Ninth round was opened by the Minister of Sport of Georgia Mr. Shalva Gogoladze who made the first ceremonial move in the game between IM Meri Arabidze (GEO) and IM Klaudia Kulon (POL), with the presence of the Deputy Minister of Sports of Georgia Mr. Irakli Dolaberidze, ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili and the President of the Georgian Chess Federation Mr. Akaki Iashvili.

Scoring 7.5/9 points each, 15-year-old WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (UKR, 2207) and IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (ESP, 2375) are tied for first place, entering the penultimate round as tournament co-leaders.

With an impressive tournament performance rating of 2577 so far at the European Women’s Chess Championship 2026, Anastasiia Hnatyshyn has secured an IM norm and has gained a staggering 177 rating points!

Playing on the top board, IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (ESP, 2375) drew with the Black pieces against IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2389). It was a well-balanced game where Vega Gutierrez held a more comfortable position and even an edge in the early middlegame. She tried to play for a win, but Roebers defended well in the endgame, and a draw was agreed upon after playing down to bare kings.

The leading duo is followed by five players who score 7/9 points each: IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2389), IM Mai Narva (EST, 2426), IM Olga Badelka (AUT, 2392), IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2404) and IM Klaudia Kulon (POL, 2377).

The penultimate 10th round brings interesting encounters on the top boards, and the games start at 13:00 CEST (15:00 local time). Live games with commentaries by GM Valerian Gaprindashvili and WIM Sandra Djukic can be followed here.

All results, rankings and pairings can be found here.

ECU