15-year-old WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (UKR, 2207) emerged as the sole leader of the European Women’s Chess Championship 2026 after five played rounds!

Anastasiia Hnatyshyn today defeated WGM Elmira Mirzoeva (ENG, 2265) to remain the only player in the event with a perfect score of 5/5 points. Hnatyshyn was playing with the Black pieces and seemed to be surprised by Mirzoeva’s opening preparation and aggressive 8.h4 approach. The young Ukrainian didn’t play accurately early on, allowing Elmira Mirzoeva to earn an advantage. However, Elmira didn’t find the correct approach in the late middlegame and made two consecutive mistakes with 20.Bf6?, followed by 21.g5?, which allowed Anastasiia to grab the initiative and get the edge. It was a dynamical position difficult for White, and the game eventually finished on the 31st move, setting Anastasiia Hnatyshyn on the top of the leaderboard.

Hnatyshyn is earning 114 rating points in the tournament, and is playing with a staggering tournament performance of 3018!

Two players are trailing by half a point: WIM Gulenay Aydin (TUR, 2204) and IM Oliwia Kiolbasa (POL, 2397).

WIM Gulenay Aydin scored an important win today against IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2404). The 20-year-old Turkish player won a pawn at an early stage of the game, and seemed well-prepared for the opening. Salimova had some compensation, but she made a mistake with 20…Qa5?, miscalculating the outcome of an exchange sacrifice. Aydin took a decisive advantage and played precisely until the end, not giving her opponent a chance to make a comeback. With a score of 4.5/5 points, she is earning 47.4 rating points.

M Oliwia Kiolbasa (POL, 2397) was victorious with the White pieces against IM Gunay Mammadzada (AZE, 2374). A very solid game quickly transposed into an early endgame without Queens on the board, following trades further on in the game. But Mammadzada misplayed the endgame which seemed to be drawish despite two pawns down for the Black. Oliwia Kiolbasa didn’t miss the winning motif and converted into a win.

The tournament is reaching its midway point, and there are six more rounds left to be played. As many as 11 players score 4/5 points each, staying close in the race for the medals: WGM Elmira Mirzoeva (ENG, 2265), IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (ESP, 2375), IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE, 2450), FM Alexandra Zherebtsova (MNE, 2242), IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2389), IM Meri Arabidze (GEO, 2409), WGM Nadya Toncheva (BUL, 2320), WGM Anastasiya Rakhmangulova (UKR, 2328), IM Alina Bivol (SRB, 2361), IM Laura Unuk (SLO, 2289), and GM Anna Ushenina (UKR, 2420).

ECU