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NATO Chess Championship 2026: Vahap Şanal wins all seven games, Türkiye takes the team title

Published · By TG, the site operator

The 36th NATO Chess Championship closed on 17 October at the Baltic Beach Hotel & Spa in Jūrmala, Latvia. A seven-round Swiss brought together 148 military players from 18 NATO member nations. The official site gives the classical control as 90 minutes plus 30 seconds a move, and it scores teams by adding the best four results of a six-player team.

One player wins every game

Grandmaster Vahap Şanal of Türkiye, the top seed, won all seven of his games. Fifth seed International Master Laura Unuk of Slovenia finished second on 6 points. Because of the pairings she did not meet the champion, and she was the best woman in the event. Six players tied for third on 5½ points. FM Robert Stein of Germany took bronze on a superior Buchholz tiebreak score.

Four scores make a team

Türkiye won the team title with 23½ points. Germany were second on 20, and Sweden and Latvia both finished on 19. Sweden placed above the host nation on tiebreaks. The totals can be checked against the table: Türkiye's counted scores were Şanal's 7 and three players on 5½, which add up to 23½. A sixth player never affects the total, because only the best four scores count.

A nine-round blitz

A blitz tournament with 3 minutes plus 2 seconds a move was also played, with nine rounds. IM Mark Timmermans of the Netherlands finished on 7½ out of 9, level with Stein and FM Efe Mert Kılıç of Türkiye. Timmermans took first on tiebreak, with Stein second and Kılıç third.

What it means for a player at home

Several places here were settled by tiebreaks, not by the number of games won. That is useful to know if you ever enter a club event, but chessplayonline.com is not a tournament site. Our own comparison of free chess sites says there are no tournaments, ratings or account sync here, so you will not find a table to climb. That page suggests Lichess or Chess.com for those features.

The part that carries over is the habit of thinking in runs of games rather than single results. The FAQ says each turn in an online game has a ten-minute limit, which is far shorter than the NATO classical control but still plenty for a careful look. Before each move, check the king, then every capture and threat, and only then choose a plan. Play a short run of games on Normal and note which losses came from a move you did not check. Our rules guide covers the draw rules, and the FAQ explains the computer levels.

Sources

Written by the operator of this site from the sources listed above. Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and it will be corrected.

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