Moussard's Big Night: A First Titled Tuesday Win (Last 24 Hours in Chess)
In the last 24 hours, French grandmaster Jules Moussard won Titled Tuesday for the first time, scoring a dominant 10/11 to finish a full point clear of the world's best. He recovered from a mid-event loss, then beat Oleksandr Bortnyk in a thrilling final round. Here is the simple story of his breakout night.
A win can take years to arrive. On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the French grandmaster Jules Moussard finally got his — and it was a big one.
For the first time in his life, Moussard won Titled Tuesday. He did not just win. He ran away with it. He scored 10 points out of 11 and finished a full point ahead of everyone else. In a room full of the world's best players, that is a huge gap.
What is Titled Tuesday?
Every Tuesday, the website Chess.com holds a fast online tournament. Only titled players can join. That means grandmasters, international masters, and other strong players with official chess titles.
The games are blitz. Blitz means fast. Each player gets only a few minutes for the whole game. The clock never stops ticking. One small slip can lose everything. Hundreds of strong players sign up, so just to win once is very hard.
A bumpy road to the top
Moussard's night was not smooth. After six rounds, only two players still had a perfect score: Moussard and the German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum.
Then, in round seven, Bluebaum beat Moussard. It looked like Moussard's dream might slip away. But chess is full of turns. In the very next round, Bluebaum made a shocking mistake and lost a whole rook for nothing. Just like that, the door opened again.
Moussard did not waste the chance. He won, then won again, and climbed right back into the lead.
The final fight
The last round was a true showdown. Moussard shared the lead with the Ukrainian grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk, who had been on fire all night with a long winning streak.
The two leaders sat down to play each other. Moussard chose a bold, attacking opening and pushed a wall of pawns down the middle of the board. Bortnyk kept waiting for his chance to strike back. That chance never came. Moussard's pawns rolled forward and decided the game.
When the dust settled, Moussard was the champion. He took home the top prize of $2,500.
Who finished where
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jules Moussard | 10 |
| 2nd | Denis Lazavik | 9 |
| 3rd | Renato Terry | 9 |
Six players ended on 9 points. The tiebreaks sorted them out, and young star Denis Lazavik grabbed second place with a clutch final-round win.
Why this win is special
Moussard is now only the third player to win Titled Tuesday for the very first time in 2026. He joins Zhamsaran Tsydypov and Haik Martirosyan in that small club. Many great players try for years and never lift this trophy even once.
There is also a fun side note. Because nobody scored a perfect 11/11, a special bonus prize keeps growing. Next week it will be worth $1,250 for anyone who can win every single game.
For now, though, the night belonged to Jules Moussard. He started under pressure, stumbled once, and then found his best chess when it mattered most. That is the kind of story that makes chess so easy to love: the board is hard, the clock is cruel, but a single brave night can still change everything.
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