The youngest grandmaster in Slovak history, two-time winner of the Skalica festival, and the man who drew with Magnus Carlsen. GM Jerguš Pecháč (ELO 2536) will fly the Slovak flag at the Chess Slovak Masters 2026 as the only home player in the elite field of ten.
He became a grandmaster at 14 and beat Abhimanyu Mishra — today the youngest grandmaster in history — in the final of the World U12 Championship. Ukrainian super-talent GM Ihor Samunenkov (ELO 2616) meets him over the board again after five years, at the Chess Slovak Masters 2026 in Skalica.
The last open seat in the closed Chess Slovak Masters 2026 goes to four-time Brazilian champion GM Alexandr Fier (ELO 2566). The elite field of ten is complete — players from four continents will meet in Skalica for the strongest chess tournament ever held in Slovakia.
