Between 7 and 12 April, the 5th Open Chess Menorca 2026 brings together more than 500 participants and combines a classical chess open tournament with a strong invitational. The latter is a ten-round double round-robin featuring world champion Gukesh Dommaraju as the headline name, alongside Nihal Sarin, Leinier DomÃnguez, Richard Rapport, Pentala Harikrishna and Ruslan Ponomariov. The strong field competes in rapid chess (30+10), with one to two games per day.
Gukesh in crisis?
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Naturally, the focus is on Gukesh’s participation. After his historic world title victory in 2024, the Indian grandmaster has experienced a clear dip in form in 2026. Results such as a shared last place at the Prague Masters, several losses at the Tata Steel Masters and a significant Elo drop mark a difficult phase in the career of the still only 19-year-old. Not only the results are noteworthy, but also the nature of his mistakes: recurring time-management issues and tactical errors from otherwise stable positions point to possible psychological strain.
Nihal Sarin lost with black to Leinier DomÃnguez. Otherwise, however, the Indian grandmaster has excelled in Menorca – after seven rounds, he is tied for first place with Ruslan Ponomariov. | Photo: Saji Mathew
Against this backdrop, Gukesh’s participation in the Menorca Masters is difficult to assess. On the one hand, the tournament represents a shift to rapid chess, which is not among his strongest disciplines, but which could prove highly relevant in potential tiebreaks in a World Championship match. On the other hand, he is likely seeking to stabilise his form under competitive conditions. The fact that he was positioned in the lower half of the standings after three rounds, and then suffered a clear defeat against Nihal Sarin following draws with DomÃnguez and Ponomariov, underlines the issues described.
Nevertheless, he has since scored one more win and one more loss and will enter the final three rounds of the tournament in sole third place.
Standings after round 7
All games
Following withdrawal, Gukesh no longer a GCT regular
Alongside his participation in the Menorca event, Gukesh has announced that he will significantly reduce his tournament schedule and forgo his exclusive participation rights as a “regular” in the Grand Chess Tour 2026 in order to prioritise training periods. This does not mean he will skip the series entirely, however. He is set to take part as a wildcard player in the rapid and blitz events in Warsaw and Zagreb in June.
Reigning World Cup champion Javokhir Sindarov will join the 2026 Grand Chess Tour as a full tour participant, replacing Gukesh Dommaraju, who has withdrawn from the full tour to focus on training but will still compete in select Grand Chess Tour events in Warsaw and Zagreb.… pic.twitter.com/ZGy7Q6fSPV
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) March 31, 2026
Gukesh thus explained why he withdrew from being a regular, citing his disappointing performances in recent events:
My performance in the last few events has been quite disappointing, not just for me, but for all of you who support me.
In order to find my best form my team and I have decided that I should compete with slightly less intensity over the next few months. Consequently, we feel it is in my best interest to skip long events away from home to allow for more dedicated training time.
With this in mind, I approached the Grand Chess Tour organizers and asked to play only two European Rapid & Blitz events. They were very supportive and understanding, and we agreed that I would participate in the Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Warsaw and Zagreb this year. I’m very grateful for their support. Respectfully, I am not planning to play any other events during the Grand Chess Tour schedule and will certainly be back for the full Grand Chess Tour in the future.
Sindarov joins the fray
The world champion’s withdrawal is naturally a significant blow for the organisers of the Grand Chess Tour. However, they already have a prominent replacement lined up: Javokhir Sindarov, who is having a dream run at the Candidates Tournament, will take Gukesh’s place in the GCT.
The two may meet to contest the next world title – after ten rounds of the Candidates Tournament, it certainly appears so…
Links
Two Super Grandmasters from India explain the ins & outs of Attack, Tactics an Calculations in these two video courses.