Check is in the Mail November 2026: 2025 Absolute Championship

Check is in the Mail November 2026

As previously reported, the 2025 Absolute Championship concluded on September 29, 2026, with five players tied for first at 6½/12. Those players are:

CCM Tim Corkum – 2^nd title (2025 and 2022)
CCM Danny Horwitz – 3^rd title (2025, 2021, and 2016)
SIM Harry Ingersol – 4^th title (2025, 2019, 2017, and 2010)
CCM Gordon Magat – 1^st title (2025)
CCM John Walton – 2^nd title (2025 and 2022)

The 13-player field also included former Absolute Champions John Millett (2023), Timothy Harris (2024), Kristo Miettinen (2015), and David Sogin (2009). Electronic Knights champions competing included Dr. Ferdinand Burmiester (2017), Corkum (2018, 2016, and 2011), and Millett (2015).

Decisive results were exceptionally rare (choose your own idiom!). Only five games ended with wins, while the other 73 were drawn. White was victorious in all five decisive games. Walton–Sogin was the longest game at 63 moves, with Horwitz–Burmeister the shortest at 32.

Sogin suffered four of the five losses: three with the Pirc and one using the King’s Indian Defense. In the other decisive game, Horwitz defeated Ferdinand Burmeister’s Petroff Defense in 32 moves.

One final statistic from the champions’ games: 1.e4 — "Best by test" — was played eight times, yielding four wins and four draws. In contrast, 1.d4 appeared three times, producing one win and two draws.

Let’s look at the games that scored a full point.

Corkum demonstrates that a flank attack is most effective when paired with a central breakthrough. Only after 28. e5! opened the center did White’s attack become decisive, showing that passed pawns can outweigh immediate material.

Horwitz shows how active pieces can outweigh structural weaknesses. White’s doubled c-pawns mattered less than the active queen and rooks, particularly the Ra3-e3 rook transfer. White then converted the advantage with forcing checks — Qd7+ and Qxc6+ — keeping Burmeister’s king exposed while winning pawns.

Ingersol’s strategy unfolded coherently. Although Sogin defended resourcefully, the sustained pressure on both wings coupled with an increasingly passive position ultimately proved untenable.

Magat played a strong attacking game based on rapid central action, demonstrating that when ahead materially, trade the opponent’s active pieces. White’s rook invaded the seventh rank, collected pawns, and forced favorable exchanges.

As Black, Sogin generated promising kingside and central play, but Walton defended accurately, neutralized the advanced e-pawn, and shifted play to the queenside. After the queen trade favored White, Walton’s active king and passed g-pawn led to the decisive exchange sacrifice 60. Rxd6!

And the winners against themselves?

Magat–Horwitz was evenly balanced, with both players accurately calculating the simplifying lines. The central tension quickly dissolved, turning the opening into a level, simplified position. Pawn advances alone do not create winning chances.

White’s f5- and e4-pawns looked threatening but could not generate an attack without support from the minor pieces.

Corkum gained the typical compensation and recovered the sacrificed pawn. Horwitz defended precisely, traded off the most dangerous attackers, and reached a slightly favorable but unwinnable endgame. The final position was balanced, making the draw appropriate.

Horwitz obtained active central and kingside play, but Walton’s strong d5-knight and advanced a-pawn supplied enough counterplay. After the exchange on d4, the threats balanced each other, making the draw a logical result.

Ingersol’s opening produced structural and material gains, but Corkum’s kingside sacrifice exposed the king and created a dangerous passed pawn. Despite Black’s nominal material edge, the rook and knights cannot coordinate easily without allowing promotion or perpetual check. White, meanwhile, must keep the queens on the board, as a queen less position would strongly favor Black.

Corkum navigated the early structural changes effectively and activated his rooks after the queens were exchanged. Magat neutralized the advanced d-pawn, defended the queenside precisely, and secured a balanced endgame.

Corkum weathered Walton’s dangerous kingside attack and gained material after 19. … Rxd4, but Black’s active queen and bishops provided sufficient compensation for the Exchange. Although White’s d-pawn advanced to the seventh rank, Black’s king blockaded it securely, leaving a sharp but balanced position.

The cross table and results are available here. All annotations by Stockfish.

News from the Front Office

In Passing

We were notified that Dr. Mark Smith of Seattle, Washington, passed away on September 18, 2026. He was an avid over-the-board and correspondence chess player. His obituary is available here.

Upcoming Correspondence Chess League of America tournaments

Fall Seasonal Server Series

Entries close on November 15. One round. No prizes. Entrants grouped by rating. Players paired as either a 7-player single round robin, or as a 4-, 5- or 6-player double round robin, so six to ten games are played depending on the number of entrants. Multiple entries permitted. Entry fee per section is $8. Time limit: 10 moves/30 days. Open to all CCLA and USCF members. Dual rated for CCLA and USCF members using CCLA rules.

Enter online here.