GM Oleksandr Bortnyk won the June 5 Freestyle Friday on Chess.com after beginning with a perfect 9/9 score. He held on for first place despite a late 0.5/2 finish.
Bortnyk secured his ninth Freestyle Friday title and became the first player to win three events in the 2026 championship series. He defeated several strong opponents including GMs David Navara, Dmitry Andreikin, Yoseph Taher, Conrad Holt, and Nodirbek Yakubboev. GM Maciej Klekowski finished second with 8.5 points after beating IM Yoseph Taher in the final round. Taher placed third while GM Dmitry Andreikin took fourth on tiebreaks with 8 points. WIM Margarita Potapova earned the women's prize with 7.5 points and an 11th-place finish. The weekly online event for titled players awards cash prizes of $400 to the winner, $250 to second place, and $150 to third.