Dortmund: Elham Amar wins A Open, Song prevails in Women’s International Tournament

Elham Amar holds on to take first place

Elham Amar went into the final round with a half-point lead and a strong tiebreak score. It seemed quite possible that a draw would be enough for him to secure tournament victory. There were only two players half a point behind him: Surya Ganguly and Sumiya Chinguun. Amar could keep Ganguly at bay with a draw in their direct encounter. Although the Indian GM did everything he could with the black pieces to put the Norwegian under pressure, the 21-year-old Amar remained calm and solid. Shortly before the time control, the sixth seed found a forcing line to a repetition of moves. Eighth-seeded Ganguly had no choice but to accept the draw. It was not enough for him to win the tournament, but it did at least secure him a place on the podium.

Elham Amar (second from left) displays the winner’s trophy | Photo: Official website

That left just one remaining challenger: Sumiya Chinguun of Mongolia. Chinguun was playing on board two against his compatriot Amilal Munkhdalai, who had led the field outright with four wins from four rounds before losing to Matthias Bluebaum. The two Mongolian IMs appeared determined to play for a win, and an open battle arose in the Najdorf Variation. In typical fashion, both players pushed their pawns towards the opposing king. The position was dynamically balanced until Munkhdalai found an attractive tactical idea that gave him an advantage. Chinguun managed to fight his way back into the game, but his opponent remained in control throughout. In the end, Munkhdalai outplayed Chinguun in the endgame, allowing Amar to take first place.

Munkhdalai had reason to celebrate as well: with the best tiebreak score among the players who finished on 7/9, the 19-year-old IM ended the tournament in second place. Polish GM Kacper Piorun finished third. There was another notable success for the Mongolian contingent: WIM Bat-Erdene Mungunzuul, who finished 24^th, won the prize for the best female player in the A-Open. The 21-year-old scored 6 points and had a better tiebreak score than Indian IM Vantika Agrawal.

IMs Yu Tian Poh of Malaysia and Felix Xie of New Zealand also had reason to celebrate after securing norms. Both needed only a draw in the final round to earn a GM norm. Poh achieved his quickly, while Xie had to endure a long and nervous struggle. Against Aksel Bu Kvaloy, he was completely lost in the endgame, but the Norwegian failed to find the winning path.

German players

The members of the German national team also managed to end on a positive note after an inconsistent Dortmund Chess Festival. All three won their games in the final round. Dmitrij Kollars finished the tournament with two consecutive victories to take fifth place on 7/9.

The Benko Gambit is back at the very highest level – and it’s easy to see why. Black sacrifices a pawn to seize the initiative on the queenside, obtaining long-lasting pressure, active pieces and open files that make life difficult for White.
In modern chess, activity has become one of the most prized ressources of all. Engines have taught us again and again that active piece play, the initiative and dynamic pressure can more than compensate for small material or structural concessions. The Benko Gambit fits this philosophy perfectly. By giving up a pawn early, Black immediately gets exactly what the modern player is looking for: open lines, harmonious development and relentless, long-term pressure on White’s queenside. It’s a genuine fighting opening, ideal for players who don’t want to drift into the quiet, slow-maneuvering waters that 1.d4 so often leads to, but instead prefer to seize the initiative and steer the game into sharp, dynamic and double-edged territory.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample chapter: Alternatives Move 3

The best German player in the large field: Dimitrij Kollars | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

Matthias Bluebaum defeated women’s prize winner Mungunzuul in the final round, but a defeat and two draws in the previous rounds had already cost the tournament favourite his chances of taking first place. Rasmus Svane, like Bluebaum, finished on 6½/9. He remained unbeaten, but drew too many games to challenge for the top places. In the final round, however, he claimed a full point against German IM Hussain Besou.

IM Mykola Korchynskyi had a very strong tournament and even had the chance to fight for his first GM norm in the final round. GM Kacper Piorun proved too strong, however. Even so, the 2025 European U16 champion can look back on a fine event, finishing 19^th with 6/9, including a win over GM Andrew Hong and draws against GM Rithvik Raja, GM Matthias Bluebaum and GM Aksel Bu Kvaloy. FM John Heinrich, IM Tobias Kügel and IM Christian Gloeckler also scored a strong 6/9. Gloeckler, however, suffered two defeats against fellow 6-point finishers Korchynskyi and Kügel in rounds six and seven, which prevented him from matching the successes of recent months.

Round 9 results

Final standings

…208 players

TB1: Buchholz score (variable, 2023)
TB2: Sum of variable Buchholz scores

Games

International Women’s Tournament: Song wins by a full point

The race in the women’s event had already been decided after round five: Song Yuxin won the 2026 International Women’s Tournament! The Chinese player suffered a defeat in the opening round of the tournament, but recovered convincingly. First, Song narrowly beat Nataliya Buksa in the blitz tiebreak at the “Playmakers on the chessboard” event at the German Football Museum. She then won three consecutive classical games to climb from last place to an unassailable first. In the end, with a one-point lead, she no longer needed a tiebreak.

This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas.
Looking for an opening that gets your opponents thinking on move one? Grandmaster Andy Woodward has relied on 1.b3 for years in blitz and bullet, using it to defeat strong masters and grandmasters who underestimated its hidden venom. While many players dismiss the opening as harmless, they often find themselves caught in unfamiliar positions, tactical traps, and uncomfortable middlegames. This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas that matter most when the clock is ticking.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King’s Indian Setup

Song Yuxin proved the player to beat in Dortmund, despite losing her opening game | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski.

The final round against Dinara Wagner was therefore merely a formality. Neither player appeared inclined to take many risks. The game was quickly simplified into a completely equal endgame, where the players claimed a draw by threefold repetition.

The prize-winners in the International Women’s Tournament (from left): Nataliya Buksa, Klaudia Kulon and Song Yuxin. | Photo: Tournament organisers

The other pairing, by contrast, remained fiercely contested. Klaudia Kulon played 1.c4 against Nataliya Buksa, and the game transposed into a Catalan. Interestingly, Kulon had opened all her games with white in the blitz tiebreak with 1.c4, but this was the first time she used the move in the classical tournament. The game initially followed a normal course, with White exerting pressure on Black’s queenside, until Buksa made a mistake. Kulon found a favourable transformation into an endgame with an extra pawn. From that point on, the Polish player allowed no counterplay and confidently converted her advantage. With 3/6, Kulon secured outright second place. Her two defeats against Song, however, meant that first place was already out of reach.

Round 6 results

Final standings

All games

B-Open: The Peak atop the standings…

Max Pick, respectfully nicknamed “The Peak” by the other participants, won the B-Open of the 2026 Dortmund Chess Festival.

In this Video-Course we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this Course is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.

Before the start of the final round, seven players still had realistic hopes of finishing at the top of the standings. David Belka was the first to see those hopes disappear. The young Borussia Lichtenberg player was paired down against Dr Jens Hinkmann. Hinkmann played a strong game and eventually defeated his younger opponent in a rook endgame. On boards two and three, there were direct encounters between players who each had 6/7 points. Oleksandr Kasapchuk, the 2024 winner, faced American Varun Venkat. Venkat blundered in the endgame. Kasapchuk immediately seized his chance and won the game, becoming the first player to reach 7/8.

Max Pick won the Dortmund B-Open on tiebreaks | Photo: Official website

On the other board, Armenian Haik Khachikyan faced Thomas Peter. In time trouble, Khachikyan chose a transition into a rook endgame that turned out to be highly favourable for Peter. The SV Wattenscheid player remained in control from then on and secured the full point. Thomas Peter therefore also moved to 7/8.

The only game still relevant to the final standings was therefore the encounter on board one. Martin Werner had black against Max Pick. Werner emerged with a good position from the opening, but Pick launched a powerful attack and became the third player to reach 7/8.

The tiebreak scores produced the following order: Thomas Peter finished third, Oleksandr Kasapchuk took second place, and Max Pick claimed first.

Final standings

…202 players

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