45th VILLA DE BENASQUE INTERNATIONAL CHESS OPEN 2026. ROUND 4
Only four players remain in the lead after the fourth round of this 45th Benasque Open.
The top seed, Mikhail Antipov, could only draw against Italy’s Fulvio Zamelgo. On board 2, Brandon Jacobson and Elizbar Ubilava played the game that generated the greatest interest among spectators, with the American eventually prevailing. Momchil Petkov and Aditya Samant lived up to expectations, while the surprise came on board 5, where Basque player Markel Vesga defeated American Bryce Tiglon, allowing him to share the lead.
Although surprises continue to occur, the Grandmasters who had dropped points in previous rounds lived up to expectations and defeated their opponents.
Round 4 results:
| 1 | FM | Zamengo Fulvio | ½ – ½ | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. |
| 2 | GM | Jacobson Brandon | 1 – 0 | GM | Ubilava Elizbar |
| 3 | FM | Jing Andrew | 0 – 1 | GM | Petkov Momchil |
| 4 | GM | Samant Aditya S | 1 – 0 | FM | Montoliu Cerveró Francisco |
| 5 | GM | Tiglon Bryce | 0 – 1 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel |
| 6 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | ½ – ½ | FM | Sánchez Aller Fernando |
| 7 | WGM | Cervantes Landeiro Thalia | 0 – 1 | GM | Cardoso Cardoso José Gabriel |
| 8 | Nedov Octavian | 0 – 1 | Xu Yang | ||
| 9 | López Molina Santiago Jorge | 0 – 1 | FM | Navarro Martínez Víctor | |
| 10 | GM | Avila Pavas Santiago | 1 – 0 | FM | Lorente Melcón Máximo |
| 11 | GM | Zoler Dan | 1 – 0 | FM | Cervelló Tost Ferran |
| 12 | GM | Castellanos Rodríguez Renier | 1 – 0 | Odriozola Coscolin Alex | |
| 13 | IM | Pásti Áron | 1 – 0 | FM | Cereijo Suárez Alejandro |
| 14 | FM | Escartín Lacasa José | 0 – 1 | IM | Vergara Anton Diego |
| 15 | GM | Jansa Vlastimil | ½ – ½ | GM | Cifuentes Parada Roberto |
Overall standings:
| 1 | GM | Jacobson Brandon | 4 |
| 2 | GM | Samant Aditya S | 4 |
| 3 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel | 4 |
| 4 | GM | Petkov Momchil | 4 |
| 5 | FM | Zamengo Fulvio | 3½ |
| 6 | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | 3½ |
| 7 | GM | Avila Pavas Santiago | 3½ |
| 8 | GM | Castellanos Rodríguez Renier | 3½ |
| 9 | GM | Zoler Dan | 3½ |
| 10 | IM | Vergara Anton Diego | 3½ |
| 11 | GM | Cardoso Cardoso José Gabriel | 3½ |
| 12 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | 3½ |
| 13 | FM | Sánchez Aller Fernando | 3½ |
| 14 | GM | Campora Daniel H. | 3½ |
| 15 | IM | Hernández Cristian Andres | 3½ |
Veterans’ standings:
| 1 | GM | Campora Daniel H. | 3½ |
| 2 | GM | Ubilava Elizbar | 3 |
| 3 | Rodríguez García Manuel Francisco | 3 | |
| 4 | GM | Jansa Vlastimil | 3 |
| 5 | GM | Cifuentes Parada Roberto | 3 |
Junior standings:
| 1 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | 3½ |
| 2 | FM | Navarro Martínez Víctor | 3½ |
| 3 | Gutiérrez Toro Raúl | 3 | |
| 4 | FM | Jing Andrew | 3 |
| 5 | FM | Garrigue Julian | 3 |
Women’s standings:
| 1 | WGM | Cervantes Landeiro Thalia | 3 |
| 2 | IM | Matnadze Bujiashvili Ann | 3 |
| 3 | CM | Estévez Sacristán Deva | 3 |
| 4 | WFM | Suárez Gómez Paula | 3 |
| 5 | García Trabanca Ana | 2½ |
Elo Band A
| 1 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel | 4 |
| 2 | FM | Zamengo Fulvio | 3½ |
| 3 | GM | Campora Daniel H. | 3½ |
| 4 | IM | Hernández Cristian Andres | 3½ |
| 5 | Xu Yang | 3½ |
Elo Band B
| 1 | FM | Sánchez Aller Fernando | 3½ |
| 2 | Rodríguez García Carlos | 3 | |
| 3 | CM | Grebennikov Nikolai A. | 3 |
| 4 | Rodríguez García Manuel Francisco | 3 | |
| 5 | WGM | Cervantes Landeiro Thalia | 3 |
Elo Band C
| 1 | Gutiérrez Toro Raúl | 3 | |
| 2 | Serrano Ruiz Lope | 3 | |
| 3 | CM | Estévez Sacristán Deva | 3 |
| 4 | AIM | Benseny Martínez Guerau | 2½ |
| 5 | Pedreira García Nicolas | 2½ |
Elo Band D
| 1 | López Molina Santiago Jorge | 3 | |
| 2 | Nedov Octavian | 3 | |
| 3 | Revilla Atienza Juan | 3 | |
| 4 | Castellano Galbán Mikel | 3 | |
| 5 | WFM | Suárez Gómez Paula | 3 |
Elo Band E
| 1 | Chang Eli | 3½ | |
| 2 | Moreno Burillo María | 2½ | |
| 3 | Latre Rodríguez Francisco | 2½ | |
| 4 | De La Hera Narganes Carlos | 2½ | |
| 5 | Carabantes Otal Laia | 2½ |
The pairings for the fifth round are as follows:
| 1 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel | GM | Jacobson Brandon | |
| 2 | GM | Petkov Momchil | GM | Samant Aditya S | |
| 3 | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | GM | Campora Daniel H. | |
| 4 | GM | Cardoso Cardoso José Gabriel | FM | Zamengo Fulvio | |
| 5 | IM | Vergara Anton Diego | GM | Avila Pavas Santiago | |
| 6 | IM | Hernández Cristian Andres | GM | Zoler Dan | |
| 7 | Xu Yang | GM | Castellanos Rodríguez Renier | ||
| 8 | FM | Navarro Martínez Víctor | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | |
| 9 | FM | Sánchez Aller Fernando | IM | Pásti Áron | |
| 10 | FM | Garrigue Julian | Chang Eli | ||
| 11 | Gómez Pastrana Juan | GM | Tiglon Bryce | ||
| 12 | IM | Di Benedetto Edoardo | FM | Bravo De La Vega Álvaro | |
| 13 | IM | Hagner Bennet | GM | Jansa Vlastimil | |
| 14 | FM | Marrujo Pardo Mauricio Emmanuel | WGM | Cervantes Landeiro Thalia | |
| 15 | GM | Cifuentes Parada Roberto | FM | Atares Buisan Sergio |
The four co-leaders face each other on the top two boards, making them undoubtedly the games to watch. Based on Elo rating, Jacobson starts as favourite against Vesga, while the prediction is less clear between Petkov and Samant.
In the morning, the Villa de Benasque Blitz tournament was played to a full field, ending with a tie for first place on 8 points out of 9 games between Catalan player Arnau Sánchez and Navarra’s Martín Pascual. Third place went to Basque player Oier Sarasqueta with 7.5 points. Behind them came a group of four players on 7 points, led by the main favourite, New Zealand IM Felix Xie, alongside Basque players Juan L. Alfaro, Asier Lakunza and Eduardo García. The 6.5-point group is headed by the young Huesca player Konstiantyn Zazuliak.