Skalica, 24 August 2026 — Round three of the Chess Slovak Open® festival produced the most decisive games so far. Three of the five games in the closed Masters tournament ended decisively, and three grandmasters now share the lead.
Masters: home hero Pecháč beats Donchenko
The most closely watched game of the round was the clash between home grandmaster Jerguš Pecháč and top seed Alexander Donchenko. Pecháč prevailed with the white pieces and claimed the most valuable scalp of the tournament.
Two more games ended decisively. Daniel Dardha beat Anton Korobov and Alexandr Fier got the better of David Navara. The remaining two encounters — Mendonca against Mishra and Samunenkov against Mittal — were drawn.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Leon Luke Mendonca | – | GM Abhimanyu Mishra | ½ – ½ |
| GM Jerguš Pecháč | – | GM Alexander Donchenko | 1 – 0 |
| GM Daniel Dardha | – | GM Anton Korobov | 1 – 0 |
| GM Alexandr Fier | – | GM David Navara | 1 – 0 |
| GM Ihor Samunenkov | – | GM Aditya Mittal | ½ – ½ |
After three rounds, a trio shares the lead on two points — Aditya Mittal, Daniel Dardha and Jerguš Pecháč. Close behind them is a quartet on 1.5 points: Samunenkov, Mishra, Fier and Mendonca. Donchenko, Navara and Korobov have one point each so far.
Queen Masters: Iveković on a perfect score
In the women’s closed tournament, Tihana Iveković is the only player with a one hundred percent record. In round three she beat Evgeniya Doluhanova and, with three points from three games, leads by a full point.
The surprise of the round came from Alena Mrvová, who defeated top seed Anastasiya Rakhmangulova with the black pieces. Anna Lhotská prevailed against Ema Walter, Sunyuktha C M N beat Oľga Sikorová, and the game Richterová – Markantonaki ended in a draw.
| White | Black | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WGM Anastasiya Rakhmangulova | – | WIM Alena Mrvová | 0 – 1 |
| WFM Anna Lhotská | – | WFM Ema Walter | 1 – 0 |
| WIM Nataša Richterová | – | WFM Haritomeni Markantonaki | ½ – ½ |
| WFM Tihana Iveković | – | WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova | 1 – 0 |
| WFM Sunyuktha C M N | – | WGM Oľga Sikorová | 1 – 0 |
Behind the leader Iveković (3 points) follows a trio on two points — Rakhmangulova, Sunyuktha and Doluhanova.
Iveković completes her WIM title in Skalica
The Croatian player’s perfect start has a second dimension. Tihana Iveković had already achieved the three norms required for the WIM title before arriving in Skalica — the only condition missing was the rating threshold of 2200. Three wins from three games against strong opponents have carried her over that mark in the live ratings.
Iveković has thus fulfilled all the requirements for the Woman International Master title and will apply for it through her federation. Skalica adds another title story to its history.
Open A and Open B: perfect-score duos in front
In the main open tournament, Open A, two players kept a perfect score of three points — Jakub Vojta and Vladimír Bochnička. They are chased by a group of six on 2.5 points, headed by Laertes Neuhoff, Reinis Paikens and Martin Fargač. Young Hungarian Zsombor Pásti has also moved into the top ten.
In Open B, played for the Kvarteto Cup, Ján Lakota and Alex Macošek lead with three points. A quartet of Rupais, Kozdon, Jarábek and Bjolek follows on 2.5 points, with Karin Novomeská right behind them.
What’s next
Round four is played on Tuesday 25 August at 15:00. All games of the Masters, Queen Masters and both open tournaments are broadcast live, with the key battles covered by festival ambassador grandmaster Sergei Movsesian.
Standings and pairings are available at chess-results.com and www.chessslovakopen.sk, with the live broadcast at chesstournaments.eu.