Iranian chess prodigy Movahed crowned at Baku Open
Young Iranian grandmaster Sina Movahed, who turns 16 this month, emerged victorious at the Baku Open 2026, finishing with an impressive score of 8/9.
The main event in the Azerbaijani capital – featuring players rated 2250 and above in the FIDE rankings – was a fiercely contested tournament, with as many as five players sharing the lead after Round 6.
In the seventh round, India’s Mayank Chakraborty and Movahed scored victories over Indian grandmaster Pranav Anand and the host’s Khagan Ahmad, respectively, to surge ahead.
The penultimate round saw the clash of the joint leaders, in which Movahed pulled off a crucial victory. Heading into the final round a full point ahead of five players – including second seed Ruslan Ponomariov – Movahed prevailed over Pranav in a topsy-turvy battle to secure the title and $10,000 in prize money.
Rated 2575, Movahed is 22nd in the latest FIDE standard junior ranking – released by the sport’s international governing body for May – and is fifth in the Iranian men’s rankings, behind Mohammad-Amin Tabatabaei, Parham Maghsoudlou, Bardiya Daneshvar, and Pouya Idani.