Pranesh M Secures Victory at Kanizsa Open

GM Pranesh Munirethinam triumphed at the 2026 Kanizsa Open held in Nagykanizsa, Hungary, finishing with an unbeaten score of 7 points from 9 rounds.

Pranesh, who was among the pre-tournament favorites, started strong with four consecutive wins followed by four draws. In the final round, he secured his victory by defeating Vadym Petrovskiy from Germany, who placed 30th overall. Other players, including IM Or Bronstein, GM Andrei Volokitin, and GM Karthik Venkataraman, also ended with 7 points, but tiebreaks placed Bronstein in second.

The tournament featured 226 participants from 36 federations. In contrast, top seed GM Matthias Blübaum had a disappointing performance, finishing 21st with only 4½ points, while 16-year-old FM Mykola Korchynskyi achieved 11th place with 5½ points, gaining Elo points and showcasing his recent progress in chess.