24/07/2026
♟️ Two games, two completely different masterpieces — analysed by the winner himself.
IM Christian Glöckler, 14 years old, won the Masters Open 2026 and earned his first grandmaster norm along the way. He joined us to walk through two of his finest games of the festival, and the contrast between them says everything about his chess.
The first is a pure attacking game with the black pieces. His opponent slipped early in the opening, and from there Glöckler describes a position that almost plays itself: "The first move I had to think about was Nf4 — and then my position was already close to winning." Sacrifices, a shattered king position, and by the end every white piece stranded in the corner.
The second could hardly be more different: his round 9 victory over Dimitrios Alexakis, the game that secured both tournament victory and the conditions for his norm. Here it was deep preparation, a patient positional squeeze, a rook given up for two pieces, and a long endgame converted while his opponent's clock ran down.
He also explains why grandmaster norms remain so elusive even for a 2500-rated player — you need enough grandmasters, enough federations, a high enough opponent average, and all of it in the same tournament: "It's just difficult to get everything right. But here it worked. So, very happy."
A wonderful watch, and a reminder of just how complete this young player's game already is. Next stop for him: Dortmund, in a week's time. 💫
🎥 Watch the full analysis: [video link]
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