Ian Nepomniachtchi starts Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026 with a win
The Sardinia Chess Festival 2026 started yesterday, with Ian Nepomniachtchi being the top-seeded player. In the first round itself, there was a surprising result when the 2nd-seeded Parham Maghsoodloo drew with the 2270-rated FM Massimiliano Botta of Italy. Ian started the event with a win over Kavin Vijaykumar of India. In other Indian results, Murali Karthikeyan, Aditya Mittal, Leon Luke Mendonca, and Abhimanyu Puranik started the event with a win. Harika Dronavalli drew her first game with the black pieces. Round 2 will start at 3:30 PM CET/ 7 PM IST. Photos: FT Niklesh Jain
Every win matters
The Sardinia Chess Festival 2026 is part of the FIDE Circuit 2026-27, and that spot for the Candidates is important to all players. Ian started with a win while Parham Maghsoodloo drew his game in the first round. It is going to be a tough event for all players, as the average rating is above 2250.
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Round 1 Results
Bo. | No. |
| White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg |
| No. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | GM | 2729 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | 2244 | 80 | |||||
2 | 81 | FM | 2240 | 0 | ½ - ½ | 0 | GM | 2710 | 2 | ||||
3 | 3 | GM | 2657 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | CM | 2220 | 82 | ||||
4 | 83 | IM | 2218 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | 2648 | 4 | ||||
5 | 85 | IM | 2215 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | 2636 | 6 | ||||
6 | 7 | GM | 2619 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | CM | 2210 | 86 | ||||
7 | 87 | GM | 2202 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | 2613 | 8 | ||||
8 | 9 | GM | 2607 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | 2199 | 88 | |||||
9 | 89 | FM | 2191 | 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 | GM | 2602 | 10 | ||||
10 | 11 | GM | 2594 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | FM | 2186 | 90 |
Round 2 Pairings
Bo. | No. |
| White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg |
| No. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 45 | FM | 2373 | 1 | 1 | GM | 2729 | 1 | |||||
2 | 46 | IM | 2371 | 1 | 1 | GM | 2657 | 3 | |||||
3 | 4 | GM | 2648 | 1 | 1 | FM | 2371 | 47 | |||||
4 | 48 | IM | 2369 | 1 | 1 | GM | 2645 | 5 | |||||
5 | 6 | GM | 2636 | 1 | 1 | IM | 2367 | 49 | |||||
6 | 51 | IM | 2364 | 1 | 1 | GM | 2619 | 7 | |||||
7 | 8 | GM | 2613 | 1 | 1 | FM | 2358 | 55 | |||||
8 | 52 | IM | 2363 | 1 | 1 | GM | 2607 | 9 | |||||
9 | 10 | GM | 2602 | 1 | 1 | FM | 2353 | 57 | |||||
10 | 54 | IM | 2358 | 1 | 1 | GM | 2594 | 11 |
Important Links
Sardinia Chess Festival: Official site, Facebook Page, and Instagram
Download the Full Tournament Details