Skalica, 28 August 2026 — Round six of the Chess Slovak Open® festival was the most combative so far: four of the five games in the closed Masters tournament were decisive. Indian grandmaster Leon Luke Mendonca defeated Alexandr Fier and, with four points from six games, is the sole leader. In the Queen Masters, Anastasiya Rakhmangulova won the eagerly awaited clash of the leaders against Tihana Iveković and took over first place.
Masters: Mendonca breaks clear, Mishra and Donchenko finally win
Twenty-year-old Leon Luke Mendonca, winner of the 2020 Skalica Chess Festival, dispatched Brazil’s Alexandr Fier with the white pieces in round six and is the only player on four points. He also remains unbeaten, alongside Dardha, Mittal and Mishra.
The youngest grandmaster in history, Abhimanyu Mishra, had drawn all five of his games — in round six came his first win, and against David Navara no less. Top seed Alexander Donchenko recorded his first victory in Skalica, with white against Ihor Samunenkov. Korobov – Mittal ended in a draw, and home hero Jerguš Pecháč held the previous round’s co-leader Daniel Dardha to a draw with the black pieces.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Abhimanyu Mishra | – | GM David Navara | 1 – 0 |
| GM Anton Korobov | – | GM Aditya Mittal | ½ – ½ |
| GM Alexander Donchenko | – | GM Ihor Samunenkov | 1 – 0 |
| GM Leon Luke Mendonca | – | GM Alexandr Fier | 1 – 0 |
| GM Jerguš Pecháč | – | GM Daniel Dardha | ½ – ½ |
Half a point behind Mendonca sits a quartet of Dardha, Mittal, Mishra and Korobov. Pecháč has three points, while Donchenko, Navara and Fier are on 2.5. Samunenkov, who lost for the third time in a row, brings up the rear on 1.5 points.
| # | Masters standings after round 6 | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | GM Leon Luke Mendonca (IND) | 4 |
| 2. | GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) | 3.5 |
| 3. | GM Aditya Mittal (IND) | 3.5 |
| 4. | GM Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) | 3.5 |
| 5. | GM Anton Korobov (UKR) | 3.5 |
| 6. | GM Jerguš Pecháč (SVK) | 3 |
| 7. | GM Alexander Donchenko (GER) | 2.5 |
| 8. | GM David Navara (CZE) | 2.5 |
| 9. | GM Alexandr Fier (BRA) | 2.5 |
| 10. | GM Ihor Samunenkov (UKR) | 1.5 |
Queen Masters: Rakhmangulova wins the showdown and takes the lead
The battle of the leaders went according to the ratings. Top seed Anastasiya Rakhmangulova beat Tihana Iveković with the white pieces, handing the Croatian her first defeat after five rounds without a loss. Since her only slip against Alena Mrvová in round three, the Ukrainian grandmaster has won three games in a row and leads on five points, half a point clear.
Evgeniya Doluhanova is back in the medal race after beating local favourite Alena Mrvová with black to reach four points. Haritomeni Markantonaki defeated Oľga Sikorová, Anna Lhotská beat Nataša Richterová, and Walter – Sunyuktha was drawn.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WIM Alena Mrvová | – | WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova | 0 – 1 |
| WFM Haritomeni Markantonaki | – | WGM Oľga Sikorová | 1 – 0 |
| WFM Ema Walter | – | WFM Sunyuktha C M N | ½ – ½ |
| WGM Anastasiya Rakhmangulova | – | WFM Tihana Iveković | 1 – 0 |
| WFM Anna Lhotská | – | WIM Nataša Richterová | 1 – 0 |
| # | Queen Masters standings after round 6 | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | WGM Anastasiya Rakhmangulova (UKR) | 5 |
| 2. | WFM Tihana Iveković (CRO) | 4.5 |
| 3. | WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova (UKR) | 4 |
| 4. | WFM Haritomeni Markantonaki (GRE) | 3.5 |
| 5. | WFM Sunyuktha C M N (IND) | 3 |
| 6. | WFM Anna Lhotská (CZE) | 3 |
| 7. | WIM Alena Mrvová (SVK) | 2 |
| 8. | WGM Oľga Sikorová (CZE) | 2 |
| 9. | WIM Nataša Richterová (CZE) | 2 |
| 10. | WFM Ema Walter (SVK) | 1 |
Open A and Open B: Sedlák beats Bochnička, Lakota drops his first half point
In the main open tournament, Open A, board one produced an upset: overnight leader Vladimír Bochnička lost with black to Serbian grandmaster Nikola Sedlák. Sedlák thus moved to the top on five points from six games, level with German FM Laertes Neuhoff, who defeated Reinis Paikens. Half a point behind are Bochnička, Jakub Vojta and top seed Áron Pásti. The sensation of the tournament, WFM Tamae Severina Jakubše, suffered her first loss — to Arsenijs Savičevs — and stands on 3.5 points.
In Open B, played for the Kvarteto Cup, Ján Lakota (ŠK Doprastav Bratislava) dropped his first half point with a draw against Marek Kozdon and has 5.5 out of six. Alex Macošek, who beat Alex Bartal, closed to within half a point. The group on 4.5 points comprises Gustavs Rupais, Marek Kozdon, WCM Karin Novomeská and Michal Ciglian.
What’s next
Round seven is played today, Friday 28 August at 15:00. In the Masters, Dardha meets Mishra, leader Mendonca has black against Samunenkov and home hero Pecháč has black against Fier. In the Queen Masters, Rakhmangulova faces Sunyuktha with the black pieces and Iveković plays Lhotská. 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.