Leon Masters organizers announced that Russian GM Volodar Murzin will not participate in the 2026 event. Volodar will be replaced by Austrian GM Kirill Alekseenko.

In the official statement, the organizers explained that Volodar cannot travel to Spain due to problems with obtaining a visa. The rest of the tournament lineup, GM 🇦🇷 Faustino Oro, GM 🇻🇳 Le Quang Liem, and GM 🇪🇸 Jaime Santos Latasa, remains unchanged.

The Leon Masters is a prestigious annual Rapid tournament, held in Leon, Spain since 1988. The 2026 event features a 4-player Knockout format with 20+10 time control. Leon Masters 2026 will take place from July 3 to July 5.

Credit: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE