3rd UzChess Cup Masters 2026: Arjun scores his first win, Madaminov wins two in-a-row
Arjun Erigaisi scored his first win of the event against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) in Round 2 of 3rd UzChess Cup Masters 2026.
White wins five out of five
The second round of 3rd UzChess Cup Masters 2026 was an eventful one. All six games ended decisively and in White’s favor. Arjun Erigaisi made some practical decision against Nodirbek Yakubboev and it paid off. Ian Nepomniachtchi bounced back and handed Vidit Gujrathi his second consecutive loss. Nodirbek Abdusattorov capitalized on his opportunity when his opponent, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov went wrong in the endgame. Hans Niemann won against Shamsiddin Vokhidov after nearly six-hour-long battle. Mukhiddin Madaminov won his second game in-a-row, this time against Nikolas Theodorou.
In the Challengers, GM Aditya Mittal salvaged a draw against GM Mahammad Muradli (AZE). In the Futures, GM Sethuraman S P lost from a winning position against IM Khumoyun Begmuratov (UZB).
Arjun – Yakubboev: 1-0
Arjun Erigaisi (2761) and Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2689) have played three Classical rated games. Arjun won two and the remaining one ended in a draw. Their fourth battle was also won by Arjun.
Arjun made a practical decision to break the position wide open 23.f4! gxf4 24.gxf4 exf4 25.Bd4 Qg5 26.Kh1 Bg4 27.Qf1 c6? only helped White 28.dxc6 Re6 29.Bf3 h5 30.Rb2 Bg7 31.e5 and the position slowly turned completely into White’s favor.
Nepomniachtchi – Vidit: 1-0
Ian Nepomniachtchi (2733) and Vidit Gujrathi (2708) have played nine Classical rated games against each other. Nepomniachtchi won four and the remaining five ended in draws. Vidit has never beaten Nepomniachtchi in a Classical battle. That fact remained unchanged as he lost his second consecutive game in this event.
White decided to sacrifice his a1-rook to launch an attack on Black’s kingside 23.Rxh7 Qxc3+ 24.Kf2 Qxa1?? 25.Rh8+? according to the computer 25.e5 shuts the queen from coming to the aid of the king, resulting in him being forced to give up the queen and White winning the game much sooner. Black eventually got some chances to get back in the endgame but he missed them all.
Madaminov – Theodorou: 1-0
Mukhiddin Madaminov (UZB, 2586) and Nikolas Theodorou (GRE, 2634) played three Classical rated games against each other. Theodorou had white in all three of them. He won two including the one at the same event last year in the Challengers section and the remaining game ended in a draw. This is the first time Madaminov had the white pieces. He made the most out of his opportunity in the rook and knight endgame.
The above endgame is certainly not easy for Black to defend. According to the computer Black neeeded to play 70…Rh2 and move it to the flank to defend the position. Instead, Black played 70…Rc7? 71.a4+- and White went on to win the game in the next few moves.
Time Control
40 moves in 90 minutes + 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds increment starting frtom move one in Masters. For Challengers, Futures and Open, the time control is 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Prizes
The total prize fund combining Masters, Challengers and Futures is US$ 215000. Masters has $150000, Challengers $50000 and Futures $15000.
Schedule
Every day from 7th to 15th June 2026, the round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Only the last round will start at 11 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST.
Replay Round 2 Masters games
Replay Round 1 Challengers games
Replay Round 1 Futures games
Masters Round 2 results
Standings after Round 2
Round 3-9 pairings
Challengers Round 1 results
Futures Round 1 results
Links
UzChess Cup: Official site, instagram and twitter
Uzbekistan Chess Federation: Telegram, Youtube, facebook and instagram
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