The 2026 Spanish Chess Championship U18 is set to bring together one of the largest and most competitive fields in recent years, with 150 players registered for the national event. The tournament features a strong mix of experienced titled players, rising juniors, and ambitious regional champions competing for one of Spain’s most prestigious chess titles.
Leading the starting list is International Master Javier Habans Aguerrea from Navarra, who enters as the top seed with a rating of 2433. Habans will face a deep field that includes several strong FIDE Masters and International Masters aiming to challenge for the championship crown.
Close behind the leader are FM Diego Cacheiro Blanco of Galicia (2422) and FM Lionel Sierra Vallina of Asturias (2409), completing the top three seeds.
The 2026 Spanish Chess Championship U18 will take place from August 3 to August 8, featuring a 9-round Swiss-system format designed to test players’ consistency across nearly a week of classical competition. Games will be played with a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment added after every move from the start. Live games from the Spanish Chess Championship U18 will be daily live on Chessdom
Top 50 participants of the Spanish Chess Championship U18
#
Name
Community
Rating
1
Javier Habans Aguerrea
Navarra
2433
2
Diego Cacheiro Blanco
Galicia
2422
3
Lionel Sierra Vallina
Asturias
2409
4
Alexander Domene Mulyukov
Cataluña
2399
5
Lorenzo Perea Fruet
Andalucía
2392
6
Martin Horcajuelo Rocamora
Comunidad de Madrid
2368
7
Daniel Tabuenca Mendataurigoitia
Cantabria
2365
8
Martin Krauchi Romero
Illes Balears
2362
9
Jose Felix Calvo Gonzalez
Cataluña
2345
10
Daniel Salinas Tomas
Cataluña
2340
11
Juan Alberto Gomez Aguirre
Andorra
2338
12
Ibai Sanz Gorospe
Castilla y León
2317
13
Alejandro Fuentes Guinot
Navarra
2292
14
Nicolas Vioque Gonzalez
Comunidad de Madrid
2287
15
Victor Navarro Martinez
Extremadura
2271
16
Maximo Lorente Melcon
Aragón
2255
17
Yevgeni Sprenger de la Iglesia
Comunidad de Madrid
2255
18
Alejandro Cereijo Suarez
Galicia
2240
19
Victor Tudela Gonzalez
Comunidad Valenciana
2235
20
Nicholas Kowalski Rubiales
Andalucía
2234
21
Nicolas Asensio Asensio
Aragón
2232
22
Iago Fernandez Ramos
Galicia
2224
23
Carlos Pardo Ruiz
Comunidad Valenciana
2221
24
Sergio Atares Buisan
Aragón
2220
25
Yaroslav Sviridenko
Cataluña
2219
26
Andrei Verkholantcev
Comunidad Valenciana
2200
27
Pablo Martinez Soriano
Región de Murcia
2199
28
Eduardo Cabanas Lopez
Galicia
2186
29
Nicolas Martin Cabeza
Asturias
2183
30
Unai Bergaretxe Gavalda
Cataluña
2180
31
Arnau Camps Abadia
Cataluña
2179
32
Raul Marcos Rodriguez
Cataluña
2166
33
Oscar Blazquez Sanz
Comunidad de Madrid
2155
34
Julia Pinyol i Llora
Cataluña
2146
35
Mateo Corchon Granero
Castilla-La Mancha
2145
36
Daniel Clemente Grande
Castilla-La Mancha
2140
37
Catalin Conon
Aragón
2139
38
Hugo Chicote Sagredo
Castilla-La Mancha
2138
39
Vlad Ionut Bercaru
Comunidad Valenciana
2135
40
David Teply Koutsky
Cataluña
2129
41
Aitor Esparza Toni
Navarra
2127
42
Gonzalo Hijarrubia Alvarez-Cuevas
Cataluña
2117
43
Pol Blasco Cardona
Cataluña
2116
44
Cristina Sureda Gonzalez
Illes Balears
2107
45
Lucas Deusa Ballesteros
Comunidad Valenciana
2107
46
David Junquera Guerrero
Asturias
2102
47
Helena Joana Li Chen
Canarias
2101
48
Joan Salord Guillen
Illes Balears
2092
49
Eder Bombin Martinez
País Vasco
2091
50
Diego Galeano Ausin
Comunidad de Madrid
2084