Murali Karthikeyan beats Brandon Jacobson to get into a joint lead at Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026

by Devansh Singh - 09/05/2026

After 7 rounds at the Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026, 9 players are co-leading with 5.5/7 points. Haik M Martirosyan, Parham Maghsoodloo, Murali Karthikeyan, Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Abhimanyu Puranik, Prraneeth, Vuppala, Frederik Svane, and Smirin Ilia are tied for the lead. Going into the penultimate round, Ian Nepomniachtchi will face Haik M Martirosyan on the top board, Abhimanyu Puranik will face second-seeded Parham Maghsoodloo, and Murali Karthikeyan will face Smirin Ilia. With two rounds to go, the tournament is wide open, and interesting battles are awaiting in Sardinia. Round 8 will start at 3:30 PM CET/ 7 PM IST. Photos: FT Niklesh Jain

Fight for the sole lead

9 players are currently tied up for the first place on 5.5/7, and with just two rounds to go, we are going to witness some nice and exciting games. The stakes are high, too, as the tournament also gives the FIDE Circuit points.

Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov vs Ian Nepomniachtchi (0.5-0.5)

Murali Karthikeyan vs Brandon Jacobson (1-0)

Frederik Svane vs Haik M Martirosyan (0.5-0.5)

Parham Maghsoodloo vs Ohanyan Emin(L) (1-0)

Harika Dronavalli is currently on 5/7

Faustino Oro is playing tremendous chess, and he is very close to his final GM Norm. In the 7th round, he drew against Leon Luke Mendonca

Check out the final moments of the 6th round battle between Caprio Guido and Faustino Oro

Check out Interviews: Here

Photo Gallery: Here

Replay Available Games of Round 7

Playing Schedule

Prize Fund

Activities

Details

Round 7 Results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	21	IM	Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid	2534	5	½ - ½	5	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2729	1	PGN
2	5	GM	Svane, Frederik	2645	5	½ - ½	5	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2636	6	PGN
3	4	GM	Karthikeyan, Murali	2648	4½	1 - 0	5	GM	Jacobson, Brandon	2594	12	PGN
4	2	GM	Maghsoodloo, Parham	2710	4½	1 - 0	4½	GM	Ohanyan, Emin	2508	26	PGN
5	9	GM	Puranik, Abhimanyu	2607	4½	1 - 0	4½	GM	Zeng, Chongsheng	2557	18	PGN
6	19	GM	Sonis, Francesco	2556	4½	½ - ½	4½	GM	Idani, Pouya	2594	11	PGN
7	13	GM	Lodici, Lorenzo	2590	4½	0 - 1	4½	GM	Smirin, Ilia	2562	17	PGN
8	24	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	2515	4½	1 - 0	4½	GM	Sokolovsky, Yahli	2564	16	PGN
9	31	IM	Atanasov, Anthony	2470	4	1 - 0	4	GM	Saric, Ivan	2657	3	PGN
10	7	GM	Aditya, Mittal	2619	4	1 - 0	4	IM	Favaloro, Andrea	2395	40	PGN

Details

Standings after 7 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	RtgI	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5	Rp	K	rtg+/-
1	6	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.		ARM	2636	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2714	10	9,4
2	2	GM	Maghsoodloo, Parham		IRI	2710	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2673	10	0,8
3	4	GM	Karthikeyan, Murali		IND	2648	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2686	10	4
4	21	IM	Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid		UZB	2534	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2731	10	18
5	1	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian		FID	2729	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2720	10	1,5
6	9	GM	Puranik, Abhimanyu		IND	2607	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2678	10	6,6
7	5	GM	Svane, Frederik		GER	2645	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2672	10	3,4
8	24	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala		IND	2515	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2646	10	12
9	17	GM	Smirin, Ilia		ISR	2562	5,5	0	0	0	0	0	2649	10	7,8
10	12	GM	Jacobson, Brandon		USA	2594	5	0	0	0	0	0	2644	10	6,6

Details

Round 8 Pairings

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	6	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2636	5½		5½	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2729	1
2	9	GM	Puranik, Abhimanyu	2607	5½		5½	GM	Maghsoodloo, Parham	2710	2
3	17	GM	Smirin, Ilia	2562	5½		5½	GM	Karthikeyan, Murali	2648	4
4	21	IM	Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid	2534	5½		5½	GM	Svane, Frederik	2645	5
5	7	GM	Aditya, Mittal	2619	5		5½	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	2515	24
6	8	GM	Mendonca, Leon Luke	2613	5		5	GM	Gharibyan, Mamikon	2477	29
7	28	IM	Ilinca, Felix-Antonio	2486	5		5	GM	Idani, Pouya	2594	11
8	12	GM	Jacobson, Brandon	2594	5		5	IM	Atanasov, Anthony	2470	31
9	30	GM	Dronavalli, Harika	2470	5		5	GM	Sonis, Francesco	2556	19
10	35	IM	Sai, Krishna G V	2443	5		5	GM	Yilmaz, Mustafa	2549	20