Prague Chess Festival 2026 — Masters

The 7th edition of the Prague Chess Festival’s Masters group ran from 24 February to 6 March at the Don Giovanni Hotel. Ten players, classical round-robin, no rapid or blitz tiebreaks, modest €100,000 prize fund — but a category-20 lineup that has, in recent editions, included Carlsen, Anand, and several Candidates-cycle qualifiers. Nodirbek Abdusattorov won outright, his second elite-tournament victory of 2026 after Tata Steel in January.

Festival structure

The Prague Chess Festival is a four-tier event: Masters (the headline round-robin), Challengers (the second tier, also round-robin), Open (Swiss), and Futures (junior round-robin). All four run concurrently across two weeks. The format mirrors Wijk aan Zee in spirit — same organisational model, smaller scale — and the tournament has become a recognised next step for promising grandmasters to test themselves at category-20 level.

The Masters

The Masters field is invited by the organisers in consultation with FIDE seeding norms. The 2026 edition included Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer, David Navara (the local hero), and a mix of established 2700-rated players. The time control matches Candidates Tournament standards: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest, with 30-second increments from move 41.

The 2026 result

Abdusattorov’s win followed his January Tata Steel victory and confirmed his arrival as one of the most dangerous players of the post-Carlsen generation outside the very top three. Vincent Keymer finished in the upper half, continuing the steady ascent that took him to the 2024 and 2026 Candidates. The Czech federation reported the strongest live audience for a Prague Festival Masters group since the event’s founding.