Ian Nepomniachtchi will be in action at the Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026
Following a break of almost two months from classical chess, Ian Nepomniachtchi will be seen in action at the Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026. As the Sardinia Tournament is also included in the FIDE Circuit 2026-27, winning here would help the players to climb up in the FIDE Circuit leaderboard. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Parham Maghsoodloo are two 2700+ rated players taking part in this wonderful tournament. The tournament will be hosted at the beautiful ITI Marina Beach Hotel & Resort, located in Orosei, right next to the Sardinian coastline, from 3 May to 10 May 2026. Photo: Michal Walusza
3rd edition, but the strongest
After two highly successful editions, the festival is set to return once again from 3 May to 10 May 2026, offering a total prize fund of €50,100. In the first edition of the tournament, Daniel Dardha was the top-seeded player with a rating of 2630. In 2025, during the second edition, Daniel was the top-seeded again with a rating of 2650!
In the 3rd edition, as the tournament is eligible for FIDE Circuit points, two 2700+ rated players, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Parham Maghsoodloo, are taking part as the 1st and 2nd seeds. There are more than ten 2600+ rated players and more than twenty 2500+ rated players from all across the globe. For more details of the event, click here
Starting list of Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026
No. |
| Name | FideID | FED | RtgI | RtgN | sex | Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GM | FID | 2729 | 0 | A | ||||
2 | GM | IRI | 2720 | 0 | A | ||||
3 | GM | CRO | 2654 | 0 | A | ||||
4 | GM | IND | 2648 | 0 | A | ||||
5 | GM | GER | 2640 | 0 | A | ||||
6 | GM | ARM | 2633 | 0 | A | ||||
7 | GM | IND | 2617 | 0 | A | ||||
8 | GM | SRB | 2616 | 0 | A | ||||
9 | GM | IND | 2607 | 0 | A | ||||
10 | GM | IRI | 2602 | 0 | A |
Currently, Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the circuit after playing some tremendous chess. Abdusattorov won the Tata Steel Masters 2026 to secure 25.78 points, and just after that, keeping up his magnificent performance, he also won the Prague Masters 2026, securing 23.14 points for himself.
Current Ian Nepomniachtchi is in 15th place in the FIDE Circuit after playing just 1 classical event in Moscow. Nepo took part in the strong Aeroflot Open 2026 and won it convincingly with a full point lead over the field, giving him 13.57 circuit points.
Important Links
Sardinia Chess Festival: Official site, Facebook Page, and Instagram
Download the Full Tournament Details