The fourth round of the European Women’s Chess Championship 2026 was played today in Batumi, Georgia, leaving only two players with a perfect score of 4/4 points!
WGM Elmira Mirzoeva (ENG, 2265), the 53rd seed, and 15-year-old WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (UKR, 2207), the 76th seed, emerged as the tournament’s surprising co-leaders.

WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (UKR, 2207) today played on the top board against IM Mai Narva (EST, 2426). Having the White pieces, Hnatyshyn built an opening advantage and kept improving it throughout the game. It was a fantastic game for the 15-year-old Ukrainian who never gave her opponent a chance to mount a comeback and secured a victory after 47 moves.

Joining the young Ukrainian in the lead is WGM Elmira Mirzoeva (ENG, 2265), who scored a win with the Black pieces against FM Anna-Maja Kazarian (NED, 2317). It was a very complex game; Mirzoeva gained a clear advantage early in the middlegame, but later stumbled into time trouble, making a mistake which allowed Kazarian to build a decisive edge. Fortunately for Elmira, Kazarian missed her winning chance and blundered heavily with 53.f6??, completely overlooking a mating net around her own King. Mirzoeva pounced on the opportunity, wrapping up the game just three moves later.

The leading duo is closely followed by four players who score 3.5/4 points each: IM Oliwia Kiolbasa (POL, 2397), WIM Gulenay Aydin (TUR, 2204), IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2404) and IM Gunay Mammadzada (AZE, 2374).

The fourth day of the European Women’s Chess Championship 2026 brought interesting games and commenced with a with a delightful celebration of local culture. Before the start of the fourth round, the players and tournament officials gathered for a special lunch: an authentic Adjarian Khachapuri party! As a centerpiece of Adjara’s world-famous hospitality, the players didn’t just get to taste this iconic meal, but they were given front-row seats to watch and join the entire traditional preparation process from start to finish!

You can follow the live video broadcast, featuring expert commentary by GM Valerian Gaprindashvili and WIM Sandra Djukic, on the official ECU YouTube channel.

All results, rankings and pairings can be found here.

ECU