The Russian Chess Championship Superfinal is the final round of Russia’s national championship — a 12-player round-robin tournament held annually in autumn. The 2026 edition is scheduled for Sochi from October 4 to 15.
The Russian Championship has a complex history. The Soviet Championship, held annually from 1920 to 1991, was widely considered the strongest tournament in the world during much of that period — many of the eventual world champions (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov) won the Soviet Championship before taking the world title.
The post-Soviet Russian Championship has continued the tradition with a 12-player Superfinal preceded by a qualifying Higher League. Recent Superfinal winners include Ian Nepomniachtchi (multiple times), Daniil Dubov, Andrey Esipenko, and Sergey Karjakin.
The 2026 edition’s status with respect to FIDE-rated competition has been the subject of ongoing arbitration following Russia’s exclusion from FIDE team events in 2022. The Russian Chess Federation continues to run the Superfinal as a FIDE-rated event domestically; international participation is limited.
Format and Qualification
Twelve players in the men’s section and ten in the women’s section, each playing a single round-robin at the classical FIDE time control of 90 minutes plus 30 minutes after move 40 with a 30-second increment. Tie-breaks: rapid play-off in the case of multiple-player ties for the title. Qualification is via the preceding Higher League Swiss event (typically held in late summer); a small number of direct invitations go to former champions and to the top-rated domestic players.
Place in the Russian Calendar
The Superfinal anchors the Russian classical-chess year and historically draws the country’s strongest active players — Nepomniachtchi leads recent entries, along with several younger Russian grandmasters whose international mobility has been constrained since 2022.
For the official championship site, current standings, and Russian Chess Federation news, see the right column.