The 2026 Reykjavík Open in Harpa has concluded. It was a dominant showing by Iranian super-GM Amin Tabatabaei, who went for a perfect score but was held to two draws in the final rounds, finishing on 8/9 and taking clear first place.
Vignir Vatnar fought his way to a memorable last-round victory to become the top Icelander on 6.5/9, sharing 10th place.
In the final round, Amin faced Danish player Mads Andersen (see photo above), who had been playing solid chess throughout the tournament. Amin opted for the so-called Jobava London System, which is perhaps no surprise given that he is a good friend of Hans Niemann, one of several players who have released opening courses on this popular system.
Amin didn’t get much out of the opening, and if anything, Mads held a slight edge. However, the Iranian managed to win a pawn late in the middlegame and had some small winning chances
It was probably here that those chances slipped away. Amin played 39.Nc8?, after which the position simplified too much, and the defensive potential of opposite-colored bishops helped Mads hold the draw. According to engine analysis, White had better winning chances by keeping the rooks on the board, with 39.Qa7 looking very promising. Amin was slightly disappointed not to convert, but his overall tournament victory was never in doubt.
Ivanchuk had a promising position against Vahap Sanal on board two. A win would have secured him second place in the tournament, but at the critical moment, Ivanchuk faltered.
Ivanchuk was short on time here and played 48.Qb8??, and the game ended in perpetual check shortly afterwards. The move 48.b3! would have broken Black’s control of the f7-square, after which Black could resign.
Tómas Tandri captured footage of Ivanchuk’s amusing reaction after the game, when Garifullina showed him the winning line.
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A draw the result and Ivanchuk had to settle for 3rd place.
Jianchao Zhou climbed into clear second place by defeating Matthew Wadsworth (see photo above). The American player recently made headlines for an incredible unbeaten streak! Zhou completely outplayed the Englishman in the middlegame, and Wadsworth resigned after Zhou had picked off several pawns and reached a winning position.
Vignir secured his place as the top Icelandic player with a hard-fought win in the final round. He deliberately steered the game into an endgame that should be a draw with best play—but had no intention of settling for that. He surely knew the chances were slim, but as the saying goes, it’s better to try than to admit defeat!
Xeniya had been the only player to defeat Vignir at the Harpa Blitz earlier, but this time he got his revenge when the Kazakh player lost her f-pawn in a rook endgame with h- and g-pawns against an f-pawn. Vignir then demonstrated excellent technique with the pawns and duly converted the win.
One of the live boards produced a highly unusual draw—an absolute roller-skate of a variation! Strangest of all, when White forces perpetual check at the end, the position is in fact winning for White.
Pictures from the 9th round (arrow for more pictures)
Results:
Final Standings:
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Tabatabaei wins comfortably. Jianchao clinches second with a fine win, while Ivanchuk edges into third on tiebreak. Vignir is the highest-placed Icelander.
Chess-Results
Games can be watched from these links:
Streamers:
- Hannah Sayce
- Tamara Kadovic
- Matthew Perchard (channel of Lularobs)
- Simon Williams
- Keti Tsatsalashvili (tbd)
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- Facebook page
Misc.:
