---
title: Three-Check World Championship: A Phoenix Rises From the Ashes!
description: Past Champion "VariantsOnly" Is Back with A Vengeance!
image: https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=webp&h=550&op=thumbnail&path=7VlEJBLHC4zG.webp&w=880&sig=d881a5027699f2111488fe8e8b87880bcd428e33
---

Another year of Three-Check World Championship (TCWC) has concluded in stunning fashion.

Watch [Grand Finals commentary](https://youtu.be/4w6UZqOUdSE) with special guest hosts @Daslurpyninja and FM @UnholyCrusade.

https://youtu.be/4w6UZqOUdSE

For the full match recap, keep reading!

**A Phoenix Reborn**

@VariantsOnly simply dominated on their way through the group bracket, never dropping a single game!

![image.png](https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=png&h=0&op=resize&path=7t-2sfDH1kUB.png&w=800&sig=94bdcc643dd10a0e23dbdbda58653303f7e89756)
They also stunned the field going 3-0 in the newly added round robin format:

![image.png](https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=png&h=0&op=resize&path=hfDU7krugepu.png&w=800&sig=ffe457de3d757ef385e6bcf890cfe2a2ff74c3fb)
With perfect results thus far, @VariantsOnly set their sights on the best of 20 "Grand Finals" match vs the reigning champion: Grandmaster Miroslav Miljkovic (@MiroMiljkovic).

**"We're onto Grand Finals"**

![image.png](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=LPmCf2a4B41T.png&sig=b53bce89e4ced47379937f0f26bdf9be5fe65b07)
After trading wins with black in games 1 and 2, it was only a sign of things to come: a deadlocked match!

This game 6 masterclass from @variantsonly tied the match up at 3-3. Leaving black with no room for any play with a stunning 96% accuracy!

https://lichess.org/ntogv4N7

![image.png](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=fPNBszItuIN-.png&sig=63a342c17cab8ec4579bc00d7f74d46b1b836d7c)
This was only a taste of the elite level of play we witnessed in this match. Trading games back and forth, an "Armageddon" overtime was all but guaranteed!

@VariantsOnly had other plans however, taking the final three games of the match.

Winning by a score of 11-7. Flying off into the sunset in serendipitous fashion!

See for yourself how the match unfolded in the TCWC 2026 [study](https://lichess.org/study/jyzGxk98/IH0Kgx6A).

https://lichess.org/study/jyzGxk98/IH0Kgx6A

**Resources for You!**

[Join TCWC](https://lichess.org/team/3-world-championship) — Open to all! Registration typically in August. Join the group for updates.
[Join the Lichess Official 3 Check Team](https://lichess.org/team/lichess-three-check) — Playing daily tournaments here on lichess.
[3 Check Club Team Study](https://lichess.org/study/qqGptMt8) — Enough theory for new players to start, & for returning players to find their repertoire.

**Thank You For Another Great Year of TCWC**

Five years of covering this event and going strong!

Thanks @Oruro for always doing his best directing this tournament.

Thanks to this year's guest hosts @Daslurpyninja and past TCWC champion FM @UnholyCrusade for joining the [live grand finals broadcast](https://youtu.be/4w6UZqOUdSE).

And lastly thanks to all the players, spectators, 3 check lovers, & everyone just finding out about this tournament right now.

Cheers to you. Thanks for reading!

— Chess\_Poems