Aeroflot-Open 2026 Kicks Off in Moscow February 27
Photo: Pavel Iovik
The 21st International Chess Festival "Aeroflot Open 2026" runs from 27 February to 6 March in Moscow. For the third consecutive year, The Carlton, Moscow, one of the Russian capital’s most prestigious hotels, will serve as the venue.
The tournament forms part of the FIDE Circuit 2026–2027, which is integrated into the World Championship cycle.
The festival programme will include three tournaments:
Tournament "A" (Aeroflot Open): an open tournament for 2300+ rated participants as of January 1, 2026
Tournament "B" (Aeroflot Open – Children): open to players born in 2014 or later.
Tournament "C" (Aeroflot Open — Legends): participation is by personal invitation from the Organizing Committee.
The winner of the Aeroflot Open 2025, Ian Nepomniachtchi (rated 2723 as of 01.02.2026, Russia), the prize-winner of the Aeroflot Opens 2024 and 2025, Andrey Esipenko (2698, Russia), well-known GMs Daniil Dubov (2672, Russia), Alexander Grischuk (2645, Russia), Raunak Sadhwani (2638, India), Haik Martirosyan (2626, Armenia), Aleksey Grebnev (2621, Russia), Evgeniy Najer (2619, Russia), Aram Hakobyan (2619, Armenia), Alexander Riazantsev (2612, Russia), Leon Luke Mendonca (2610, India), Maxim Matlakov (2609, Russia), S L Narayanan (2608, India), Sanan Sjugirov (2608, Hungary) and other titled chess players have registered to participate in the main tournament.
For the first time, the Argentinian prodigy Faustino Oro (2516) will compete in the tournament, aiming to make his final third grandmaster norm. It is important to note that the Aeroflot‑Open qualifies for direct norms for both International Grandmaster (GM) and International Master (IM).
The festival uses the «rapid classical» format: 60+30 time control.
Game days: 28 February – 5 March.
The total guaranteed prize fund of the festival amounts to 20 000 000 Russian roubles (inclusive of all taxes).
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.
Should you have any questions regarding media accreditation for this Festival, please direct them to press@ruchess.ru.