Who Are Your 2026 National Chess Champs? Kings and Queens You Didn’t See Coming

Chess is about champions, right?

GM Magnus Carlsen dominating the World Rapid & Blitz in Doha; GM Gukesh D holding the classical World Championship. We know all about them.

But do we know who the national champions are in the top chess nations? Here's a quick run-down of who won national titles in 2025 and who goes into 2026 looking to defend their crowns.

India

The Indian national champion may not be a name you know. World Champion GM Gukesh D plus GMs Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi were missing from the line-up.

Instead, GM Panneerselvam Iniyan, India's 61st grandmaster, emerged as the winner of the 2025 Indian Chess Championship, edging out IM Goutham Krishna on tiebreak to claim his maiden national title.

The 62nd National Chess Championship, an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place at Vignan University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, from September 21 to October 1. Although the event did not attract all of India’s top players, it still boasted a massive field of 394 participants, including 14 GMs and 30 IMs.

Norway

The country that gave us Carlsen, the winner of 20 world titles, held its national championship, the Landsturneringen 2025, between July 4 and July 12 in Bergen, Norway.

But no, the winner was not Carlsen. In fact, the 35-year-old has only won it once—as a youngster way back in 2006. Since then, he's not bothered.

Carlsen has got bigger fish to fry. Instead, one of his former trainers GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, a legend of chess commentary, won it for the fourth time with a score of 7/9.

France

GM Marc’Andria Maurizzi and WIM Yosha Iglesias both claimed their maiden national titles in August. Iglesias made history as the first trans woman to win a national Women's title.

Russia

The Russian Chess Championship Superfinal is a huge and historic event, traditionally one of the strongest tournaments in the world.

In recent years it has been diminished, however. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the powerhouse of chess has suffered a brain-drain with dozens of players leaving Mother Russia.

Among the players still remaining are 2026 World Championship Candidate GM Andrey Esipenko, GM Daniil Dubov and GM Vladislav Artemiev, who all competed in the Superfinal.

But it was GM Arseniy Nesterov, the 22-year-old from St Petersburg, who took the top honours and a first prize of 1,100,000₽ plus 13.76 FIDE Circuit points, which are irrelevant now.

Nesterov, the joint World Junior Chess Championship winner in 2023, finished unbeaten on 6.5/11.

Spain

GM David Anton, aka "El Niño", won his second national title just before Christmas with one round to spare. He has won it in total eight times now, the previous triumph being in 2020. WGM Marta Garcia Martin won the Women's event.

The U.S.

GM Fabiano Caruana and IM Carissa Yip were crowned U.S. Champions, winning their fourth and third consecutive titles, respectively.

The 2025 U.S. Championships (Open and Women’s) were 12-player round-robins with a classical time control and a combined prize fund of $402,000.

Held at the upgraded facilities of the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri, the tournaments attracted the strongest American players, with the exception of GM Hikaru Nakamura.

China

GM Xiao Tong and WGM Li Xueyi won the Open and Women’s sections of the 2025 Chinese National Championships, respectively, securing their first national titles.

The 2025 edition of the Chinese Championship—held for the 17th consecutive year in GM Hou Yifan’s hometown of Xinghua, Jiangsu, from June 26 to July 3.

The Open section featured 60 players, while the Women’s section attracted 34 participants. Notably, top national players such as GMs Ding Liren, Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Ju Wenjun, Zhu Jiner, and Tan Zhongyi were absent from the event.

The UK

The British Chess Championships are an historic anomaly. The event awards the national champion to the winner of "the British", which includes the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which all have their chess organised by separate federations.

However, the event itself is organised by the English Chess Federation, and is usually held in England. The four nationals also have their own national tournaments, but it is "The British" which is considered the title to win.

This year, in August, GM Michael Adams, the king of British chess, won his ninth UK title in a sensational three-way playoff finish to the 111th edition in Liverpool.

Adams, who led throughout, took home £5,000 and the British Crown Trophy he first won in 1989.

Germany

GM Vincent Keymer, who has had a storming 2025, and WGM Dinara Wagner emerged as the new German chess champions in May.

Keymer confirmed his status as the pre-tournament favourite by winning the title in convincing fashion, while top seed Wagner triumphed over WGM Hanna Marie Klek in an exciting tiebreaker.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a top chess nation currently ranked seventh in the world by FIDE.

Back in February, GM Rauf Mamedov and WGM Gunay Mammadzada emerged victorious at the 2025 Azerbaijani Chess Championships in Baku.

Mamedov clinched his seventh national title after a dramatic final against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, while Mammadzada secured her third championship with a masterful tiebreak performance against WGM Govhar Beydullayeva.