Chess Olympiad 2026

Open section
Standings
MKD
Seeded 56, category B
6 won, 2 drawn, 3 lost
Also in the Women section
North Macedonia as a nation

North Macedonia

In numbers

36

place of 206 after round 11

14

match points from 11 matches

29

game points; TB1 290, TB3 123

2411

average rating

Roster

Board	Player	Rating	Games	Score	Perf.	±	Favourite
1	IM Emil Risteski	2426	9	5½	2452	+5
2	FM Anton Zlatkov	2422	11	7½	2466	+10
3	IM Toni Lazov	2394	7	3½	2282	−7
4	IM Filip Pancevski	2422	10	7½	2445	+10
5	IM Nikola Nikolovski	2393	7	5	2350	−1

Boards follow the order the players have appeared in, as the team list keeps it; board 5 is the reserve. Games and scores count played games only. Performance and rating change come from Lichess. A name opens the player’s page.

Who carries the team

Each board from the player’s rating (hollow) to the performance so far (filled); red, the largest lift, grey, a board below its rating. The grey line is the team’s average rating, the score closes the row. A performance on few games moves a long way.

Matches

Round 1 v Cayman Islands CAY

4–0

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Emil Risteski 24261Ryan Blackwood 19370 2Mike McDonald 18920FM Anton Zlatkov 24221 3IM Toni Lazov 23941CM Christopher Young 18240 4CM Shaun M Tracey 17670IM Filip Pancevski 24221

Round 2 v Netherlands NED

1½–2½

Lost, 0 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Emil Risteski 24260GM Anish Giri 27571 2GM Jorden Van Foreest 27061FM Anton Zlatkov 24220 3IM Filip Pancevski 2422½GM Erwin L'Ami 2595½ 4GM Casper Schoppen 25820IM Nikola Nikolovski 23931

Round 3 v Malta MLT

3½–½

Won, 2 match pointsBlack on board 1

1CM Jack Mizzi 2216½IM Emil Risteski 2426½ 2FM Anton Zlatkov 24221CM Matthew Portelli 21870 3CM Colin Pace 21320IM Filip Pancevski 24221 4IM Nikola Nikolovski 23931CM Jake Darmanin 20380

Round 4 v El Salvador ESA

3½–½

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1FM Anton Zlatkov 24221FM Morales Carlos 22440 2FM Daniel Arias 22270IM Toni Lazov 23941 3IM Filip Pancevski 24221FM Ibarra Carlos Roberto 22830 4FM Marvin Andres Guevara Ruiz 2029½IM Nikola Nikolovski 2393½

Round 5 v Bulgaria BUL

½–3½

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1GM Arkadij Naiditsch 25741IM Emil Risteski 24260 2FM Anton Zlatkov 2422½GM Momchil Petkov 2544½ 3GM Martin Petrov 25281IM Toni Lazov 23940 4IM Filip Pancevski 24220GM Radoslav Dimitrov 24751

Round 6 v Lebanon LBN

4–0

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Emil Risteski 24261IM Akram Khoder 23040 2CM Joe Assaad 22060FM Anton Zlatkov 24221 3IM Toni Lazov 23941CM Adib Arkadan 21480 4Ahmad Ali Hazimeh 19480IM Filip Pancevski 24221

Round 7 v Israel ISR

1–3

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1GM Maxim Rodshtein 2576½IM Emil Risteski 2426½ 2FM Anton Zlatkov 2422½GM Avital Boruchovsky 2529½ 3GM Ido Gorshtein 25601IM Toni Lazov 23940 4IM Filip Pancevski 24220GM Yahli Sokolovsky 25461

Round 8 v United Arab Emirates UAE

2–2

Drawn, 1 match pointWhite on board 1

1IM Emil Risteski 2426½IM Omran Al Hosani 2317½ 2FM Al Taher Abdulrahman Mohammad 2262½FM Anton Zlatkov 2422½ 3IM Toni Lazov 2394½FM Sedrani Ammar 2189½ 4FM Fareed Ahmed 2132½IM Nikola Nikolovski 2393½

Round 9 v Chinese Taipei TPE

2–2

Drawn, 1 match pointBlack on board 1

1IM Adelard Bai 24681FM Anton Zlatkov 24220 2IM Toni Lazov 23940GM Raymond Song 24981 3Jun-Wei Chen 21800IM Filip Pancevski 24221 4IM Nikola Nikolovski 23931CM Yeh Yang Liu 20510

Round 10 v Nigeria NGR

4–0

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Emil Risteski 24261FM Bomo Lovet Kigigha 22870 2FM Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem 23160FM Anton Zlatkov 24221 3IM Filip Pancevski 24221IM Odion Aikhoje 22460 4Odey Goodness Ekunke 22800IM Nikola Nikolovski 23931

Round 11 v South Africa RSA

3–1

Won, 2 match pointsBlack on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23860IM Emil Risteski 24261 2FM Anton Zlatkov 24221IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23160 3FM Banele Mhango 23540IM Filip Pancevski 24221 4IM Nikola Nikolovski 23930Charlton Mnyasta 22361

Team awards

Whitewash

Round 1
North Macedonia MKD4Cayman Islands CAY0

Won the match 4–0, forfeits included.

Whitewash

Round 6
North Macedonia MKD4Lebanon LBN0

Won the match 4–0, forfeits included.

Treaty of Samarkand

Round 8
North Macedonia MKD2United Arab Emirates UAE2

A 2–2 match of four draws, peace signed on every board.

Chicken Nation

23.35retreats per 100 moves

Round 8, 53 of 227 moves went backwards
North Macedonia MKD

Most retreating moves per 100 of the team's own moves; castling never counts.

Whitewash

Round 10
North Macedonia MKD4Nigeria NGR0

Won the match 4–0, forfeits included.

Theory Match

57opening moves

Round 11
North Macedonia MKD3South Africa RSA1

The match that stayed in the book longest: the opening phases of its four boards added, in moves.