Brasov Grand Prix Classic 2026

A result with real resistance in it

Open tournaments are won by beating the people who are also trying to win them. Brasov had 197 players from 22 countries, 12 of them grandmasters, and a top seed rated 2672. Pranav finished unbeaten on 7.5/9 and took the title on tie-break, with the last three rounds against grandmasters.

The tournament also had the shape that flatters nobody: a slow start against lower-rated opposition where a single slip costs the event, then a run of games against players strong enough to punish one.

Round by round

Rounds one to four went the way a 2588 rating says they should — four wins, none of them straightforward. The first-round game against Danila ran to 52 moves; the fourth against Magold to 41.

Round five was the turning point: 118 moves against David Gavrilescu, an endgame that would not resolve, held to a draw after more than six hours. Round six was a shorter draw against Anto Cristiano.

Then the two results that decided the tournament. Round seven against GM Mamikon Gharibyan was a win with black. Round eight, against GM Igor Kovalenko — rated 2672, the top seed and the strongest player in the field — was a 58-move draw held with the black pieces.

Round nine, with white against GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra of Chile, was the game that took the title.

What it counts for

Rating points exist only where strong opposition is. That is what makes an event like this worth the airfare.

First prize was 25,000 lei out of a 36,000-euro fund — around ₹4.7 lakh, and less than the cost of the two-week trip once flights, visa, entry and accommodation are counted. The result is the return, not the cheque.