Skalica, 29 August 2026 — The closed Masters tournament of the Chess Slovak Open® festival has completed round eight, and the race for first place remains wide open before Sunday’s final. Aditya Mittal beat compatriot Leon Luke Mendonca with the black pieces in round eight and goes into Sunday’s final round as the sole leader on five points. Daniel Dardha, Abhimanyu Mishra and Anton Korobov are half a point behind.
Round eight: Navara beats Donchenko
The key game of the round was played on board three: Aditya Mittal defeated his compatriot Leon Luke Mendonca with black and is the only player on five points. Mendonca, the leader after round six, lost for the second time in a row and dropped to four.
The only other decisive game of the round went to David Navara, who beat top seed Alexander Donchenko with the black pieces and, on four points, is back in the fight for the podium. Mishra – Korobov, Pecháč – Samunenkov and Dardha – Fier were all drawn — Brazil’s Fier thus stayed half a point behind the leading group.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Abhimanyu Mishra | – | GM Anton Korobov | ½ – ½ |
| GM Alexander Donchenko | – | GM David Navara | 0 – 1 |
| GM Leon Luke Mendonca | – | GM Aditya Mittal | 0 – 1 |
| GM Jerguš Pecháč | – | GM Ihor Samunenkov | ½ – ½ |
| GM Daniel Dardha | – | GM Alexandr Fier | ½ – ½ |
Before the final round the still unbeaten Mittal therefore leads on five points. Half a point behind are Daniel Dardha, Abhimanyu Mishra and Anton Korobov; Dardha and Mishra are also yet to lose. Navara, Fier and Mendonca have four points each.
| # | Masters standings after round 8 | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | GM Aditya Mittal (IND) | 5 |
| 2. | GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) | 4.5 |
| 3. | GM Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) | 4.5 |
| 4. | GM Anton Korobov (UKR) | 4.5 |
| 5. | GM Leon Luke Mendonca (IND) | 4 |
| 6. | GM David Navara (CZE) | 4 |
| 7. | GM Alexandr Fier (BRA) | 4 |
| 8. | GM Jerguš Pecháč (SVK) | 3.5 |
| 9. | GM Ihor Samunenkov (UKR) | 3 |
| 10. | GM Alexander Donchenko (GER) | 3 |
The final on Sunday from 9:30
A draw with white against home hero Pecháč on Sunday guarantees Mittal at least a share of first place; a win would secure the title outright regardless of the other results. Dardha, Mishra and Korobov can catch him only by winning.
The final ninth round is played on Sunday 30 August from 9:30 in the morning, so that the closing ceremony can follow the games. Pairings: Fier – Mishra, Samunenkov – Dardha, Mittal – Pecháč, Navara – Mendonca, Korobov – Donchenko. The Masters prize fund is €3,900.
All games are broadcast live with commentary by GM Sergei Movsesian at chesstournaments.eu, with results at chess-results.com and www.chessslovakopen.sk.