The curtain falls on the Rodos Palace Chess Open 2026
The awards ceremony, reflections from the Chinese delegation and the official film The Final Move brought this year’s tournament to a close.
Rodos Palace International Open 2026
Reports
The story of each round, the side events and the critical moments that shaped the tournament.
The tournament story
All reports
Reports are listed from the most recent back to the opening day.
Round 9: Wan Yunguo wins the title with 8.5/9
GM Wan Yunguo defeated Yuxin Du and took first place on tiebreaks ahead of GM Zeng Chongsheng. Ahmet Unal Gurel finished third, while FM Rodolfos Stamatiou was fourth and the highest-placed Greek player.
Round 8: Wan and Zeng reach 7.5/8, title to be decided in the final round
The two Chinese GMs won again and enter the final round level on points. Round 8 was also marked by a visit from Türkiye’s Consul General in Rhodes, Mebşure Taşkın.
Round 7: Zeng and Wan reach 6.5/7, Torun alone in third
The two Chinese GMs won and remain together at the top. Kagan Torun is half a point behind after defeating FM Milan Kolesar.
Round 6: Zeng and Wan hold the lead, Stamatiou moves to 5/6
The two Chinese GMs drew and remain in front on 5.5/6. Stamatiou, Kolesar, Torun and Mgeladze are half a point behind.
Blitz: Rodolfos Stamatiou wins the blitz
Thirty-six players contested the seven-round blitz, with strong games and the race for first place decided in the final round.
Round 5: Zeng and Wan alone at the top on 5/5
The two Chinese GMs defeated FM Rodolfos Stamatiou and Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki respectively. They will face each other in Round 6.
Round 4: Four players on 4/4, with two Greeks among the leaders
Rodolfos Stamatiou and Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki earned a fourth straight win. GMs Zeng Chongsheng and Wan Yunguo are also on 4/4.
Round 3: Nine players remain perfect on 3/3
Nine players kept a perfect score, with Rodolfos Stamatiou leading on tiebreaks. Zeng Chongsheng won on the top board with a sharp 28-move attack.
Round 2: Twenty players remain perfect
Twenty players reached 2/2 as all 16 games on the live broadcast again ended decisively. Kesaria Mgeladze's attack and a 90-move battle provided the main highlights.
Round 1: A decisive start with only five draws
The tournament opened with 40 decisive results from 45 games. Both grandmasters began with wins, while Rodolfos Stamatiou produced the day's most striking attack.