Reykjavik Chess Open 2026: Vignir Vatnar Stefansson Claims Harpa Blitz Title

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The 2026 Reykjavik Chess Open officially kicks off today in Iceland’s capital, but the festivities began early with yesterday’s opening party and the high-energy Harpa Blitz 2026.

The tournament drew a competitive field of 154 players, battling through 11 rounds. At the end of the day, Iceland’s own GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson stood atop the podium. Though he tied for first with Croatia’s GM Leon Livaic at 9.5/11, Stefansson secured the title thanks to his head-to-head victory over the Croatian Grandmaster.

Stefansson’s path to victory wasn’t without hurdles. He suffered an early setback, starting with an “unconvincing” 2/3 after a third-round loss to Kazakhstan’s 21-year-old WGM Xeniya Balabayeva. However, the Icelandic No. 1 showed incredible resolve, mounting a seven-game winning streak before a draw in the final round sealed his first-place finish.

The race for the final podium spot was equally intense, with three players finishing on 8.5 points. Turkey’s GM Mustafa Yilmaz edged out the competition on tiebreaks to claim third place.

Attention now turns to the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference center for the main tournament, where more than 420 players from 51 countries will compete over nine rounds for a total prize fund exceeding €17,000. Detailed information about the event and starting list of players are available here.

Photos by Reykjavik Chess Open

Harpa Blitz 2026 – Final standings:

Rk.		Name	Typ	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.
1	GM	Vignir Vatnar Stefansson			ISL	2595	9.5
2	GM	Leon Livaic			CRO	2580	9.5
3	GM	Mustafa Yilmaz			TUR	2493	8.5
4	IM	Nico Chasin			USA	2474	8.5
5	GM	Emre Can			TUR	2467	8.5
6	IM	Alexandros Papasimakopoulos			GRE	2435	8
7	GM	Magesh Chandran Panchanathan			IND	2437	8
8	IM	Aleksandr Domalchuk-Jonasson			ISL	2282	8
9	WGM	Xeniya Balabayeva		w	KAZ	2229	8
10	IM	Leya Garifullina		w	FID	2397	8
11	IM	Kyron Griffith			USA	2210	8
12		Siddharth Singh			USA	2172	8
13	GM	Tong(Qd) Xiao			CHN	2434	7.5
14	IM	Dagur Ragnarsson			ISL	2350	7.5
15	GM	David Brodsky			USA	2455	7.5
16	IM	Bjorn Thorfinnsson			ISL	2400	7.5
17		Stephan Briem			ISL	2216	7.5
18	IM	Oladapo Adu			NGR	2202	7.5
19	FM	Sigurbjorn Bjornsson			ISL	2282	7.5
20		Abhinav Reddy Bathula			IND	2122	7
21		Jiabao Zhang			CHN	2134	7
22		Gauti Pall Jonsson			ISL	2310	7
23		Hursh Mehta			USA	2055	7
24		Brian Jiang			CAN	2039	7
25		Damirali Magzumov			KAZ	1787	7
26		Jannis Schulz			GER	1963	7
27		Jure Plaskan			SLO	2304	7
28		Snorri Vikanes Bjarnason			NOR	2035	7
29	CM	Cocoro Matsumura			JPN	2110	7
30	CM	Jon Trausti Hardarson			ISL	2129	7
31	WGM	Liya Kurmangaliyeva		w	KAZ	2265	7
32	GM	Bragi Thorfinnsson			ISL	2305	7
33		Kurt Magnus Berg			NOR	1932	7
34	FM	Stein Jensen			NOR	2048	7
35		David Kolka			ISL	2173	6.5
36		Turbat Todmunkh			MGL	1777	6.5
37		Hakan Ostling			SWE	2027	6.5
38		Korneliusz Bartczak			IRL	1980	6.5
39		Ian Avery Singh			USA	1802	6.5
40		Yngve Fossheim			NOR	2186	6.5
41		Arnar Milutin Heidarsson			ISL	2229	6.5
42		Oskar Vikingur Davidsson			ISL	1965	6.5
43		Romualdo Vitale			ITA	1946	6.5
44	CM	Nikash Vemparala			USA	2095	6.5
45		Jay Carr			USA	1820	6.5
46		Alessandro Depau			ITA	1935	6.5
47	CM	Neeraj Harish			USA	2022	6.5
48		Benjamin Snodgrass			USA	1934	6.5
49	FM	Ethan Guo			USA	2288	6
50		Jason Turner			USA	1715	6
51		Aron Ellert Thorsteinsson			ISL	1862	6
52		Birkir Hallmundarson			ISL	1982	6
53		Thomas Renner			GER	0	6
54	CM	Hairan Liang			CAN	0	6
55		Theodor Eiriksson			ISL	2011	6
56		Halldor Atli Kristjansson			ISL	1837	6
57		Elliot Mccallum			CAN	1837	6
58		Harry Li			ENG	1955	6
59		Alberto Pasquale Catapano			ITA	1896	6
60		Isaac Vega			USA	1706	6
61		Jakov Jagic			IRL	1882	6
62	ACM	Eito Nishida			JPN	1663	6
63		Edwin Zuiderweg			NED	1963	6
64		Emil Jacobsen Jamil			FAI	1715	6
65		Josef Omarsson			ISL	2044	6
66		Markus Orri Johannsson			ISL	1989	5.5
67		Henry Pollitt			CAN	1788	5.5
68		Jesse Vick			USA	0	5.5
69		Charles B Bernstein			USA	1765	5.5
70		Harald Bjornsson			ISL	1901	5.5
71	WCM	Arina Berezovskii		w	ISR	1794	5.5
72		Petur Ulfar Ernisson			ISL	1859	5.5
73	WCM	Gudrun Fanney Briem		w	ISL	2076	5.5
74		Toma Matsunaga			JPN	1785	5.5
75		Helgi Hauksson			ISL	1661	5.5
76		Sigurjon Sigurbjornsson			ISL	1986	5.5
77		Juergen Kleinert			GER	1880	5.5
78		Kristjan Halldorsson			ISL	1834	5.5
79		Oskar Long Einarsson			ISL	1843	5.5
80		Dan Bock			USA	1633	5.5
81		Danylo Nedin			UKR	1963	5
82		Aiden Emerson Bartlett			USA	1773	5
83		Lennart Oelschlaeger			GER	2023	5
84		Unnar Ingvarsson			ISL	1819	5
85		Thorsteinn G Sigurdsson			ISL	1764	5
86		Jos Teewuen			NED	0	5
87		Aayush Daddario			USA	1768	5
88		Nakul Paricharak			AHO	1798	5
89	WCM	Idunn Helgadottir		w	ISL	1870	5
90		Kevin Chandler Perera			USA	0	5
91		Dereck Laureano			USA	1862	5
92		Nayudu Vedant			SGP	1769	5
93		Rognvaldur Jonsson			ISL	1743	5
94		Adam Ferenc Gulyas			ISL	1816	5
95		Aiden Zhu			CAN	1662	5
96	AFM	Mihovil Niko Cogelja			IRL	1797	5
97		Tomas Sindri Leosson			ISL	1643	5
98		Arnar Ingi Njardarson			ISL	1727	5
99		Katrin Osk Tomasdottir		w	ISL	1593	5
100		Bill Howard Putnam			USA	1910	5
101		Gudmundur Peng Sveinsson			ISL	1671	5
102		Luigi Ardu			ITA	1789	4.5
103	WCM	Abigail Zhou		w	USA	1824	4.5
104		Josephine Damen		w	NED	1766	4.5
105		Ivar Orn Sigurbjornsson			ISL	1665	4.5
106	AFM	Sridhar Seshadri			USA	1745	4.5
107		Dara Murphy			IRL	1845	4.5
108		Lars Heppert			GER	1980	4.5
109		Max Walo			SUI	1683	4.5
110	AGM	David Knight			NED	1875	4
111		Sebastian Endo Van Dooijeweert			JPN	1704	4
112		Michael Carey			USA	1876	4
113		Kristjan Klasinc			SLO	1809	4
114		Peter Jorgensen			DEN	1862	4
115		David Peters			ENG	0	4
116		Hilmar Freyr Birgisson			ISL	1728	4
117		Arshia Parsheh			USA	0	4
118		Josefina Hellstrand		w	SWE	1540	4
119		Antoine Dillenschneider			FRA	1657	4
120		Ece Gultekin		w	SWE	1653	4
121		Levi Habid Sadr			USA	0	4
122		Torfi Karl Olafsson			ISL	1621	4
123		Gent Hoda			ISL	1667	4
124		Sigurdur Freyr Jonatansson			ISL	1617	4
125		Bernardo Tino Andresson			DEN	1888	4
126		Cordelia Koppe		w	GER	1595	4
127	AFM	Charles Frederick Frey			USA	0	3.5
128		Pall Isak Aegisson			ISL	1583	3.5
129		James I Chilton			ENG	1750	3.5
130		Dhanesh Bajnath			NED	0	3.5
131		Elin Larsson		w	SWE	1640	3.5
132		Robin Peter Erlendsson Weinert			ISL	1493	3.5
133		Benno Kolar			GER	0	3.5
134		Freya Austin		w	USA	1718	3
135	ACM	Liam Maddox Schroeder			GER	1732	3
136		Maxime Bedard			CAN	1671	3
137		Camill Trueeb			SUI	0	3
138		Patrick Quinn			USA	0	3
139		Thormar Jonsson			ISL	1677	3
140		Venkata Abhinay Chowdary Dasari			ISL	0	3
141		Eythor Jovinsson			ISL	1565	3
142		Andrew Robichaud			USA	0	3
143		Tristan Freyr Jonsson			ISL	0	3
144		Silvia Steri		w	ITA	1509	3
145		Kristjan Theodor Sigurdsson			ISL	0	3
146		Nilan Hofer			DEN	0	3
147		Leo Mar Johannsson			ISL	1418	2.5
148		Philip Hisnay			USA	0	2.5
149		Hazel Austin		w	USA	0	2
150		Joe O Hanlon			IRL	1678	2
151	AFM	Jeffrey Song			USA	0	1
152		Laura Austin		w	USA	0	1
153		Alexandra Voron Adalsteinsdottir		w	ISL	0	1
154		Daniel Aron Bender			ISL	1514	0