac (5.0). Muradli won solo starting round 4.
The biggest upset came in round 8: Jakhongir Vakhidov (GM, 2511) beat Eltaj Safarli (GM, 2648), a +137-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsGM Mahammad Muradli led from R4 onwards, the title was decided early.
GM Mahammad Muradli never relinquished the lead after R4; final gap +2.0 over the runner-up.
GM Mahammad Muradli opens a +1.5-point gap over the chasing pack (closest: GM Aditya Mittal); the title is out of reach before R9.
GM Mahammad Muradli drew with GM Aditya Mittal (White).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇿GMMuradli, Mahammad | 2617 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 7.5 | 32.00 | 37.5 | +24.9 | 2849 |
| 2 | 🇮🇳GMAditya Mittal | 2599 | ½ | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 22.50 | 39.5 | +7.5 | 2658 |
| 3 | 🇷🇴GMDeac, Bogdan-Daniel | 2656 | 0 | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.0 | 20.25 | 40.0 | -5.1 | 2615 |
| 4 | 🇺🇦GMKuzubov, Yuriy | 2607 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.5 | 17.50 | 40.5 | -3.6 | 2577 |
| 6 | 🇺🇿IMSuyarov, Mukhammadzokhid | 2551 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 16.75 | 40.5 | +3.9 | 2583 |
| 5 | 🇺🇸GMJacobson, Brandon | 2604 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 16.50 | 40.5 | -3.3 | 2577 |
| 7 | 🇹🇲GMAtabayev, Saparmyrat | 2479 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | * | 0 | 0 | ½ | 4.0 | 18.25 | 41.0 | +8.5 | 2548 |
| 8 | 🇺🇿GMAbdisalimov, Abdimalik | 2528 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 4.0 | 16.50 | 41.0 | +2.0 | 2543 |
| 9 | 🇦🇿GMSafarli, Eltaj | 2648 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | * | 0 | 3.0 | 14.50 | 42.0 | -24.1 | 2447 |
| 10 | 🇺🇿GMVakhidov, Jakhongir | 2511 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | * | 2.5 | 10.75 | 42.5 | -10.7 | 2422 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Muradli, MahammadGMAZE+24.97.5 pts · #1
- 2Atabayev, SaparmyratGMTKM+8.54.0 pts · #7
- 3Aditya MittalGMIND+7.55.5 pts · #2
- 1Safarli, EltajGMAZE-24.13.0 pts · #9
- 2Vakhidov, JakhongirGMUZB-10.72.5 pts · #10
- 3Deac, Bogdan-DanielGMROU-5.15.0 pts · #3
- R8+137 Elo gap
- R5+125 Elo gap
- R2+120 Elo gap