Vahap Şanal and Turkish Team win NATO Chess Championship

Grandmaster Vahap Şanal and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) chess team secured victories at the 36th NATO Chess Championship held in Jūrmala, Latvia, from October 11 to 17, 2026.

Şanal, competing as a private in the Turkish military, achieved a perfect score of 7/7 to claim the individual NATO chess title. The TSK chess team finished first in the team competition with a total of 23.5 points.

The tournament featured 148 military players representing 18 NATO member nations. Slovenia's Laura Unuk finished second overall with 6/7 points, earning the title of top woman in the competition, while Germany's Robert Stein took third place on tiebreaks.