Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi shared his plans for 2026 in an interview with a Russian-language media. Ian states that he wants to achieve a rating of 2800, and notes the difficulty of achieving this goal, citing the lack of invitations to A-Tier and B-Tier tournaments.

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Russia's No. 1

“Would I like to get back to 2750+? I want to reach 2800 this year, but it’s not easy. First, you have to play well, which is the hardest part. Second, I need to find tournaments where I can play.

I already have some plans for April. I will play the Grenke Chess Open 2026 — its dates coincide with the Candidates Tournament, and I’m lucky there. This summer, I’ll probably play in every Open I can to try to boost my rating. I haven’t received any invitations to Round-Robin tournaments yet…

Esports World Cup? If I’m not mistaken, I qualified for it. I need to double-check, but if I need to earn points, I hope I can do it. Just not through the Title Tuesdays qualifying route — they’re clearly not my strong suit. I play them just to entertain the audience on stream, nothing more.”

Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2723) is Russia’s No. 1. Nepomniachtchi has made two major attempts at the World Championship, winning the Candidates Tournament in 2020-2021 and in 2022. He lost both Title matches, first to Magnus Carlsen in 2021 and then to Ding Liren in 2023.

Credit: Lennart Ootes