The Bahrain Classical Chess Championship 2026 concluded on 20 June 2026 at Khalifa Sports City, bringing several days of competitive chess to a successful close. The championship highlighted the continued growth of the game in the Kingdom of Bahrain, attracting a strong field of participants and producing closely contested battles across multiple divisions.

For the first time, the championship was organized into four separate categories: Open, Women, Bahrain Youth Center, and Amateurs. The expanded format was introduced to encourage broader participation while providing competitive opportunities for players of different ages and experience levels.

In the Open section, played as a nine-round Swiss tournament, top seed Hussein Ayad shared first place with Ali Al Ghasra after both players finished on 7 points out of 9. Ayad was awarded the championship title after prevailing in their head-to-head encounter, which served as the decisive tiebreak. Three additional players finished just half a point behind the leaders, with Munther Al Fardan securing the bronze medal thanks to a superior Buchholz score.

Open Final Standings

The Open tournament concluded with Hussein Ayad taking the national title, followed by Ali Al Ghasra in second place, while Munther Al Fardan completed the podium after tiebreak calculations.

In the Women’s Championship, Najla Ahmed claimed the national title following another impressive performance. Zainab Al Afu finished as runner-up, while Wafaa Yaqoub secured third place. Judy Mansour Al Faraj placed fourth, followed by Sundus Obaid in fifth position.

Women’s Final Standings

Najla Ahmed was crowned Bahrain Women’s Classical Champion, with Zainab Al Afu and Wafaa Yaqoub earning second and third places respectively.

The Amateur Championship was won by Fahad Fawaz Al Qusaibi, who finished ahead of Yousif Jamal Bourshaid in second place and Abdullah Hizam Abdullah in third. Judy Mansour Al Faraj claimed fourth position, while Sundus Obaid rounded out the top five.

Amateur Final Standings

The Amateur section concluded with Fahad Fawaz Al Qusaibi taking first place, followed by Yousif Jamal Bourshaid and Abdullah Hizam Abdullah on the podium.

In the Bahrain Youth Center Category, Salman Al Shaikh captured first place after an impressive performance throughout the event. Anas Mohammed Yahya finished second, while Firas Abbas Abdulshaheed claimed third place.

Al Hanouf Rashid Shuwaiter secured fourth place, followed by Luluwa Rashid Shuwaiter in fifth. Abdulrahman Hashem Al Koheji finished sixth, Khalid Salman Al Sindi placed seventh, Saud Yahya Al Jar came eighth, Saud Hashem Al Koheji finished ninth, and Laila Mahmood Hassan completed the top ten.

Youth Centers Final Standings

Salman Al Shaikh emerged as the Youth Centers champion, with Anas Mohammed Yahya and Firas Abbas Abdulshaheed finishing in second and third places respectively.

The closing ceremony was attended by Ahmed Mohammed Abdulghaffar, Executive Director of Operations at the Bahrain Olympic Committee, and Anmar Ebrahim Ahmadi, President of the Bahrain Chess Federation, together with members of the federation’s leadership and invited guests.

Photo: Bahrain Chess Federation