GMs Pranesh M and Yu Yangyi qualified for the 2026 Chess.com Open Playoffs through Play-In 2 on Wednesday. Pranesh advanced directly by having better tiebreaks than GM Wesley So, the only other player to finish on 7.5/9. Yu, who finished the Swiss in third place, defeated So in a match for the second spot.
The players earned the right to select their opponents for the opening round of the Playoffs. Pranesh will play GM Vincent Keymer, while Yu will face GM Denis Lazavik.
The third GM Play-In will be on Monday, March 23, starting at 12:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 CET / 10:30 p.m. IST.
7.5 points was enough for outright victory in the previous Play-In, while in Play-In 2 it was only enough for shared first. In the three-way tie a half-point behind, GMs Aravindh Chithambaram and Oleksandr Bortnyk missed out by tiebreaks.
See full standings.
Half the Playoffs bracket is filled in, with two more Play-Ins next week to decide the last four players. Unless someone is excited for an outrageous challenge, we are likely to see GM Magnus Carlsen paired against the person to finish second in Play-In 4, the only qualifying player who won’t have a choice of opponent.
Of the 98 players to participate, GM Parham Maghsoodloo had the best start and was the last player on a perfect score, after four rounds. He continued the streak for just one more game in round five against GM Levon Aronian, where a pretty swindle even made his opponent smile on camera before resigning.
Aronian earlier missed the brilliant 29…Ne3!!, but again got a winning advantage in a few moves. He had to take the sacrificed knight on e6, and when he didn’t, Maghsoodloo struck with a surprising rook sacrifice out of nowhere.
Maghsoodloo’s hot streak was cooled by two back-to-back losses against So and Pranesh, two players who would remain in the lead for the rest of the event. Maghsoodloo would get one more win, against GM Vidit Gujrathi, but end on a loss against Aravindh.
It was a long but fruitful night for the two Asian GMs, who started the event at 10:30 p.m. in India and 1 a.m. in China. In fact, Yu only earned his spot by around 4:30 a.m. in Beijing, a detail that impressed even commentator GM Eric Hansen, a night owl in his own right.
Pranesh won the aforementioned critical game against Maghsoodloo in round seven despite being a pawn down in the heavy-piece endgame. He explained, “I just blundered the pawn and I was playing for a draw, but I think he just over-pushed.” 37.e6 opened up his opponent’s king just enough to generate chances—not only to save the game but to win it.
Pranesh commented that the no-increment time control favored him: “Compared to others, maybe it suits me well, because I’m good with the mouse and I play blitz and bullet all the time, so it’s better for me.”
I’m good with the mouse and I play blitz and bullet all the time.
—Pranesh M
So’s path to the 7.5 points was identical in the nine rounds: three wins, a draw against Pranesh in round four, followed by three wins, and finally two draws in the last rounds. While Pranesh made a relatively quick draw against GM Raunak Sadhwani in the final round, So played longer but generated no real chances against a very solid Bortnyk.
Yu was fortunate to have the best tiebreaks of the three players on seven points. He suffered one loss against Maghsoodloo in round three, but was otherwise undefeated. His win against GM Leon Luke Mendonca in the first round featured a piece sacrifice to get at the enemy king stranded in the center.
While Pranesh automatically qualified for the Playoffs, second and third place battled in a two-game match for the other spot. Sadly for So, it is the second time he’s gotten to this match and also the second time he’s lost it. On Monday, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov qualified over him by winning 1.5-0.5.
Yu 2-1 So
It was a frustrating and difficult match for Yu, but one that ultimately went his way. He had chances to win in both of the regular games, but So slipped away with draws in both cases. In game one, Yu won a pawn for nothing but eventually lost it back; in game two, he was pressing in a queen endgame, but it fizzled out into an equal—and well-calculated by So—pawn race. We were off to armageddon.
With 10 minutes against seven minutes and 59 seconds (and draw odds for So), Yu won the armageddon tiebreak with the white pieces. The game-changing moment came on move 30, where Black had to find the only move 30…e5!. After 30…Nc3?, White had more than one way of winning, but 31.Qd7 was clean and effective, and the black pawns dropped like ripe apples in the endgame.
Yu said he played “so badly” in the endgame, despite winning it—though he can be cut some slack for playing through the entire night. He did, perhaps surprisingly, say that he wanted the white pieces in the armageddon game, justifying it by saying, “With Black, it’s difficult to play armageddon,” a view that isn’t shared by all grandmasters. We’ve seen, in other events, absurdly low bids for the black pieces just to get those draw odds.
There are just four more spots left before we’re all set for the Chess.com Open Playoffs. Who would you like to see qualify? Let us know in the comments below!
How To Rewatch
The Chess.com Open, taking place online from March 14 to April 26, is the world’s biggest open chess event. The tournament features open qualifiers, titled qualifiers, and Play-Ins that funnel into a 16-player double-elimination knockout. Up to $250,000 in prizes are available, on top of three direct qualification spots to the 2026 Esports World Cup.
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