Garry Kasparov officially opened the Super Chess Classic Romania 2026: draws all around in the first round in Bucharest

Super Chess Classic 2026, the 2nd stage of the Grand Chess Tour, debuted on Thursday at the National Bank Museum in Bucharest, bringing together 10 of the world's best chess players, including the Romanian Bogdan Deac, who received a wild card. The competition offers record prizes of $475,000. The first round ended with draws in all five matches played, including the confrontation between Deac and Javokhir Sindarov, the recent winner of the Candidates Tournament. The game was marked by symbolic moves made by Garry Kasparov.

Other notable matches included the draw between Fabiano Caruana and Jorden van Foreest, Wesley So and Vincent Keymer, as well as the duel between Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Alireza Firouzja. All games were balanced, and the players preferred to share the points, leaving room for intense competition in the second round. The Super Foundation is the main sponsor of the event, which continues to attract the attention of chess enthusiasts from around the world.