GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the 2026 Freestyle Chess World Championship Play-in Knockout to earn $1,000 and qualify for the last available spot in the world championship. He beat GM Amin Tabatabaei 1.5-0.5 in the Semifinals and then GM Pranav Venkatesh 2-0 in the Final. Tabatabaei held an armageddon game with Black against GM Grigoriy Oparin to win the match for third place.
The world championship will take place on February 13-15.
It was a smooth performance for Abdusattorov, who across both matches drew one game and won three—without a single loss. Each match was a best-of-two, with an armageddon tiebreak if needed, and the time control was 15+3.
Semifinal: Abdusattorov 1.5-0.5 Tabatabaei
Both semifinal matches started with cagey draws, as neither player wanted to take much risk. In game two, however, Abdusattorov gained a tremendous advantage out of the opening, and his space-gaining play culminated with the tactic 15.Nxe7!. Though it wasn’t a complicated one, he ended the game with a pretty queen sacrifice.
Semifinal: Pranav 1.5-0.5 Oparin
In the other semifinal match, between Pranav and Oparin, the Indian GM took it in game two as well. Rather than an attack, nagging pressure in the rook endgame led to a collapse as Oparin, on 20 seconds, made a losing break for counterplay.
Final: Abdusattorov 2-0 Pranav
Though Pranav won their encounter in round four of the Swiss event yesterday, Abdusattorov exacted revenge in the Knockout and won both games.
In the first, Abdusattorov declined to pick up an exchange and, instead, went for a queen trade. Though it was objectively an error, the decision paid off. After 25.Rxe8? White gave control of the open e-file and Abdusattorov expertly made use of that advantage.
Pranav didn’t get a real chance in game two, which was a must-win game with the black pieces. 17.Nxb7! was a professional way for Abdusattorov to tactically trade off more pieces. In an attempt to generate any winning chances, Pranav went down in flames.
3rd Place Match: Oparin 1.5-1.5 Tabatabaei
After two draws, we got our only armageddon game of the day. Oparin did get a winning position in the endgame, but was unable to realize the advantage with little time. Tabatabaei held a third draw and finished in third.
Interview With Abdusattorov
The Uzbek number-one joined for a brief interview from his hotel room in Wijk aan Zee, where starting tomorrow he’ll be playing at Tata Steel Chess 2026. He said that the most difficult part of this tournament was just qualifying for the Knockout, explaining, “It was a bit random at the end, but once I qualified for the Knockout I thought it should be possible to win the matches and qualify.”
Abdusattorov said his favorite part about Chess960 is “its unpredictability.” These days, he’s not only focusing on classical chess, with the rise of rapid and blitz events—on top of Freestyle Chess. He said that since the Freestyle Event in Las Vegas last year, “I’ve improved a bit since last time. Since then I’ve checked some games and I’ve done some preparation, it really helped me in this tournament.”
His fans can look forward to seeing him play in Wijk aan Zee starting tomorrow, but he also said that he plans to join the Prague Masters and Sharjah Masters (“if it will not clash with any other tournament”).
Tune back in February to watch the crowning of the first-ever FIDE Freestyle Chess world champion.
How to Watch the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship Play-in
You can watch the event on Chess24’s Twitch or YouTube channels. The games can also be checked out on our dedicated Events page.
GM David Howell and IM Anna Rudolf hosted the broadcast.
The 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship takes place on February 13-15 at the five-star Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort in Germany. Eight players will compete for the title of Freestyle Chess world champion, with one player determined by the Play-in, a nine-round Swiss followed by a Knockout on January 14-15 ($1,000 prize). The main event features a round-robin stage followed by a Knockout stage. The following time controls are featured: 10+2, 15+3, 10+5, and 25+10. The event features a $300,000 prize fund.
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