Anish Giri Just Won the Reykjavik Open with 8.5 out of 9, and He Made It Look Easy

The Reykjavik Open is one of chess's great traditions. It has been running since 1964, when Mikhail Tal won the inaugural edition. Every March, hundreds of players from dozens of countries descend on Iceland's capital for nine rounds of open Swiss chess at the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. This year, Anish Giri reminded everyone why he is still one of the best players on the planet. ## Giri's Dominant Performance Giri scored 8.5 out of 9 in a field of 424 players from 51 countries. That is five wins and four draws with zero losses. He finished half a point clear of the field, which in a nine-round Swiss is a comfortable margin. The Dutch super-GM entered the tournament as one of the favorites, and he delivered. His performance comes at a particularly interesting time: Giri is also a participant in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, which begins in Cyprus on March 29. Winning the Reykjavik Open the week before the biggest tournament of his career is about as good a confidence boost as you can get. For context, Giri made an unexpected return to the world top 10 in recent months while managing life with three children. GM Eugene Perelshteyn recently described him as chess's "best theoretician," noting that his advantage comes from deep opening preparation that can surprise even the most prepared opponents. ## The Chasing Pack Four players tied for second place with 8 points: Jordan Van Foreest, Sergei Movsesian, Abhijeet Gupta, and Gata Kamsky. Each of those names tells a story. Van Foreest is a Dutch GM who has been one of Europe's most consistent performers. Movsesian, at 47, continues to compete at the highest level. Gupta, the Indian GM, is a perennial open tournament contender. And Kamsky, the former U.S. Champion who first played for the World Championship in 1996, is still grinding out 8/9 scores in major opens three decades later. Behind them, a group at 7.5 points included Konstantin Kavutskiy, Erik Blomqvist, John C Pigott, Nils Grandelius, and Zoltan Almasi. ## Norms and Category Prizes The Reykjavik Open has always been a norm factory, and 2026 was no different. Aman Hambleton earned a GM norm during the tournament. IM norms went to Nishal Sarin, Michael Kleinman, and John C Pigott. For players chasing titles, this is exactly why open tournaments like Reykjavik matter: the chance to play strong opposition in a FIDE-rated event with enough rounds to earn norms. Harika Dronavalli, the Indian WGM, won the Best Female prize with 7 points. Eivind Olav Risting took Best Junior with 6.5. The rating category prizes went to Francesco Puglia (under 2000), Alan Entem and Joshua Doknjas (2001-2200 tie), and Kavutskiy and Pigott (2201-2400 tie). The best performance ratings by improvement over expected rating went to Arnar Heidarsson (+357 points), Daniel Ernir Njardarson (+320), and Sinan Eminov (+304). Those are massive overperformances. ## Why Reykjavik Still Matters Open Swiss tournaments are the backbone of competitive chess. They are where amateurs play grandmasters. They are where norms get earned, where rating points change hands, and where the next generation gets tested against the current one. The Reykjavik Open is one of the best. The Harpa Concert Hall is a spectacular venue. Iceland's chess culture runs deep. And 424 players from 51 countries tells you this is not just a local event. The time control (90 minutes for 40 moves, then 15 minutes with a 30-second increment) rewards serious chess while keeping the rounds manageable over a week. Nine rounds of Swiss is just long enough for the cream to rise to the top, and Giri rising all the way to 8.5 is as clear a signal as any. ## What Comes Next for Giri Giri heads directly from Reykjavik to Cyprus for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, where he will face Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi, Andrey Esipenko, Javokhir Sindarov, and Matthias Bluebaum. The winner earns the right to challenge World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. Arriving at the Candidates on the back of a dominant open tournament victory is the kind of form every player dreams about. Whether that momentum carries over to a very different format (a double round-robin against exclusively elite opposition) remains to be seen. But if you are Giri right now, you have to feel good about your chess. The Reykjavik Open reminded us that Giri is not just a Candidates participant. He is a contender.