Via May Invitational (Candidates)
Round-RobinStandard
8 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 10 May 2026 to 17 May 2026 in Seongnam, South Korea. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1775, and top seed was Junseok Byun (🇰🇷 KOR, 1838).
Joohwan Kwak (🇰🇷 KOR, 1758) won with 4.0/7, ahead of Andrey Kim (4.0) and Doyun A Lee (4.0). Kwak won on tie-break after catching the field in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 6: Junyoung Jang (1712) beat Junseok Byun (1838), a +126-point gap.
Location
🇰🇷Seongnam, South Korea
Dates
10 May 2026 → 17 May 2026
Time control
Standard: 60 minutes with 30 seconds increment from move 1
System
Round-robin · 7 rounds
Federations · 2 represented
🇰🇷South Korea×7
🇺🇿Uzbekistan×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 8 · 7 roundsJunyoung Jang led from R2 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
Co-leaders
2
1
1
1
3
1
4
R3 · LEADER CHANGE16 May
Junseok Byun takes the sole lead (2.5/3).
R5 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Junyoung Jang lost to Joohwan Kwak (Black).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 🇰🇷Kwak, Joohwan | 1758 | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4.0 | 13.50 | 24.0 | +27.6 | 1827 |
| 3 | 🇰🇷Kim, Andrey | 1781 | 1 | * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 13.50 | 24.0 | +17.2 | 1824 |
| 4 | 🇰🇷Lee, Doyun A | 1781 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4.0 | 13.25 | 24.0 | +17.2 | 1824 |
| 1 | 🇰🇷Jang, Junyoung | 1712 | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 12.50 | 24.0 | +23.8 | 1834 |
| 5 | 🇺🇿Yugay, Denis | 1721 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | * | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3.5 | 13.50 | 24.5 | +23.6 | 1782 |
| 6 | 🇰🇷Jun, Sanghui | 1801 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 10.50 | 25.0 | -26.1 | 1721 |
| 7 | 🇰🇷Byun, Junseok | 1838 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 3.0 | 10.25 | 25.0 | -47.6 | 1716 |
| 8 | 🇰🇷Nam, Kanghyeon | 1806 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | * | 2.5 | 8.50 | 25.5 | -27.0 | 1668 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Kwak, JoohwanKOR+27.64.0 pts · #2
- 2Jang, JunyoungKOR+23.84.0 pts · #1
- 3Yugay, DenisUZB+23.63.5 pts · #5
Top rating losers
- 1Byun, JunseokKOR-47.63.0 pts · #7
- 2Nam, KanghyeonKOR-27.02.5 pts · #8
- 3Jun, SanghuiKOR-26.13.0 pts · #6
Biggest upsets
- R6+126 Elo gap