Chess Slovak Open® 2026 announces the biggest star of the closed Chess Slovak Masters tournament. Coming to Skalica is GM Abhimanyu Mishra — the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess and one of the most closely watched young players on the planet.
A record that stood for almost two decades
Abhimanyu Mishra (born 5 February 2009 in New Jersey, USA) was rewriting history as a child. In 2019 he became the youngest International Master in history — aged just ten. And on 30 June 2021 in Budapest he completed his final grandmaster norm at 12 years, 4 months and 25 days, breaking Sergey Karjakin’s famous record from 2002. To this day, nobody has taken that record from him.
Beating the reigning World Champion
In case anyone thought it was just a record for the books: at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, aged 16, he finished 5th and defeated reigning World Champion Gukesh. His career-high rating of 2652 took him to No. 68 in the world rankings; his current rating on the July FIDE list is 2638.
A rematch in Skalica
In the closed Chess Slovak Masters 2026, Mishra joins a line-up featuring Alexander Donchenko (Germany), David Navara (Czechia), Aditya Mittal (India), Leon Luke Mendonca (India), Anton Korobov (Ukraine), Daniel Dardha (Belgium), local hero Jerguš Pecháč and Ukrainian super-talent Ihor Samunenkov — born, like Mishra, in 2009. The two youngest grandmasters in the world at one table — with a twist: in the final of the 2021 World Youth Championship U12, it was Samunenkov who beat Mishra. Skalica will host a little rematch. This closed GM tournament with an average rating above 2600 will be the strongest chess tournament ever played on Slovak soil.
Timeline of achievements
- 2019 — Youngest International Master in history (aged 10)
- 2021 — Grandmaster at 12 years, 4 months and 25 days — the youngest GM in history, breaking Karjakin’s record
- 2025 — 5th place at the FIDE Grand Swiss • win over reigning World Champion Gukesh
- 2025 — Peak ELO 2652, No. 68 in the world
- 2026 — Playing the Chess Slovak Masters in Skalica
Chess Slovak Open® 2026 — information and registration
The international chess festival Chess Slovak Open® 2026 takes place 22–30 August 2026 at the House of Culture in Skalica. The festival’s total prize fund is €15,000. Alongside the closed Chess Slovak Masters, the programme includes the open Open A and Open B tournaments, the women’s Queen Masters and accompanying events.
The tournament commentator will be GM Sergej Movsesian, festival ambassador.
Registration for Chess Slovak Open® 2026 is open at chessslovakopen.sk/registration-2026.