45th VILLA DE BENASQUE INTERNATIONAL CHESS OPEN 2026. ROUND 5
American Grandmaster Brandon Jacobson defeated FM Markel Vesga on board one in barely two hours in the fifth round, becoming the sole leader after Petkov and Samant drew on board two.
In this first half of the tournament, Jacobson has shown himself to be the player in the best form and the most incisive over the five games.
On the following boards, Mikhail Antipov and José Gabriel Cardoso made the most of having the white pieces to score full points. By contrast, the three Grandmasters on the next boards who had the black pieces — Avila, Zoler and Castellanos — had to settle for draws.
International Masters Javier Habans and Aron Pasti scored full points on boards 8 and 9 and move into the chasing group behind Jacobson.
Among the Aragonese players, Sergio Atarés defeated Roberto Cifuentes and is the highest-ranked player together with Daniel Romero and Diego Vergara, a new signing for Jaime Casas of Monzón ahead of the Spanish Honour Division Championship.
Round 5 results:
| 1 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel | 0 – 1 | GM | Jacobson Brandon |
| 2 | GM | Petkov Momchil | ½ – ½ | GM | Samant Aditya S |
| 3 | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | 1 – 0 | GM | Campora Daniel H. |
| 4 | GM | Cardoso Cardoso José Gabriel | 1 – 0 | FM | Zamengo Fulvio |
| 5 | IM | Vergara Anton Diego | ½ – ½ | GM | Avila Pavas Santiago |
| 6 | IM | Hernández Cristian Andres | ½ – ½ | GM | Zoler Dan |
| 7 | Xu Yang | ½ – ½ | GM | Castellanos Rodríguez Renier | |
| 8 | FM | Navarro Martínez Víctor | 0 – 1 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier |
| 9 | FM | Sánchez Aller Fernando | 0 – 1 | IM | Pásti Áron |
| 10 | FM | Garrigue Julian | 1 – 0 | Chang Eli |
Overall standings
| 1 | GM | Jacobson Brandon | 5 |
| 2 | GM | Samant Aditya S | 4½ |
| 3 | GM | Petkov Momchil | 4½ |
| 4 | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | 4½ |
| 5 | GM | Cardoso Cardoso José Gabriel | 4½ |
| 6 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | 4½ |
| 7 | IM | Pásti Áron | 4½ |
| 8 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel | 4 |
| 9 | IM | Vergara Anton Diego | 4 |
| 10 | GM | Avila Pavas Santiago | 4 |
Veterans’ standings
| 1 | GM | Ubilava Elizbar | 4 |
| 2 | IM | Martín González Ángel | 4 |
| 3 | GM | Campora Daniel H. | 3½ |
Junior standings
| 1 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | 4½ |
| 2 | Martín Cabeza Nicolas | 4 | |
| 3 | FM | Krauchi Romero Martín | 4 |
Women’s standings
| 1 | IM | Matnadze Bujiashvili Ann | 3½ |
| 2 | WGM | Cervantes Landeiro Thalia | 3 |
| 3 | CM | Estévez Sacristán Deva | 3 |
Elo Band A
| 1 | FM | Vesga Izeta Markel | 4 |
| 2 | GM | Ubilava Elizbar | 4 |
| 3 | IM | Hernández Cristian Andres | 4 |
| 4 | FM | Krauchi Romero Martín | 4 |
| 5 | FM | Romero Pallares Daniel | 4 |
Elo Band B
| 1 | CM | Fernández Estremera Fernando | 4 |
| 2 | Jin Ruijun | 4 | |
| 3 | Martín Cabeza Nicolas | 4 | |
| 4 | Torres Rebolledo Víctor | 4 | |
| 5 | AIM | Alonso Vargas David | 4 |
Elo Band C
| 1 | Gutiérrez Toro Raúl | 3½ | |
| 2 | AIM | Benseny Martínez Guerau | 3½ |
| 3 | Carnero Rodríguez Sergio | 3½ | |
| 4 | Semprun Martínez Fernando | 3½ | |
| 5 | Álvarez Abejon Amilcar | 3½ |
Elo Band D
| 1 | Paniagua Tomillo Iván | 4 | |
| 2 | Crespo Laborda Alberto | 3½ | |
| 3 | Nedov Octavian | 3½ | |
| 4 | Revilla Atienza Juan | 3½ | |
| 5 | Tafall Villanueva Gorka | 3½ |
Elo Band E
| 1 | Chang Eli | 3½ | |
| 2 | Moreno Burillo María | 3 | |
| 3 | Latre Rodríguez Francisco | 3 | |
| 4 | González Ferreras José Antonio | 3 | |
| 5 | Delgado Gómez Rubén | 3 |
Round 6 pairings:
| 1 | GM | Jacobson Brandon | 5 | 4½ | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | |
| 2 | IM | Habans Aguerrea Javier | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Petkov Momchil | |
| 3 | GM | Samant Aditya S | 4½ | 4½ | GM | Cardoso Cardoso José Gabriel | |
| 4 | IM | Pásti Áron | 4½ | 4 | GM | Avila Pavas Santiago | |
| 5 | GM | Zoler Dan | 4 | 4 | Xu Yang | ||
| 6 | FM | Vioque González Nicolas | 4 | 4 | IM | Di Benedetto Edoardo | |
| 7 | GM | Castellanos Rodríguez Renier | 4 | 4 | FM | Garrigue Julian | |
| 8 | Lakuntza Plazaola Asier | 4 | 4 | IM | Hagner Bennet | ||
| 9 | FM | Romero Pallares Daniel | 4 | 4 | FM | Marrujo Pardo Mauricio Emmanuel | |
| 10 | IM | Vergara Anton Diego | 4 | 4 | Jin Ruijun |
The tournament’s star game has come earlier than expected and will pit the top two seeds against each other: leader Brandon Jacobson and Mikhail Antipov. It is undoubtedly the game to watch.
Tomorrow morning, Elizbar Ubilava will give a masterclass, while the various parallel activities continue. And with the arrival of the weekend, Benasque is sure to welcome many chess players.