Indian Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Koneru Humpy won individual gold medals as the 2026 European Chess Club Cup concluded in Budva, Montenegro, on October 23, Chess.com and the Times of India reported. Sarin took gold on Board 2 in the Open section and Humpy gold on Board 2 in the Women's section.
Source: Chess.com
Playing for Novy Bor Chess Club, Sarin scored five points from six games, with four wins and two draws, including victories over Jorden van Foreest, Karthikeyan Murali and Maxim Rodshtein, the Times of India reported. Chess.com noted that his 2859 performance rating gained him 11.1 rating points and lifted him to a career-best world number 18 on the live rating list, and that he beat fellow Indian Murali in the final round.
Source: Times of India via 7Globe
Humpy scored 4.5 points from six games for Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo, and her final-round win over WFM Nia Donghvani helped the club clinch the women's team title — its ninth — on tiebreaks over CE Gambit Bonnevoie after a 4-0 win in the last round, Chess.com reported. In a post on X on October 23, Humpy wrote that she was delighted to win the title with Monte-Carlo, a club her association with began in 2007.
Source: Chess.com
The Indian medal haul did not end there. Pentala Harikrishna, also playing for Novy Bor, took individual silver on Board 3 with five points from six games, while Karthikeyan Murali took bronze on Board 2 with 4.5 points, including a win over Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, and Arjun Erigaisi finished fourth on Board 1, according to the Times of India report. Novy Bor finished second in the Open team standings, missing the title on tiebreaks to Bayegan Pendik Sports Club.
Source: Times of India via 7Globe
The European Chess Club Cup, organised by the European Chess Union, was played in Budva from October 17 to 23. According to the Times of India report, Sarin will next compete at the London Chess Classic, scheduled from November 24 to December 7.
Source: Chess.com