15-year-old Anastasiia Hnatyshyn shockingly wins European Women’s Championship

Ukrainian WFM, aged 15, gains 200+ rating points in Batumi!

Anastasiia Hnatyshyn won the European Women’s Chess Championship outright in Batumi after obtaining an outstanding 9/11 score. The 15-year-old Ukrainian WFM, who began the event as the 76^th seed in a 165-player field, finished half a point ahead of Sabrina Vega, Olga Badelka and Nurgyul Salimova.

Hnatyshyn’s final score consisted of eight wins, two draws and one loss. Her tournament performance rating was 2580, and she gained a whopping 214.4 rating points. That rise moved her up 216 places in the live ratings list, to world number 16 among women and first among girls under 20!

The size of Hnatyshyn’s rating gain was connected to FIDE’s K-factor rules. Her published FIDE standard rating before the event was 2207, and her birth year is 2010, meaning that she was still under the relevant junior threshold during 2026. Under FIDE regulations, players retain a K-factor of 40 until the end of the year of their 18^th birthday as long as their rating remains below 2300.

Hnatyshyn had started the tournament with six consecutive wins before suffering her only loss, against Georgia’s Meri Arabidze, in round seven. She recovered by scoring 3/4 against four players who were all ranked inside the top 20 in the starting list.

Going into the penultimate round, Hnatyshyn was tied for first place with Spain’s Sabrina Vega, a multiple national women’s champion. On Thursday, Vega drew with the black pieces against Bulgaria’s Nurgyul Salimova, a former Women’s Candidates participant, while Hnatyshyn defeated former Dutch women’s champion Eline Roebers from the white side of a French Defence.

That result gave Hnatyshyn sole first place before the final round, with a half-point lead over Vega and Olga Badelka, who represents Austria. On the last day, Vega and Badelka drew on board two. Hnatyshyn, playing white against Polish IM Klaudia Kulon, also drew, which was enough for her to secure the title outright.

On board three, Salimova scored an important win with the black pieces over Estonia’s Mai Narva, the fifth seed. Thus, Vega, Badelka and Salimova all finished on 8½/11, half a point behind Hnatyshyn. Vega and Badelka took second and third place respectively on tiebreaks.

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Sabrina Vega, Anastasiia Hnatyshyn and Olga Badelka | Photo: European Chess Union

Hnatyshyn’s victory followed another unexpected Ukrainian success at continental level. Two months ago, 17-year-old IM Roman Dehtiarov won the European Championship after entering as the 126^th seed. Dehtiarov earned the GM title automatically with that result, while Hnatyshyn secured the WGM title directly and also obtained an IM norm.

The top ten finishers in Batumi qualified for the next edition of the FIDE Women’s World Cup.

Hnatyshyn 1-0 Roebers

The Leningrad Dutch Defence is a dynamic and aggressive opening choice for Black, perfect for players who want to add some adventure and spice to their repertoire.

Anastasiia Hnatyshyn during round ten | Photo: European Chess Union

Eline Roebers, aged 20, finished in eighth place and thus gained a spot in the next edition of the Women’s World Cup | Photo: European Chess Union

Final standings

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