Grandmaster Dmitry Andreikin won the January 27 Titled Tuesday online chess tournament on Chess.com with a perfect undefeated score of 9.5/11. He emerged as the sole leader after a thrilling final round where he outlasted Sam Sevian in a 101-move rook endgame. The event featured an early upset when teenager Jacorey Bynum checkmated Magnus Carlsen with a bold queen sacrifice.
The Titled Tuesday tournament, a weekly online blitz event for titled players on Chess.com, unfolded with high drama on January 27, 2026. Starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the 11-round competition drew 439 participants. GM Dmitry Andreikin, who began the day outside the top standings, methodically climbed the leaderboard to secure outright victory at 9.5 points, remaining the only undefeated player.
The event kicked off spectacularly in round one when 18-year-old National Master Jacorey Bynum from Florida stunned world number one GM Magnus Carlsen. Bynum, rated 2175 in classical chess, delivered a queen sacrifice on h5, forcing Carlsen's king to capture and allowing a rook checkmate on h7. Carlsen, playing black, had blundered with 34...Bd4 after holding a superior position. Laughing on stream, he applauded Bynum and remarked, "You gotta be vigilant. At least more than this." Commentators GM David Howell exclaimed, "Oh my God! Magnus has blundered checkmate!" while GM Jon Ludvig Hammer called it an "epic queen sacrifice."
Early leaders included GMs Fabiano Caruana, Martyn Kravtsiv, and Rudik Makarian, who vied for a perfect 7/7 after six rounds but settled for draws and time losses. Kravtsiv pulled ahead temporarily with a bishop sacrifice against IM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov. By round 10, Andreikin, at 7.5 points, won to stay in contention as Caruana and GM Alexey Sarana drew.
Six players entered the final round tied at 8.5: Andreikin, Caruana, Sarana, Kravtsiv, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, and GM Sam Sevian. Key results included Andreikin's 101-move win over Sevian in a rook endgame, Duda's upset of Caruana in 37 moves, Xiong's victory over Kravtsiv, and Nepomniachtchi's draw with Sarana. Seven players tied for second at nine points, with Duda taking the spot via superior tiebreaks. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave surged to third with wins in all but two games, including against GM Alexander Grischuk.
IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham earned the women's prize with seven points. Prizes went to Andreikin ($1,000), Duda ($750), Vachier-Lagrave ($350), Nepomniachtchi ($250), Xiong ($150), Sarana ($100), and Le ($100). This win marked Andreikin's first Titled Tuesday of 2026, placing him in the top 10 of the Champions Chess Tour Winter Split. Bynum scored 3/6 before withdrawing.
