Three supertournaments in a row. That is what Nodirbek Abdusattorov has now won, making him the most in-form player on the planet heading into the spring season. Meanwhile, World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju had the worst week of his title reign, and two Americans are preparing to settle things in Saint Louis. Here is everything that happened in chess from March 2 to 8, 2026.
Photo: Lennart Ootes, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Prague Masters 2026: Abdusattorov Wins a Third Straight Supertournament
The 8th Prague International Chess Festival concluded on March 6 with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan, 2751) taking the title with 6/9, a full point clear of the field. He did not lose a single game.
The final standings:
| Place | Player | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 6/9 |
| 2nd= | Parham Maghsoodloo | Iran | 5/9 |
| 2nd= | Aravindh Chithambaram | India | 5/9 |
| 2nd= | Jorden Van Foreest | Netherlands | 5/9 |
| 5th= | David Navara | Czechia | |
| Last= | Gukesh Dommaraju | India | |
| Last= | David Anton | Spain |
The numbers alone do not capture the scope of what Abdusattorov is doing. He won the London Chess Classic in December 2025. He won Tata Steel 2026 in January. Now he has won Prague. No other active player has strung together three consecutive classical supertournament victories in the modern era. His live rating climbed to world number 4.
Van Foreest led the tournament for most of its nine rounds, looking every bit the player who entered the world top 20 in the March FIDE list. Then he lost two of his final three games. Abdusattorov, by contrast, was relentless: he never let the position slip, converted whatever he got, and drew the rest cleanly. It was not spectacular chess. It was precise, complete, and unanswerable.
“I feel like my classical game has improved a lot. I am not just relying on tactics anymore — I trust my positional understanding more and more. That is what is giving me these results.” — Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Uzbekistan, after winning the 2026 Prague Masters
Follow Abdusattorov’s upcoming results on his profile on Shatranj Live.
Gukesh’s Roughest Week as World Champion
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Photo: Stefan64, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
By Round 8 in Prague, Gukesh Dommaraju had three losses, no wins, and was sitting in joint last place. The 19-year-old World Champion dropped to world number 20 on the live rating list at one point during the event, the furthest he has been from the top since before the Candidates Tournament.
He saved himself from outright last place with a Round 9 win over David Anton, climbing back to world number 15. But the week was a reminder that holding the world title and being in form are two different things.
Gukesh addressed it directly: “This tournament has been tough for me and on some days, I just want to be left alone.” It is a remarkably honest admission. Chess fans who follow him closely know that his play earlier in 2026 has been uncharacteristically passive in critical moments.
The Candidates Tournament starts in Cyprus on March 28, 19 days from today. The winner earns the right to challenge him for the world title. Gukesh will not be in Cyprus as a participant, but every result from the Candidates shapes what he faces later in the year. Right now, he needs form more than results.
Track Gukesh’s current rating and tournaments on Shatranj Live.
Aravindh Chithambaram: Career-Best Result
While Gukesh struggled, his Indian compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram (2700) had the best supertournament finish of his career: joint 2nd at 5/9. He did not just hold his own, he beat the people who mattered. He defeated Van Foreest in the penultimate round to take a share of second, and earlier in the event he handed Gukesh one of his three losses.
Indian chess fans have long followed Gukesh, Pragg, and Arjun as the established top three. Aravindh has been the next tier: rated 2700, sharp in his preparation, but short of a marquee supertournament result. Prague 2026 changes that. Joint 2nd at a Category 20 event is a benchmark performance, and it comes at a good moment for Indian chess to have another name in the conversation.
Read more about his tournament career in his player profile on the blog.
Prague Challengers: Divya Deshmukh Finishes Third
In the parallel Challengers section, Indian GM Divya Deshmukh finished 3rd with 5/9. The tournament was won by 16-year-old Czech IM Vaclav Finek (6.5/9), who earns a spot in next year’s Prague Masters. Daniil Yuffa of Spain finished 2nd with 6/9.
Divya’s 3rd-place finish in a competitive Challengers field continues a run of form that has taken her from promising junior to consistent elite contender. In January 2026 she won the FIDE Women’s World Cup, earned the GM title, and qualified for the 2026 Women’s Candidates. In May she makes her Norway Chess Women debut.
American Cup 2026: Grand Finals Set for This Week
Over in Saint Louis, the American Cup is heading to its climax. The tournament uses a double-elimination format, with classical chess in the Championship Bracket and rapid games in the Elimination Bracket.
Open section: GM Wesley So (Philippines/USA) defeated GM Fabiano Caruana in the Championship Bracket final, winning two blitz tiebreak games after the classical portion finished level. So advances to the Grand Final. Caruana dropped into the Elimination Bracket and now faces GM Levon Aronian; the winner meets So in the Grand Final.
Women’s section: IM Alice Lee defeated IM Carissa Yip in the Women’s Championship Final after two classical draws, winning both blitz games. Lee advances to the Grand Final.
The Grand Finals are expected on March 12 to 13. With $250,000 on offer in the Open and $150,000 in the Women’s, both finalists are playing for the biggest payday on the US chess circuit.
“The American Cup format is brutal in the best way. Every game matters, you cannot afford a bad day, and the pressure forces you to find something extra. I love competing here.” — Wesley So, Two-time US Chess Champion and 2026 American Cup Grand Finalist
Notable exit: GM Abhimanyu Mishra, the Indian-American prodigy who became the world’s youngest grandmaster in 2021 at age 12, was eliminated on Day 3. He lost to Aronian in the Elimination Bracket despite getting promising positions in both games. At 17, he remains the youngest player to qualify for this field.
Track US chess players across events on the Shatranj Live US chess page.
FIDE March 2026 Ratings: India’s Top 10 Shrinks to One
The FIDE March 2026 rating list, covering events through Tata Steel, brought difficult news for Indian chess. For the first time in months, only one Indian player sits in the FIDE top 10.
- Gukesh Dommaraju: Dropped to 10th, modest losses from Tata Steel
- Arjun Erigaisi: Lost 30 rating points, fell seven places, out of the top 10
- Praggnanandhaa R: Lost 17 points, dropped five places
The biggest climbers on the March list: Abdusattorov (now world number 4) and Javokhir Sindarov, both continuing Uzbekistan’s rise as a chess powerhouse.
There was also a brief controversy: Sergey Karjakin’s FIDE rating was reinstated at 2750 following a private match against a low-rated opponent, momentarily placing him in the top 10. FIDE corrected the rating, but the episode raised questions about the rating system’s handling of players returning from bans.
Check current ratings for all top Indian players on the India chess page on Shatranj Live.
What’s Next
The week ahead closes out the American Cup and sets the stage for the spring season.
American Cup Grand Finals (March 12 to 13, Saint Louis): So vs Caruana/Aronian in the Open, Lee vs Yip in the Women’s. Results on Shatranj Live after March 13.
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 (March 28 to April 16, Cyprus): The event that defines who challenges Gukesh later in 2026. Eight players, double round-robin, 14 rounds. This is the most important chess event of the spring.
The Candidates Tournament 2026 preview on the blog covers the full field, format, and what to watch.
All active tournaments tracked live, no sign-up required, on Shatranj Live.
Standings and ratings sourced from official FIDE lists and Prague Chess Festival results. American Cup results current as of March 9, 2026; Grand Final results to be updated March 13-14.
