FM Vasilios Kasioumis, who was the runner-up last year, returned to win it all in the 2026 Chess.com 3-Check Championship. This year’s runner-up IM Toivo Keinanen did well to win the Grand Final 3-1, but he wasn’t able to win the Reset. Kasioumis struck back with a 3-0 sweep. IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher came third, while last year’s champion, FM Matfey Rogov, was fourth.
Next in the Community Championships series, which runs tournaments with a new variant every month, is Atomic Chess in March! Look out for our announcement with all the details coming soon.
Final Bracket
Standings/Prizes
| Rank | Name | Prize |
| 1st | FM Vasilios Kasioumis | $750 |
| 2nd | IM Toivo Keinanen | $500 |
| 3rd | IM Yoseph Taher | $350 |
| 4th | FM Matfey Rogov | $250 |
| 5th (equal) | Patrik Saar | $175 |
| 5th (equal) | Arian Rahimpour | $175 |
| 7th (equal) | Nikolaos Sklavounos | $100 |
| 7th (equal) | Malte Markert | $100 |
Eight qualifying tournaments took place on Wednesday and Thursday to determine the eight contestants in Friday’s Knockout event. Each qualifier was a 75-minute arena with a 3+0 time control, with just one winner advancing to the last stage.Â
More than half the field consisted of players returning from last year: defending Champion Rogov, Kasioumis, Taher, Arian Rahimpour, and Nikolaos Sklavounos. Keinanen, Patrik Saar, and Malte Markert completed the field.
Qualifier Results
| Tournament | Winner | Username | Score |
| Qualifier 1 | FM Vasilios Kasioumis | VassKas | 102 |
| Qualifier 2 | IM Toivo Keinanen | ToivoK3 | 114 |
| Qualifier 3 | Patrik Saar | S_Patrik | 100 |
| Qualifier 4 | FM Matfey Rogov | Statham | 71 |
| Qualifier 5 | IM Yoseph Taher | yosephtaher | 90 |
| Qualifier 6 | Nikolaos Sklavounos | nickolasskl | 86 |
| Qualifier 7 | Arian Rahimpour | ArianRahimpour_2004 | 91 |
| Qualifier 8 | Malte Markert | Troubadix_18 | 74 |
3-Check Chess is a popular chess variant. It’s very similar to conventional chess with only one additional rule—that you can also win a game by checking your opponent’s king three times.
For a victor to be crowned, they would have to make their way through a double-elimination bracket, competing in best-of-four, one-on-one matches with a 3+0 time control. You can see the basic regulations below:
Winners Quarterfinals: Taher Upsets Reigning ChampionÂ
Kasioumis swept Markert 3-0, Keinanen beat Rahimpour 3-2 in overtime, and Saar won against Sklavounos 3-1, but all eyes were on the match between Taher (who finished third last year) and Rogov (the defending champion). It was a foreshadowing of what was to come, as Taher would win their second encounter in the Losers Bracket as well.
Game one was the highlight, where Taher unleashed a queen sacrifice for two checks, even with no immediate knockout. At the end of the combination, he regained the queen and took longer to finally land the third and decisive check.
With a 2-1 advantage, Taher was on the verge of the upset when Rogov won on demand in the time scramble to reach overtime.Â
The reigning 3-Check Chess Champion Rogov narrowly avoids defeat in his first match, and wins on demand in the time scramble! pic.twitter.com/UDsHS8YcFg
— chess24 (@chess24com) February 20, 2026
In the end, however, Taher won the last game and secured victory over one of the clear tournament favorites.
Winners Semifinals: Kasioumis & Keinanen Win With Sweeps
The Greek and Finnish masters won their respective matches with dominant 3-0 scores. Kasioumis sent Taher to the Losers Bracket (though they would meet again in the Grand Final), and Keinanen did the same to Saar.
Keinanen’s 5…Nf6!? piece sacrifice was a special opening weapon and one that commentator GM Jon Ludvig Hammer called the “Keinanen Variation.” For the sacrificed piece (plus giving up a check!), Black got a strong center and counterplay. Check out how that worked out to Black’s advantage in the following game:
The two giants would meet each other in the Winners Final, though Keinanen wouldn’t win another match from here.Â
Winners Final: Kasioumis Wins With ‘One Of The Most Beautiful Combinations’
The Winners Final was as close as it gets. Two times Kasioumis won, but Keinanen struck right back each time. After four games, the score was 2-2 and overtime would decide it.
Kasioumis won the last game in style, with a stunning knight sacrifice that would ensure the last check by force. Hammer exclaimed, “What a way to decide this Winners Final!” and “That is one of the most beautiful combinations to win the game we’ve ever seen.”
That is one of the most beautiful combinations to win the game we’ve ever seen.
—Jon Ludvig Hammer
Losers Bracket: Keinanen Climbs Back Up
Taher and Rogov climbed their way back, through the Losers Bracket, to the Losers Semifinal. Taher repeated his victory from the first match and won with an even more convincing score, 3-1 without the need for overtime, and thus eliminated the defending champion.
The Losers Final then featured Taher against Keinanen, which the Finnish IM won with an undefeated 2.5-0.5. After Keinanen won game one, we saw an incredible draw in game two. Taher sacrificed his queen desperately for two checks, and at first the commentators didn’t believe it would be enough. By the point they got to the clip below, however, White’s threats—with just two rooks against queen and knight—were enough to scare Black away from playing on.
The second finalist took it away in game three to win the match, and with a game to spare. It was a one-sided attack that ended not with a third check but with the threat of an actual checkmate, the “old-fashioned way,” one might say.
Grand Final & Reset: Keinanen Wins 1st Match, Kasioumis Sweeps 2nd
Keinanen won the first match convincingly with a 3-1 score, reaching a Grand Final Reset.
The Greek FM won game one with just 2.8 seconds on the clock, but it would be the only game he’d win in the first four.
In game two, Keinanen had a winning position but just seven seconds against 33 to convert it. Despite nervousness on the commentators’ part, he managed to convert the advantage and even won on time.
He won again in game three after a hectic time scramble, and it came down to the final game, which Keinanen also won to force a Grand Final Reset. It was an opening disaster for the black pieces after 7.Nd5!. If the knight is taken, White gets a huge attack starting with 8.Qe2+. In the game, Black gave up his queen with 7…Bxd6 but lost all the same.
Grand Final Reset: Kasioumis Shuts It Down 3-0
If there was any doubt about the Greek FM’s chances, Kasioumis laid it to rest in game one. Needing to land just one last check, he found a remarkable combination of moves, culminating with a queen sacrifice, and scored the first point.
The Greek FM won a crushing second game (up two rooks!) and an equally crushing third. 18.Rxe4!! was a brilliant move that required White to see a combination sacrificing both his queen and rook for the last two checks. That didn’t transpire in the game, though it’s shown in the notes, and Kasioumis followed it up with another pretty rook sacrifice 20.Rxc6!! to win the crown.
The champion improved on his second-place finish last year. Asked what he did differently, he in fact said that he prepared less! “I think the last time I overprepared and I was tired,” he explained.
We look forward to Atomic Chess next month! The Chess.com community is invited to play in the qualifiers, but only the top eight will go to the Knockout.
How to watch?
The Chess.com 3-Check Championship is part of the 2026 Chess.com Community Championships, and the event is open to all members of the Chess.com Community Club. The winners of eight qualifiers played in a double-elimination knockout bracket to decide the best 3-Check player on Chess.com. The event featured a $2,500 prize fund.
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