Sankalp Gupta superb at 18th Pedro Lezcano Montalvo Memorial 2026
GM Sankalp Gupta scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win 18th Pedro Lezcano Montalvo Memorial Rating Open 2026. Eight players scored 7/9 each. Out of them, IM Yuxin Song (CHN) and GM Alexandr Fier (BRA) secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund was €22000. The top three prizes were €2100, €1700 and €1500 along with a trophy each respectively.
Sankalp’s first triumph of the year
Six players – GM Alexandr Fier (BRA), GM Andrey Sumets (UKR), GM Sankalp Gupta, IM Yuxin Song (CHN), GM Aleksa Strikovic (SRB) and GM Misa Pap (SRB) were the leaders at 6.5/8 each, heading into the final round. Sankalp defeated Aleksa to become a clear champion. Fier drew against Song. They were placed third and second respectively.
Champion – GM Sankalp Gupta 7.5/9 | Photo: Official site
Runner-up – IM Yuxin Song (CHN) 7/9 | Photo: Official site
Second Runner-up – GM Alexandr Fier (BRA) 7/9 | Photo: Official site
Top 3 (L to R): 3rd GM Alexandr Fier (BRA) 7/9, 1st GM Sankalp Gupta 7.5/9 and 2nd IM Yuxin Song (CHN) 7/9 | Photo: Official site
Sankalp – Aleksa, Round 9
Position after 35…Rd2?
Black made a bold decision to go for two pawns for the knight 35…Rd2? However, it was not the best idea. 36.Kxh3 Rxf2 37.Rf1 Re2 38.Ng4 h5 39.Nxf6 and White won the game in the next few moves. With this win, Sankalp became a clear champion.
GM Sankalp Gupta during one of his games | Photo: Official site
GM Aarit Kapil scored an unbeaten 7.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the rest and gained 8.8 Elo rating points
Top boards | Photo: Official site
The tournament hall at | Photo: Official site
Replay all available games
A total of 162 players including eight GMs, nine IMs, three WGMs and two WIMs took part from 21 countries across the world. The nine-day nine-round Rating Open tournament was organized by Federación Insular de Ajedrez de Gran Canaria at Círculo Mercantil de Las Palmas in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain from 28th March to 5th April 2026. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Final standings
Links
Federación Insular de Ajedrez de Gran Canaria
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