European Club Cup 2026: Giri's final-round win over Abdusattorov hands Bayegan Pendik the title
Turkey's Bayegan Pendik edged Novy Bor on tiebreaks in Budva after Anish Giri beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Monte-Carlo kept the women's title.
Turkish club Bayegan Pendik are the 2026 European Chess Club Cup champions. Anish Giri won a decisive final-round game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the highest-rated player in the field, and Pendik finished level on points with Czech side Novy Bor but ahead on tiebreaks. The seven-round team event was played in Budva, Montenegro, from 17 to 23 October. In the women's section, Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo successfully defended their title.
A title decided on tiebreaks
The European Chess Union's annual club championship drew 108 teams to the open section and 22 to the women's event. It was a seven-round Swiss with a classical time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game and a 30-second increment from the first move.
In the last round Pendik beat SuperChess Romania 3.5-2.5, and Giri's win on top board made the difference. Novy Bor beat Elektroprivreda 4.5-1.5 to finish on the same 13 match points, but Pendik's second tiebreak score was 261.5 to Novy Bor's 253.0, and that decided the gold. Israel's Rishon LeZion A beat Cheddleton Savills Catering 5.5-0.5 to take bronze on 12 points. Six teams finished on 11 points, with SuperChess Romania best placed among them in fourth.
Open section, top three:
- Bayegan Pendik (Turkey) – 13 match points
- Novy Bor (Czech Republic) – 13
- Rishon LeZion A (Israel) – 12
Giri's decisive game
Abdusattorov, playing for SuperChess Romania, chose 15...e5, which Giri called "slightly overambitious". The game turned on 17...Bg4. Giri then left a rook where it could be taken. When Abdusattorov took it, he missed the tactics that followed, and by move 22 Giri was clearly winning.
Pendik's line-up was Giri, Ediz Gurel, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Amin Tabatabaei, 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Volodar Murzin. Erdogmus reached 15th on the live world rating list during the event, though he did lose one game to Jorden van Foreest after running short of time. Murzin won the individual gold on board six.
Strong week for Indian players
Indian grandmasters won several of the individual medals. Nihal Sarin took gold on board two for Novy Bor with 5/6 and a 2859 performance rating. He gained 11 rating points and reached a career-best 19th on the live list. China's Wei Yi took silver on that board and India's Karthikeyan Murali bronze. Pentala Harikrishna, also playing for Novy Bor, won silver on board three.
Giri did not have an easy week despite the title. Two other Indians, Pranesh M and Pranav Venkatesh, both beat him in earlier rounds.
On board one the medals went to France's Marc'Andria Maurizzi, then Vaclav Finek and Aydin Suleymanli.
Monte-Carlo defend women's crown
The women's section was also decided on tiebreaks. Monte-Carlo beat Davit Jojua's Chess Club 4-0 in the last round and finished on 12 match points, the same as Luxembourg's CE Gambit Bonnevoie, who beat Crvena Zvezda 2.5-1.5. Monte-Carlo's tiebreak of 159.5 to 145.0 kept the trophy in Monaco. Serbia's Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica beat Azerbaijan's Odlar Yurdu 3.5-0.5 for bronze.
Two of Monte-Carlo's players won board golds: Aleksandra Goryachkina on board one and India's Humpy Koneru on board two. Nurgyul Salimova won board three for Sirmium.
Key takeaways
- Bayegan Pendik won the 2026 European Club Cup on tiebreaks after finishing level with Novy Bor on 13 match points.
- Giri's final-round win over Abdusattorov decided the title.
- Monte-Carlo retained the women's title on tiebreaks ahead of Gambit Bonnevoie.
- Nihal Sarin won board-two gold with a 2859 performance, and Humpy Koneru won board-two gold in the women's section.
- 108 open teams and 22 women's teams played in Budva from 17 to 23 October.
FAQ
Who won the 2026 European Chess Club Cup? Bayegan Pendik of Turkey won the open section and Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo won the women's section.
How was the title decided? Pendik and Novy Bor both finished on 13 match points. Pendik won on the second tiebreak, 261.5 to 253.0.
Which Asian players won individual medals? India's Nihal Sarin and Humpy Koneru won board golds, Pentala Harikrishna and China's Wei Yi took silvers, and Karthikeyan Murali won a bronze.
Sources: European Chess Union, Chess.com, ChessBase, ChessBase India