Saturday, February 28 marked the start of the XXI International chess festival "Aeroflot‑Open 2026", with round one played at The Carlton Hotel, Moscow.
Alexander Tkachev, Executive Director of the Chess Federation of Russia, welcomed the participants prior to the start.
Tatiana Bekreneva, a senior flight attendant of Aeroflot and winner of the "Person of the Year" award in the "Customer Care" category, made the ceremonial first move in the Gabrielian vs. Nepomniachtchi game.
The majority of the rating favourites emerged victorious in round one, but there were some exceptions. Thus, Leon Luke Mendonca wend down as White to Mikayel Manvelyan, while the games Timoshin vs. Dubov, Sargsyan vs Averin, Usov vs. Martirosyan, Kornienko vs Najer, and Peng vs Daneshvar ended in a draw.
The "Aeroflot Open. Legends" tournament saw Rafael Vaganian and Anatolii Vaisser defeat Sergey Makarichev and Yuri Balashov, respectively. Eugenio Torre had a bye.
The U13 boys competition saw Damir Khasanchin, Kirill Zhelonkin, Fedor Sidelnikov, Vladislav Siverin, and Lev Egorushkin win their games.
Sofiya Obraztsova, Maryana Osipova, Alisa Genrietta Yunker, Varvara Volkova, and Iliana Masaeva won their games in the U13 girls' section.
During the XXI International Chess Festival "Aeroflot Open 2026", an exhibition of chess philately and rare chess sets from the collection of a many-time world champion Anatoly Karpov is on display in the second‑floor lobby of The Carlton Hotel, Moscow. A photo exhibition marking his upcoming 75th birthday (in May) is also featured. The entry is free.
Rounds 2 and 3 will take place on Sunday, March 1. The games begin at 12:00 and 17:00 Moscow time.
The tournament venue is The Carlton, Moscow (Tverskaya Street, 3).
Commentary in Russian is delivered by GM Sergey Shipov and by GM Alexander Morozevich in English.
The Aeroflot Open International Chess Tournament is organised by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation with the support of Aeroflot. The media partner of the tournament is a social network Odnoklassniki.
Tournament on Chess-Results
Photos
Games online
Official website
Photos by Eteri Kublashvili
Alexander Tkachev, Executive Director of the Chess Federation of Russia, welcomed the participants prior to the start.
Tatiana Bekreneva, a senior flight attendant of Aeroflot and winner of the "Person of the Year" award in the "Customer Care" category, made the ceremonial first move in the Gabrielian vs. Nepomniachtchi game.
The majority of the rating favourites emerged victorious in round one, but there were some exceptions. Thus, Leon Luke Mendonca wend down as White to Mikayel Manvelyan, while the games Timoshin vs. Dubov, Sargsyan vs Averin, Usov vs. Martirosyan, Kornienko vs Najer, and Peng vs Daneshvar ended in a draw.
The "Aeroflot Open. Legends" tournament saw Rafael Vaganian and Anatolii Vaisser defeat Sergey Makarichev and Yuri Balashov, respectively. Eugenio Torre had a bye.
The U13 boys competition saw Damir Khasanchin, Kirill Zhelonkin, Fedor Sidelnikov, Vladislav Siverin, and Lev Egorushkin win their games.
Sofiya Obraztsova, Maryana Osipova, Alisa Genrietta Yunker, Varvara Volkova, and Iliana Masaeva won their games in the U13 girls' section.
During the XXI International Chess Festival "Aeroflot Open 2026", an exhibition of chess philately and rare chess sets from the collection of a many-time world champion Anatoly Karpov is on display in the second‑floor lobby of The Carlton Hotel, Moscow. A photo exhibition marking his upcoming 75th birthday (in May) is also featured. The entry is free.
Rounds 2 and 3 will take place on Sunday, March 1. The games begin at 12:00 and 17:00 Moscow time.
The tournament venue is The Carlton, Moscow (Tverskaya Street, 3).
Commentary in Russian is delivered by GM Sergey Shipov and by GM Alexander Morozevich in English.
The Aeroflot Open International Chess Tournament is organised by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation with the support of Aeroflot. The media partner of the tournament is a social network Odnoklassniki.
Tournament on Chess-Results
Photos
Games online
Official website
Photos by Eteri Kublashvili