Skalica, 27 August 2026 — The Chess Slovak Open® festival has passed its halfway mark. After five of nine rounds the closed Masters tournament could hardly be tighter: four grandmasters share the lead on three points and eight of the ten players are separated by just half a point.
Masters: Fier beats Donchenko, Korobov wins two in a row
Round five produced two decisive games. Alexandr Fier defeated top seed Alexander Donchenko with the white pieces, while Anton Korobov beat Ihor Samunenkov with black — following his round-four win over Fier, that makes it two victories in a row and puts him right back in the fight for first place. The remaining three games, including the leaders’ clash Dardha – Mendonca, were drawn.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Jerguš Pecháč | – | GM Abhimanyu Mishra | ½ – ½ |
| GM Daniel Dardha | – | GM Leon Luke Mendonca | ½ – ½ |
| GM Alexandr Fier | – | GM Alexander Donchenko | 1 – 0 |
| GM Ihor Samunenkov | – | GM Anton Korobov | 0 – 1 |
| GM Aditya Mittal | – | GM David Navara | ½ – ½ |
A day earlier, in round four, Leon Luke Mendonca had beaten home hero Jerguš Pecháč, David Navara got the better of Samunenkov and Korobov defeated Fier.
After five rounds a quartet leads on three points — Daniel Dardha, Leon Luke Mendonca, Aditya Mittal and Anton Korobov. Belgium’s Dardha, together with Mendonca and Mittal, is still unbeaten. Lurking half a point behind is another foursome: Navara, Mishra, Pecháč and Fier on 2.5 points. Donchenko and Samunenkov have 1.5 points each.
Queen Masters: Iveković on 4.5/5 — and today it’s the showdown
Tihana Iveković continues the tournament of her life. After a round-four draw with Haritomeni Markantonaki she beat Ema Walter in round five and, with 4.5 points from five games, leads the women’s closed tournament by half a point. Along the way she has just fulfilled the final requirement for the WIM title.
Only top seed Anastasiya Rakhmangulova is keeping pace: in round five she defeated Nataša Richterová with the black pieces and stands on four points. Oľga Sikorová stopped Evgeniya Doluhanova, and Anna Lhotská prevailed against Alena Mrvová.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WFM Anna Lhotská | – | WIM Alena Mrvová | 1 – 0 |
| WIM Nataša Richterová | – | WGM Anastasiya Rakhmangulova | 0 – 1 |
| WFM Tihana Iveković | – | WFM Ema Walter | 1 – 0 |
| WFM Sunyuktha C M N | – | WFM Haritomeni Markantonaki | ½ – ½ |
| WGM Oľga Sikorová | – | WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova | 1 – 0 |
Today at 15:00 the tournament’s biggest clash is on the programme: Rakhmangulova – Iveković. The Croatian can extend her lead, while a win would take the Ukrainian to the top.
Open A and Open B: Bochnička alone in front, Lakota still perfect
In the main open tournament, Open A, Slovak International Master Vladimír Bochnička (ŠK Osuské) has broken clear on 4.5 points from five games. Half a point behind him is a quartet of Reinis Paikens, Jakub Vojta, grandmaster Nikola Sedlák and Laertes Neuhoff. The surprise of the tournament is Czech WFM Tamae Severina Jakubše (1889), who is on 3.5 points and keeping up with the favourites.
In Open B, played for the Kvarteto Cup, Ján Lakota (ŠK Doprastav Bratislava) reigns with a perfect score of five points. His closest pursuers — Alex Macošek, Marek Kozdon, Alex Bartal and Michal Ciglian — trail by a full point.
What’s next
Round six is played today, Thursday 27 August at 15:00. In the Masters, home hero Pecháč faces leader Dardha and Mendonca meets Fier, while the Queen Masters features the aforementioned showdown Rakhmangulova – Iveković. All games are broadcast live, with the key battles covered by festival ambassador grandmaster Sergei Movsesian. The festival culminates with the final round on Sunday 30 August from 9:30.
Standings and pairings are available at chess-results.com and www.chessslovakopen.sk, with the live broadcast at chesstournaments.eu.