Pranav Anand Wins Brasov Grand Prix Classic 2026

by Devansh Singh - 10/08/2026

GM Pranav Anand scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win the Brasov Grand Prix Classic 2026. Pranav and Top Seed Igor Kovalenko both scored 7.5, but better tiebreaks helped Pranav win the title. In the final round, Pranav defeated Henriquez Villagra Cristobal with white pieces. The tournament was organised in Brasov, Romania, at Hotel Aro Palace from 25th to 31st July 2026. The total prize fund was 36.000€, with the top three prizes being Lei 25000, 15000 and 1000 along with Trophies. Photos: Romanian Chess Grand Prix

Anand To Anand

FIDE Interim President and 5 TImes World Champion Viswanathan Anand gave the prize to Pranav, and Pranav shared the joy of receiving the prize from Vishy. Pranav also shared his favourite game of the tournament.

"I think the one against David Gavrilescu was my favourite. Even though the game ended in a draw, the manner in which the struggle proceeded from me taking over the initiative with an exchange sacrifice (Nxe3!? and Rc1) followed by the endgame after was very fun. The rook endgame I enjoyed, as after I missed the win, he defended very well. It was overall a very complicated game with twists and turns."

Champion: Pranav Anand received his prize from 5-time World Champion Vishy Anand

Position After 27.Nc2

After Nc2, Pranav decided to sacrifice the exchange for the initiative, and he played 27...Nxe3, followed by Rxc2 and Rc1 in the end. Check out the full Marathon Game below

GM Pranav Anand in action

Pranav also increased his rating by 14.8 points, taking it to 2603

Hard-Earned Trophy and Medal

Proud Mother

Top 3 Finishers L to R: 2nd Igor Kovalenko, 1st Pranav Anand with Viswanathan Anand and 3rd Jaime Santos Latasa

Games in action

A total of 197 players, including 12 GMs and 21 International Masters, took part in this Classical Event from 22 Countries. The time control was 40 moves in 90 minutes + 15 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

Replay Available Games

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	FED	RtgI	RtgN	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	5	GM	Pranav, Anand			IND	2588	0		7,5	2477	49,5	42	2450	0	1,48	10	14,8
2	1	GM	Kovalenko, Igor			UKR	2672	0		7,5	2418	46	38,5	2379	0	0,19	10	1,9
3	2	GM	Santos Latasa, Jaime			ESP	2620	0		7	2438	49	42,5	2385	0	0,25	10	2,5
4	4	GM	Xiao, Tong(Qd)			CHN	2599	0		7	2402	45	38	2345	0	0,11	10	1,1
5	17	IM	Lu, Maximillian			USA	2458	0		7	2340	45	38	2334	0	0,99	10	9,9
6	20		Kozak, Antoni			POL	2426	0		6,5	2441	47,5	40	2392	0	1,83	10	18,3
7	11	IM	Camlar, Arda			TUR	2497	0		6,5	2420	49,5	42	2428	0	0,85	10	8,5
8	33		Dong, Hongfu			CHN	2353	0		6,5	2391	48	41	2341	0	1,97	20	39,4
9	3	GM	Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal			CHI	2603	0		6,5	2383	47,5	40	2386	0	-0,58	10	-5,8
10	9	GM	Ohanyan, Emin			ARM	2516	0		6,5	2360	45,5	38,5	2360	0	0,00	10	0,0

Details

Important Links

Romanian Grand Prix: Website and Facebook