Guntis Valneris takes third place at World Cup stage in draughts
Latvian international grandmaster Guntis Valneris finished third at the "World Cup Xintai Open 2026" draughts tournament, which drew 165 players from 10 countries.
The "World Cup Xintai Open 2026" draughts tournament brought together 165 players from 10 countries. After 18 rounds of competition, six players had each collected 14 points, leaving their final standings to be decided by tiebreak criteria.
Among those tied at the top, Latvia's international grandmaster Guntis Valneris was ranked third once the tiebreaks were applied.
Dutch players take top two spots
The tournament was won by world champion Jan Groenendijk, an international grandmaster from the Netherlands. Second place went to another Dutch international grandmaster, Martijn van IJzendoorn.
The result was reported by the Latvian Draughts Federation.
