Nikolaj Bavelski won the 2026 Danish children’s chess problem-solving championship, held on March 17 at Skak for sjov’s venue in Frederiksberg. Twenty-eight entrants competed for the national title.
Event Overview and Competition Structure
Participants had two hours to work through 18 problems: eight mate-in-one tasks and ten mate-in-two. The compositions, prepared by Steffen Slumstrup Nielsen, were designed with subtle traps that made it easy to choose the wrong line, demanding careful calculation from the young solvers.
Bavelski, representing Skak for sjov, finished first ahead of Atharva Khandelia of Læseforeningens Skakklub and Eskil Rosenlund Ahl of BMS Skak. Both Bavelski and Khandelia solved all 18 problems correctly, which is uncommon at these events; Bavelski took the title on tiebreak by submitting his solutions 15 minutes earlier. Ahl turned in his paper after just 35 minutes but had one mistake, placing him third.
The next places went to Mathilde Rath Vesterbæk, Charlie Vo, Solal Højlund Arnfred, Johannes Smedegaard Nielsen, Abdullah Rakha, and Mille Sinding. This championship not only highlights the talent of young chess players in Denmark but also emphasizes the importance of problem-solving skills in chess. The meticulous preparation and organization by Bjørn Enemark and Steffen S. Nielsen of Dansk Skakproblem Klub, alongside Henrik Andersen from Skak for sjov, contributed significantly to the success of this event.
As chess continues to grow in popularity among children, competitions like this serve as an excellent platform for young minds to challenge themselves and improve their skills. The future of Danish chess looks bright with such promising young talents participating in problem-solving championships.