Aswath S victorious at Serbia Open 2026 Masters, Ethan Vaz third
India’s 98th GM Aswath S and FM Matfey Yurasov scored 7.5/9 each at Serbia Open 2026 Masters. Aswath became the champion on tie-breaks, Matfey finished second. India’s 96th GM Ethan Vaz secured third place scoring 7/9.
Six Indians in top ten
GM Aswath S was the sole leader at 7/8, heading into the last round. IM Filip Magold (ROU), GM Ethan Vaz, FM Matfey Yurasov, GM Evgenios Ioannidis (GRE), IM Sathvik Adiga and FM Enkhbaatar Enkhnar (MGL) were trailing by a half point at 6.5/8 each. Ethan drew against Aswath, the former finished third and the latter champion. Matley shared the point with Evgenios and the former claimed second place.
GM Mitrabha Guha and IM Sathvik Adiga scored 7/9 each to be placed fourth and sixth respectively according to tie-breaks. GM Pranav Anand and GM Shyam Sundar M scored 6.5/9 each. They were adjudged ninth and tenth respectively.
The total prize fund in the Masters event was €20500. The top three prizes were €5000, €3000 and €2000 along with a trophy each.
Champion in Masters – GM Aswath S 7.5/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
Runner-up – FM Matfey Yurasov 7.5/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
Second Runner-up – GM Ethan Vaz 7/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
Top 3 (L to R): 3rd GM Ethan Vaz 7/9, 1st GM Aswath S 7.5/9 and 2nd FM Matfey Yurasov 7.5/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
Aswath – Mitrabha, Round 8
Position after 29.c4
In the penultimate round, the coleaders India’s 98th GM Aswath S (2517) and the Commonwealth 2026 Gold medalist – GM Mitrabha Guha (2525) faced each other. Black had one last chance to save the game 29…Nxe5. Instead, he went 29…dxc4?? 30.Rg3+- Rg8 31.Rf1 Black’s queen got trapped and White won the game in the next few moves.
India’s 98th GM Aswath S in action | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
GM Aswath S scored an unbeaten 7.5/9, won the tournament on tie-breaks and gained 15.5 Elo rating points
4th and Runner-up in Blitz Final – GM Mitrabha Guha 7/9 and 4/5 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
6th IM Sathvik Adiga 7/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
8th GM Pranav Anand 6.5/9 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
10th GM Shyam Sundar M 6.5/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
WFM Pratitee Bordoloi scored an impressive 6/9, finished 31st overall after starting as 210th seed and gained a whopping 138.4 Elo rating points | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
Top 3 Women (L to R): 3rd WIM Olga Dm. Karmanova 5.5/9, 1st WGM Amina Kairbekova (KAZ) and 2nd WFM Pratitee Bordoloi 6/9 | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
9-year-old Hriday Garg scored an impressive 6.5/9 in the Challengers section, finished seventh and gained a staggering 176 Elo rating points | Photo: Serbia Chess Federation
Replay all available Masters games
A total of 239 players including 16 GMs, 21 IMs, 4 WGMs and 2 WIMs took part from 31 countries across the world in the Masters section. The nine-day nine-round Rating tournament was organized by Serbia Chess Federation at Metropol Palace Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia from 13th to 22nd July 2026. Rest day was on 18th July 2026. The time control of the tournament was 40 moves in 90 minutes + 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
A total of 144 players including a GM and an IM took part from 17 countries across the world in the Challengers section. The nine-day nine-round Rating tournament was organized by Serbia Chess Federation at Metropol Palace Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia from 13th to 19th July 2026. The time control of the tournament was 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Final standings in Challengers
Final standings in Blitz Final
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