Thursday, March 5, saw the final ninth round of the XXI International Chess Festival "Aeroflot-Open 2026" take place at The Carlton, Moscow.
Ian Nepomniachtchi drew Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov (Uzbekistan) to win the tournament for the second year in a row. The Russian player has achieved a score of 7.5 points out of 9, remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Fifteen participants ended the tournament one point behind the top performer. The superior additional tiebreakers have placed David Paravyan to the second place and Rudik Makarian (both from Russia) to the third.
Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan achieved the highest score among women, finishing with 5 points.
Kirill Zhelonkin (Moscow) won the U13 open competition with 7 out of 9 points. Artem Tsepilov (2nd place, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast) and Ivan Belik (3rd place, Rostov Oblast) came in one point behind.
Alisa Genrietta Yunker from Moscow secured first place in the girls’ tounament with 7.5 points. Iliana Masaeva (Moscow Oblast) finished second with 7 points. Maryana Osipova from the Chuvash Republic finished in third place with 6.5 points.
Following the tournament, an autograph and photo session was held, featuring Ian Nepomniachtchi – winner of the Aeroflot Open 2026 – along with Arseniy Nesterov, the current Russian champion, and other grandmasters.
Vladimir Medinsky, Aide to the President of Russia, attended the closing ceremony. In his speech, he emphasized: “Chess isn’t merely a game – it’s a way of life.” It’s a bond that unites people. I’m delighted to be among fellow chess enthusiasts, even as a newcomer to this game. As chess is fundamentally a military‑historical game, we’ve partnered with the Chess Federation of Russia to deliver many exceptional projects. We’ve established dozens of chess boulevards nationwide and approximately 18 dedicated chess schools – and our efforts continue. This thriving and widespread community inspires me to extend my heartfelt wishes for Aeroflot to maintain its partnership with the Chess Federation of Russia and to keep nurturing the remarkable Aeroflot Open initiative.
Anatoly Karpov, a many-time world champion and State Duma deputy, expressed his gratitude to Aeroflot and the Chess Federation of Russia for featuring the Chess Legends Tournament in this year’s festival program. The event has brought together several of Karpov’s legendary rivals from his illustrious career — notably Rafael Vaganian (Armenia), the 1989 USSR champion and two‑time Olympic gold medallist with the USSR national team, and Eugenio Torre, the first Asian grandmaster, and GM Sergey Makarichev.
Andrey Filatov, President of the Chess Federation of Russia, expressed his sincere gratitude to Aeroflot – the Federation’s long‑standing and trusted partner – for their invaluable support in organizing the traditional chess festival. “In these turbulent times, assembling such a formidable team of representatives from 22 countries stands out as a truly remarkable achievement,” said Filatov. The President of the Chess Federation of Russia presented awards to the winners of the Aeroflot Open tournaments for children.
Ilya Perfiliev, Deputy General Director for Personnel and Organizational Development at Aeroflot, presented awards to the winners of the main tournament and granted business‑class flight certificates to Ian Nepomniachtchi and Afruza Khamdamova (Uzbekistan). Perfiliev expressed his gratitude to the chess players for their captivating performances, which held the attention of the global chess and sports community for as long as six days.
The Aeroflot Open International Chess Tournament was 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 was a social network Odnoklassniki.