Club Escacs Mollet team, champion of Honor Division - 1st Division of the Catalan Cup final

Last Sunday, April 26, 2026, a new edition of the 2026 Catalan Cup Final was held at the Els Magraners Municipal Pavilion in Lleida, with the participation of 60 teams and more than 240 players, almost 70 of whom were international titleholders or Catalan masters.

To carry out this important event of the Catalan chess calendar, together with the Catalan Chess Federation, the Club Escacs Pardinyes and the Lleida City Council have collaborated.

The tournament was played at a rapid pace (15'+5), divided into six categories (DH/1D, 2D, Preferent, 1st Category, 2nd Category, 3rd Category), with 10 teams each, coming from different parts of Catalonia. These teams were qualified from their respective previous phases of each of the four Territorials. The game system was a league system of 9 rounds, 5 rounds played in the morning and 4 more rounds in the afternoon.


The winner of the top category of Honor Division/First Division (DH/1D) was C.E. Mollet, a team formed by GM Tomás Sosa, GM Pere Garriga, IM Jaime José Romero, FM Cristian Fernández and Ramon Caro. They achieved first place with 29.5 points, with 8 wins and a single defeat.

The champion of the 2nd Division (2D) category was C.E. Tarragona, with 28.5 points, achieving 8 wins and one defeat. The team was made up of FM Francesc Xavier Farran, Joan Miquel, Marc Barceló (under-10 world champion in blitz games) and Daniel Torrens.

In the Preferent category, the winning team was C.E. SCC Sabadell B, with 25 points, being undefeated throughout the tournament, with 8 wins and one draw. The team was made up of FM Roger Bernadó, MI Lluís M.ª Perpinyà, CM Pau Manel Prada, AIM Danail Jurgen Sergooris and Víctor Fernández.

The winner of the First Category was C.E. La Ràpita A, with 25.5 points, obtaining 6 wins, 2 draws and one defeat. The team was made up of MC Sergi Panella, MC Aaron Rodríguez, Carlos Celma and Marc Guàrdia.

In the Second Category, first place was achieved by C.E. MiR A of Montcada i Reixac, with 24 points, 7 wins, one draw and one defeat. The team was made up of Albert Segarra, Francisco Moreno, David Carbó Hors, Óscar Estaun and David Carbó Manau.

Finally, in the Third Category, the winning team was C.E. Ateneu Colon G, with 26 points, with a full house of 9 wins. The team was made up of Àlex Escolano, Jofre Gardela, Lluc Castel and Gael Pineda.


The closing ceremony was attended by the Lleida City Council councilor, Mr. Roberto Pino; the president of the Catalan Chess Federation, Mr. Ramon Chalmeta; the vice-president of the Catalan Chess Federation and tournament director, Mr. Ivan Marina; the president of C.E. Pardinyes, Mr. Jordi Obis, the Territorial delegate of Lleida of the Catalan Chess Federation, Mr. Josep Brunet and the communication manager of the Catalan Chess Federation, Mrs. Júlia Cruz.

It is worth highlighting the good sportsmanship of all teams and the efficiency and agility of the refereeing team, led by the Lleida referee Xavier Valios, main referee of the tournament. The assistant team was made up of Claudia Botías, Jesús Caballero, Eric Gatell, Andrés Camilo Navarro, Albert Sànchez and Roger Rodríguez.

The rest of the awarded teams in each category are detailed below:

HONOR DIVISION / FIRST DIVISION
1st Place: C.E. MOLLET A
2nd Place: C.E. OLOT A
3rd Place: C.E. BARCELONA A1

SECOND DIVISION
1st Place: C.E. TARRAGONA A
2nd Place: C.E. GRAN PENYA VILANOVA A
3rd Place: C.E. SANTA EUGÈNIA A1

PREFERENT TERRITORIAL
1st Place: C.E. SSC SABADELL B
2nd Place: C.E. SANTA MARIA DE PALAUTORDERA A
3rd Place: C.E. PEÓ VUIT A1

FIRST TERRITORIAL
1st Place: C.E. LA RÀPITA A
2nd Place: C.E. ATENEU COLON D1
3rd Place: C.E. GELIDA A1

SECOND TERRITORIAL
1st Place: C.E. MiR A
2nd Place: C.E. CAMBRILS B
3rd Place: C.E. SANTA EUGÈNIA C

TERCERA TERRITORIAL
1st Place: C.E. ATENEU COLON G
2nd Place: C.E. LA RÀPITA B
3rd Place: C.E. FOMENT MARTINENC D