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17 year old Ukrainian with limited travel opportunities, according to TWICReg Clucas wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2026 8:35 pmA surprise winner. I had never heard of him! https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1388808 ... 0&SNode=S0
Another young Ukrainian, who lives in Birkenhead and plays in the 4NCL was half a point off making his final GM norm and qualifying for the world cup:Mick Norris wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2026 7:48 am17 year old Ukrainian with limited travel opportunities, according to TWICReg Clucas wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2026 8:35 pmA surprise winner. I had never heard of him! https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1388808 ... 0&SNode=S0
It's a year for young players
Good result from Svyatoslav Bazakutsa - hopefully the final norm will come soon.LawrenceCooper wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2026 8:25 amAnother young Ukrainian, who lives in Birkenhead and plays in the 4NCL was half a point off making his final GM norm and qualifying for the world cup:Mick Norris wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2026 7:48 am17 year old Ukrainian with limited travel opportunities, according to TWICReg Clucas wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2026 8:35 pmA surprise winner. I had never heard of him! https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1388808 ... 0&SNode=S0
It's a year for young players
https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1388808 ... 8&SNode=S0
Seventeen-year-old Ukrainian IM Roman Dehtiarov has made history as both the youngest and lowest-seeded player ever to win the European Individual Chess Championship. He started the event in Katowice, Poland ranked 126th out of 501 players, with a 2452 rating, but took sole first place on 9/11, half a point ahead of Azerbaijani GMs Nijat Abasov, Aydin Suleymanli, and Mahammad Muradli. He won €20,000 (~$23,500), a spot in the 2027 FIDE World Cup, and an instant grandmaster title as the winner of a continental championship.
On his return to Ukraine, he met and was awarded the "Future of Ukraine" award by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Dehtiarov's result would be remarkable for anyone, but it's even more impressive when you add the backstory. Dehtiarov is from Kharkiv, a city 30 kilometers from the Russian border and therefore in constant danger since the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022. Another player from that city, GM Pavel Eljanov, explained that he'd tried to evacuate Dehtiarov's family, but 14-year-old Roman said no, not wanting to abandon his father.
When the war started in early 2022, I tried to help several Ukrainian families relocate to Europe (mostly to England, thanks to @TelegraphChess and Andrew Churavin).
In one case, everything was arranged for a family from Kharkiv - until their 14-year-old son, a talented chess…
— Pavel Eljanov (@Eljanov) April 19, 2026
Eljanov ends:
He stayed in one of the most dangerous places in Ukraine. With very limited chances to travel and barely any practice, he still became Ukrainian Champion. Now he’s grown up—and just caused the biggest sensation in the history of the European Championship!
Remember the name: Roman Dehtiarov!
Not for nothing our city Kharkiv is called “reinforced concrete!"
In 2024, at the age of 16 years and five months and already studying at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Dehtiarov became the youngest-ever Ukrainian Champion. He scored 7.5/9 and had better tiebreaks than top-seed GM Mikhailo Oleksienko.
Dehtiarov has steadily climbed the rating list when he's played, but he hasn't been able to play nearly as often as most of his peers.