#Serbia – International Chess Federation

Alexandr Predke wins Serbia Open 2025

editor_d — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 09:29:02 +0000

Serbian grandmaster Alexandr Predke emerged as the winner of the 5th International Summer Chess Festival Serbia Open 2025, edging out six players on tiebreak. The top seed lived up to expectations as a pre-tournament favorite and came out on top, despite losing five rating points along the way.

A true chess spectacle, the 5th International Summer Chess Festival Serbia Open 2025 was held from July 14–23 at the “Metropol Palace” hotel in Belgrade. The event brought together over 500 players from 42 countries. The festival followed Swiss system format and featured tournaments in three categories: Masters (9 rounds), Challengers, and Amateurs (7 rounds).

As anticipated, the Masters event proved to be intensely competitive, with the final round ultimately deciding the winner. One of the tournament’s biggest surprises was the impressive performance of 14th seed IM Can Durak from Turkey, who took the lead in Round 5—though his reign at the top was short-lived.

Heading into the final round, five players shared the lead with 6.5/8 points, including eventual champion Predke. The key games between Ioannidis Evgenis vs. Alexandr Predke, and Can Durak vs. Evgeny Postny (Israel), ended in draws. Meanwhile, Suresh Harsh (India), Bojan Maksimovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Khuyagtsogt Itgelt (Mongolia) scored crucial wins to join the leaders.

In the end, seven players finished with 7/9 points, with Alexandr Predke taking the title thanks to superior tiebreaks. He edged out Can Durak, who finished second, by just half a point on the Buchholz tiebreak. Ioannidis Evgenis completed the podium in third place.

Serbia Open 2025 Masters – Final standings

On the final day, a closing ceremony was held to award trophies and prizes to the top performers.

Tournament Director Vladimir Sakotić opened the ceremony by thanking the Chess Federation of Serbia and its president, Andrija Jorgić, for enabling him to be part of an event that has grown into a regional chess highlight.

“I want to thank the Chess Federation of Serbia and President Andrija Jorgic for allowing me this year to be part of the story that has grown into a regional chess event of the highest importance. This is what the response of the participants and the growth in the number of participants in each of the individual tournaments tell us, and compared to last year it is a total increase of over 300 participants or an almost unreal 1758 participants in 12 tournaments,” said Sakotic. He also presented trophies to the top performers in the veterans’ category: Milan Andrijevic, Kostić Branimir, and Duško Zmijanac.

SCF President Andrija Jorgić awarded prizes to the top female players: Li Xueyi (China), Arpita Mukherjee (India), and Serbia’s national champion, Sofia Pogorelskikh. In his remarks, Jorgić expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Sports and everyone involved in organizing the prestigious event.

“Chess is definitely a game that brings people together, like bridges, we were like a bridge between east and west. In the Ivo Andrić hall of the “Metropol” hotel, we had Ukrainians, Russians, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Iranians, and Israelis. Everyone was playing chess and giving each other a hand. And I am especially proud that 30 percent o f the participants were women, while the world and Serbian average is only 10 percent,” Jorgić pointed out.

Finally, Minister of Sports Zoran Gajić presented trophies and symbolic checks to the top three finishers: Alexandr Predke (€5,000), Can Durak (€3,000), and Ioannidis Evgenis (€2,000).

Minister Gajić officially declared the festival closed, sharing his hope that the players would return home with fond memories of Belgrade.

“I want everyone who is here to feel like winners, because everyone who participates in sports is partly a winner. Congratulations to the Chess Federation of Serbia, which is one of the oldest, most traditional, and strongest associations with extensive experience in organizing competitions. The history of Serbian chess is great and I want you to organize more tournaments like this next year, and I invite all the participants of this tournament to accept the invitation and come to this festival next year as well,” he concluded.

Photos: Serbia Chess Open 2025

Official website: serbiachessopen.com/index.php/en/

Serbian Championship: Ivan Ivanisevic and Sofia Pogorelskikh win titles

editor_d — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 22:20:04 +0000

GM Ivan Ivanisevic and IM Sofia Pogorelskikh are the new champions of Serbia. Ivanisevic claimed his fifth national crown, while Pogorelskikh earned her first.

The open and women’s events—both round-robins with classical time control—were held simultaneously from May 31 to June 6, but in different cities: Pirot and Palic, respectively.

Second seed Ivanisevic delivered a solid performance, pulling away after scoring three consecutive victories in Rounds 5–7. Heading into the final round half a point ahead of GM Suat Atalik (whom he had defeated in their direct encounter), he drew with GM Misa Pap to finish with 6.5/9.

Meanwhile, Atalik defeated Andrei Gaivoronkii in the last round to catch up with the leader. Ivanisevic and Atalik tied for first place, but Ivanisevic secured the title thanks to a superior tiebreak (Koya system). Notably, he was the only unbeaten player in the tournament. Top seed Robert Marcus completed the podium, taking bronze.

Final standings – Open

The women’s event was a fiercely contested competition. Suffice it to say, even the champion, Sofia Pogorelskikh, lost two games. To her credit, she compensated with five victories and finished clear first, half a point ahead of 2024 champion WGM Irina Chelushkina and 2023 champion WGM Marina Gajcin, who tied for second place.

The Koya system favored Chelushkina, who took silver, while Gajcin settled for bronze.

Final standings – Women

Photos: Šahovski Savez Srbije

Winners crowned at ICCD World Deaf Chess Championship 2024

KN — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 14:54:07 +0000

ICCD World Deaf Chess Championship 2024 recently concluded in Belgrade, Serbia.

Founded in 1949 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) sees its main goal in popularizing chess playing among deaf people of all nations, upgrading their cultural level and chess proficiency, and achieving close international cooperation between deaf chess players in their game pursuant to the chess rules and in any other sports events.

The championship, which ran from June 25 to July 6, brought together hearing-impaired players representing 26 national federations. The program included six main competitions in open, women, junior, and senior categories, as well as several side events.

The 18th ICCD World Individual Deaf Chess Championship, a nine-round Swiss tournament, was a fiercely competitive event. The rating favorites Yehuda Gruenfeld (Israel) and Pawel Piekielny (Poland) dominated the field, both scoring 7/9 and tying for first place. The Israeli GM secured the victory on a superior Buchholz tiebreak, with the 25th seed Sultan Kozhakhmetov of Kazakhstan taking bronze.

18th ICCD World Individual Deaf Championship final standings

WIM Tatiana Baklanova and WCM Natalya Myronenko (both from Ukraine) were in a league of their own in the 8th ICCD World Individual Deaf Ladies Chess Championship. The Ukrainians netted an impressive 8/9 and shared the top position, with Tatiana capturing the title thanks to just a 0.5 Bucholz difference. Zuzanna Lukasik of Poland finished third.

8th ICCD World Individual Deaf Ladies Championship final standings

The champions, Yehuda Gruenfeld and Tatiana Baklanova, confirmed their class, winning blitz events. Tatiana earned a triple crown, also taking the women’s rapid event, while Pawel Piekielny triumphed in the open rapid tournament.

In the 4th ICCD World Deaf Individual Senior Championship, just 0.25 Sonneborn Berger points separated the champion, Sergej Salov (Germany), from the runner-up Berik Nurymov (Kazakhstan). Both scored 5/7 and tied for first place. Abdigappar Adilbaev (Uzbekistan) completed the podium thanks to a better tiebreaker over Jaroslav Schmid.

The top seeds, Marsel Shayusupov (Uzbekistan) and Bruno Glas (Slovenia) reigned supreme in the junior event and tied for the top position with 8/9. Thanks to a slightly better Sonneborn Berger, the title goes to Marcel, while his countryman Sardor Turgunboev won bronze.

ICCD official website: chessdeaf.org/

Indjic and Chelushkina triumph at 2024 Serbian Championship

KN — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:22:07 +0000

Aleksandar Indjic and Irina Chelushkina emerged victorious at the 2024 Serbian Championship. Aleksandar successfully defended his title and won his fifth overall, while Irina lifted the trophy for the second time.

The 18th Serbian Championship 2024 took place from June 17–25 in the Fantastico Exclusive Hotel in Senta. The open and women’s tournaments ran concurrently. Both competitions were 10-player round robins with classical time control.

In the open competition, Aleksandar Indjic seized the lead after Round 4 and maintained his top position to the very end. Facing top seed Alexey Sarana with black pieces in the final round, he displayed exceptional defensive skills, securing a draw and the championship title with an excellent 7/9 score.

Robert Markus and Alexey Sarana finished on 6/9 and tied for second place. Just like a year ago, Robert Markus took silver (this time, thanks to a better tiebreak). The rating-favorite Alexey Sarana had to settle for bronze.

The champion and the runner-up became the only unbeaten players in the tournament.

Final standings Open:

1	GM	Indjic, Aleksandar	2602	7
2	GM	Markus, Robert	2587	6
3	GM	Sarana, Alexey	2712	6
4	GM	Popovic, Dusan	2486	5
5	GM	Ivanisevic, Ivan	2536	5
6	GM	Perunovic, Milos	2531	4½
7	GM	Atalik, Suat	2450	4
8	GM	Kovacevic, Aleksandar	2482	3½
9	IM	Radovanovic, Nikola	2441	3
10	GM	Muratovic, Alija	2513	1

The women’s section witnessed Irina Chelushkina’s dominance. Conceding only two draws, she finished a clear 1.5 points ahead of the runner-up, WIM Adela Velikic. WIM Jovana Srdanovic earned the bronze medal with 6/9 points.

Final standings Women:

1	WGM	Chelushkina, Irina	2134	8
2	WIM	Velikic, Adela	2290	6½
3	WIM	Srdanovic, Jovana	2134	6
4	WGM	Mandura, Tijana	2224	5
5	WIM	Djukic, Sandra	2118	5
6	WGM	Eric, Jovana	2184	5
7	WFM	Vujovic, Vera	2154	4½
8	WFM	Bukhteeva, Viktoria	2070	3
9		Stankovic, Andrea	1990	2
10		Radenkovic, Mila	1870	0

The chief arbiter IA Vladica Andrejic and the deputy chief arbiter, Zoltan Helenji, officiated the competition, while IO, IA Nebojša Baralić, acted as the championship director.

At the closing ceremony, the president of the Chess Federation of Serbia, Dragan Lazić, and the owner of the “Fantastico Exclusive” hotel, Šandor Lerinc, presented cups and medals to the top finishers. All the participants received gifts from the host and the Serbian Chess Federation (ŠSS).

Official website: serbiachess.org/

Photos: Šahovski savez Srbije

Serbian Championship: Aleksandar Indjic and Marina Gajcin clinch titles

KN — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 01:35:07 +0000

GM Aleksandar Indjic and WIM Marina Gajcin are the new chess champions of Serbia. Aleksandar notched up his fourth victory in the national championship, while Marina took her maiden title.

The Serbian Championship 2023 took place from June 6–14 in Senta, with the open and women’s tournaments running concurrently. Both competitions were 10-player round robins with classical time control.

Aleksandar Injic entered the open section as the top seed and lived up to expectations leading the field from start to finish. Going into the final round a half-point ahead of his main rival Robert Markus, he gradually outplayed Borko Lajthajm and secured the title. The champion scored an impressive 7.5/9 and picked up 12 rating points.

Robert Markus finished a full point behind and took silver; Milos Perunovic earned bronze. The defending 2022 champion Velimir Ivic netted only 5.5/9 and came fifth.

Final standings Open:

1	GM	Indjic, Aleksandar	2613	7½
2	GM	Markus, Robert	2582	6½
3	GM	Perunovic, Milos	2542	6
4	GM	Ivanisevic, Ivan	2535	5½
5	GM	Ivic, Velimir	2597	5½
6	IM	Tadic, Stefan	2400	4
7	GM	Kovacevic, Aleksandar	2484	3½
8	GM	Lajthajm, Borko	2341	2½
9	FM	Ljepic, Andrej	2207	2
10		Ivanovic, Marko	2262	2

WIM Marina Gajcin dominated the women’s tournament scoring an excellent 7.5/9 and leaving the competition far behind. WGMs Irina Chelushkina, Jovana Eric and WIM Sandra Djukic tied for second place on 5.5/9. The 2022 women’s champion, Irina Chelushkina and Jovana Eric had superior Sonneborn-Berger and won silver and bronze, respectively.

Final standings Women:

1	WIM	Gajcin, Marina	2252	7½
2	WGM	Chelushkina, Irina	2189	5½
3	WGM	Eric, Jovana	2210	5½
4	WIM	Djukic, Sandra	2107	5½
5	WGM	Manakova, Maria	2146	5
6	WFM	Ostojic, Katarina	1989	4½
7		Jovanovic, Anja	1929	4
8	WIM	Drljevic, Ljilja	2156	3½
9		Tadic, Ana	1853	3
10		Stankovic, Marija	1836	1

Photos: Šahovski savez Srbije Facebook

Official website: serbiachess.org/

Alexey Sarana wins European Chess Championship 2023

KN — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 09:40:22 +0000

GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) is the new European Individual Chess Champion 2023.

The thrilling last round of the European Championship determined the medalists. GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) and GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668) clashed in the direct last-round encounter for the title. The game ended in a draw after just one hour of play, and the two youngsters who finished on 8.5/11 had to wait for the results on other boards and tiebreak criteria to see the final standings.

GM Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2610) defeated GM Anton Korobov (UKR, 2658) to score 8.5 points and joined Sarana and Shevchenko on the top. Dardha held equality with the black pieces for most of the game, but Korobov pushed too hard for a win and eventually fell under a mating attack.

With the best Buchholz GM Alexey Sarana clinched the title of the European Individual Chess Champion 2023, GM Kirill Shevchenko came second, while GM Daniel Dardha (pictured below) won the bronze medal. The champion and the runner-up scored enough points in FIDE Cicruit Race to break into the top 10 of the leaderboard.

Final standings:

1	GM	Sarana, Alexey	FID	2668	8½
2	GM	Shevchenko, Kirill	ROU	2668	8½
3	GM	Dardha, Daniel	BEL	2610	8½
4	IM	Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis	GRE	2520	8
5	GM	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	2659	8
6	GM	Nguyen Thai Dai Van	CZE	2651	8
7	GM	Santos Latasa, Jaime	ESP	2655	8
8	GM	Esipenko, Andrey	FID	2680	8
9	GM	Kuzubov, Yuriy	UKR	2616	8
10	GM	Dragnev, Valentin	AUT	2561	8

The closing ceremony took place in the playing venue right after the final round. The programme started with presenting two special awards.

The Vice President of the European Chess Union, Alojzije Jankovic, and the legendary grandmaster GM Adrian Mikhalchishin joined the awarding ceremony presenting the trophies to the best Junior and Senior (50+) players.

The best junior players are:

GM Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2610) – 8½/11
IM Ediz Gurel (TUR, 2454) – 8/11
GM Volodar Murzin (FIDE, 2554) – 7/11

The best senior players are:

GM Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2674) – 7½/11
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR, 2664) – 7½/11
GM Michele Godena (ITA, 2446) – 6½/11

This year, the special prize fund for the best-ranked female players was doubled, and six players received the prizes.

The best female players in the EICC2023 are:

WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (POL, 2391) – 6½/11
IM Irina Bulmaga (ROU, 2438) – 6½/11
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2576) – 6/11
IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (POL, 2388) – 6/11
WIM Adela Velikic (SRB, 2329) – 6/11
IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2362) – 6/11

Before the chief arbiter of the event, Tomasz Delega, announced the final standings and the winners of the regular prizes, the President of the Serbian Chess Federation, Dragan Lazic and the President of the European Chess Union addressed the players and distinguished guests.

Dragan Lazic thanked everyone for coming and congratulated the Winners. He also wished the participants a nice trip home and invited them to the European Club Cup 2024, to be held in the same venue.

Zurab Azmaiparashvili thanked the Serbian Chess Federation for the great organisation of the Championship, giving special thanks to the arbiters team that ensured everything went well in the playing venue. Mr Azmaiparshvili noted that the participation of 482 players from 40 federations is a record-breaking number that shows great potential for chess in Europe. Inviting the players to take participation in European Individual Chess Championship 2024 in the same number, the ECU President revealed that the event would be held in Israel.

The President of the Serbian Chess Federation, Dragan Lazic, and the President of the European Chess Union, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, then presented the trophies and medals to the winners.

After the awarding ceremony of the medalists, the ECU President officially declared the event closed, and the intonation of the ECU Anthem marked the end of the ceremony.

Text and photos: official website

Official website: eicc2023.com/

EICC 2023: Shevchenko joins Sarana on the top with one round to go

KN — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 02:53:28 +0000

Heading into the last round of the European Individual Chess Championship 2023, GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) and GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668) share the lead sitting on 8 points each.

GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668) outplayed GM Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2637) in the penultimate round to catch up with the leader. Shevchenko had a slightly better position from the opening that transformed into the pawn-up edge in the endgame. Gledura still had chances for escape but after a questionable 30…Rb2?! the Romanian GM gradually converted his advantage into a full point.

Playing on the first board, GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) held a draw with black pieces against GM Andrey Esipenko (FIDE, 2680). Esipenko was searching for a victory and had a clear advantage most of the time, but Sarana found a very nice sequence making the opponent force a draw by perpetual check and secured the joined lead coming into the final round.

Twelve players are trailing the leading duo by a half-point: GM Anton Korobov (UKR, 2658), GM Etienne Bacrot (FRA, 2659), IM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE, 2520), GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE, 2651), GM Jaime Santos Latasa (ESP, 2655), GM Andrey Esipenko (FIDE, 2680), GM Valentin Dragnev (AUT, 2561) (pictured below), GM Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR, 2616), GM David Paravyan (FIDE, 2584), GM Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2610), GM David Anton Guijarro (ESP, 2685), and GM Igor Janik (POL, 2527).

The final round starts tomorrow at 15:00 CEST, featuring the direct encounter for the gold medal on the first board between GM Alexey Sarana and GM Kirill Shevchenko.

Round 11 top 10 pairings:

1. Sarana, Alexey (8) – Shevchenko, Kirill (8)
2. Kuzubov, Yuriy (7½) – Anton, Guijarro David (7½)
3. Paravyan, David (7½) – Esipenko, Andrey (7½)
4. Janik, Igor (7½) – Bacrot, Etienne (7½)
5. Korobov, Anton (7½) – Dardha, Daniel (7½)
6. Santos Latasa Jaime (7½) – Dragnev Valentin (7½)
7. Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis (7½) – Nguyen, Thai Dai Van (7½)
8. Predke, Alexandr (7) – Pechac, Jergus (7)
9. Yuffa, Daniil (7) – Gelfand, Boris (7)
10. Brkic, Ante (7) – Grandelius, Nils (7)

The closing ceremony of the event will be held on March 13 at 22:00 CEST.

Live broadcast with commentaries by IM Miodrag Perunovic can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel.

Text and photos: official website

Official website: eicc2023.com/

Sarana defeats Korobov to grab the sole lead in EICC 2023

KN — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 05:19:01 +0000

GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) defeated GM Anton Korobov (UKR, 2658) in Round 9 to take the sole lead in the European Individual Chess Championship 2023 with only two rounds to go.

Alexey Sarana got the upper hand in a dynamic position, which later transposed into a pawn-up endgame for the 26-year-old grandmaster. Korobov fought hard, but Sarana demonstrated a perfect technique and scored a victory to get closer to the EICC-2023 throne.

It was a draw in the clash of generations which was played on the second board between 23-year-old GM Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2637) (pictured below) and 54-year-old Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2674). Gledura had a slightly better position out of the opening and eventually emerged up a pawn. However, it wasn’t enough to earn a full point, as Gelfand’s active pieces helped him to keep the position in balance.

Sitting on 7 points (each), GMs Anton Korobov (UKR, 2658), Etienne Bacrot (FRA, 2659), Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2637), Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668), Andrey Esipenko (FIDE, 2680), Valentin Dragnev (AUT, 2561) and David Paravyan (FIDE, 2584) are tied for the second place.

The 10th penultimate round starts tomorrow at 15:00 CEST with the clash between the two youngsters on the top board. Andrey Esipenko will have the white pieces against the new leader Alexey Sarana.

Round 10 top 10 pairings:

1. Esipenko, Andrey (7) – Sarana, Alexey (7½)
2. Shevchenko, Kirill (7) – Gledura, Benjamin (7)
3. Bacrot, Etienne (7) – Paravyan, David (7)
4. Dragnev, Valentin (7) – Korobov, Anton (7)
5. Anton, Guijarro David (6½) – Kadric, Denis (6½)
6. Ivic, Velimir (6½) – Predke, Alexandr (6½)
7. Gelfand, Boris (6½) – Lupulescu, Constantin (6½)
8. Grandelius, Nils (6½) – Azarov, Sergei (6½)
9. Iskandarov, Misratdin (6½) – Santos Latasa, Jaime (6½)
10. Nguyen Thai Dai Van (6½) – Guliyev, Namig (6½)

Live broadcast with commentaries by IM Miodrag Perunovic can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel.

Text and photos: official website

Official website: eicc2023.com/

EICC 2023, Round 8: Korobov stays in front

KN — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 13:41:55 +0000

GM Anton Korobov (UKR, 2687) remains in the sole lead sitting on 7/8 with only three rounds left to be played at the European Individual Chess Championship 2023.

In Round 8, Korobov made a quick 8-move draw with GM Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2637). Having black pieces against the leader, Gledura accepted the draw offer and kept his position in second place with a score of 6.5 points.

GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) (pictured above) defeated GM Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR, 2668) to join Gledura in a tie for second place. Alexey got a clearly better position from the very beginning and, step by step, built up his advantage. The positional dominance eventually transposed into the material edge, and Alexey Sarana scored a critical victory to secure his position in the race for the medals.

As many as 27 players are sharing fourth place with 6/8 each, including GM Alexandr Predke (SRB, 2684) (pictured below), GM Andrey Esipenko (FIDE, 2680), GM Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2674), GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668), GM Ivan Cheparinov (BUL, 2661), GM Etienne Bacrot (FRA, 2659), and others.

The 9th round starts today at 15:00 CEST, with GM Alexey Sarana taking on GM Anton Korobov with the white pieces.

Round 9 top 10 pairings:

Results & Complete pairings for the 9th round can be found here.

1. Sarana, Alexey (6½) – Korobov, Anton (7)
2. Gledura, Benjamin (6½) – Gelfand, Boris (6)
3. Predke, Alexandr (6) – Dardha, Daniel (6)
4. Esipenko, Andrey (6) – Bjerre, Jonas Buhl (6)
5. Bernadskiy, Vitaliy (6) – Shevchenko, Kirill (6)
6. Paravyan, David (6) – Cheparinov, Ivan (6)
7. Bacrot, Etienne (6) – Brkic, Ante (6)
8. Svane, Frederik (6) – Grandelius, Nils (6)
9. Ponomariov, Ruslan (6) – Dragnev, Valentin (6)
10. Guliyev, Namig (6) – Santos Latasa, Jaime (6)

Live broadcast with commentaries by IM Miodrag Perunovic can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel.

Text and photos: official website

Official website: eicc2023.com/

EICC 2023, R07: Korobov retakes the lead

KN — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 09:51:00 +0000

Ukrainian GM Anton Korobov (UKR, 2658) once again took the sole lead in the European Individual Chess Championship 2023 after defeating IM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE, 2520) in Round 7.

The Greek IM sacrificed a piece in a very sharp and complicated game, but Korobov found a way to defend and consolidate the position. Kourkoulos-Arditis had his chances for a draw, but he did not manage to find the only moves that would have kept him in the game. With today’s victory, Anton Korobov scored 6.5/7 and is now a half-point ahead of GM Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2637), the only player from the large group of players with 5 points to score the victory.

Gledura is now in clear second place with 6 points after winning a drawish endgame GM Giga Quparadze (GEO, 2483).

Playing with Black, Quparadze solved all the opening problems but completely mishandled the endgame. Gledura used his passed b-pawn to reach the won queen ending and scored a full point.

Heading into Round 8, 13 players tie for the third place scoring 5.5 points each: IM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE, 2520), GM Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR, 2655), GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE, 2651), GM Frederik Svane (GER, 2577), GM Etienne Bacrot (FRA, 2659), GM Jaime Santos Latasa (ESP, 2655), GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668), GM Alexandr Predke (SRB, 2684), GM Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2625), GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (UKR, 2611), GM Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2674), GM Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR, 2616) and GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668).

Round 8 starts tomorrow at 15:00 CEST and the top 10 pairings are:

1. Korobov, Anton (6½) – Gledura, Benjamin (6)
2. Santos Latasa, Jaime (5½) – Predke, Alexandr (5½)
3. Gelfand, Boris (5½) – Nguyen Thai Dai Van (5½)
4. Sarana, Alexey (5½) – Kuzubov, Yuriy (5½)
5. Shevchenko, Kirill (5½) – Abasov, Nijat (5½)
6. Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis (5½) – Bacrot, Etienne (5½)
7. Ponomariov, Ruslan (5½) – Svane, Frederik (5½)
8. Sargissian, Gabriel (5) – Bernadskiy, Vitaliy (5½)
9. Kadric, Denis (5) – Martirosyan,Haik (5)
10. Lagarde, Maxime (5) – Navara, David (5)

Live broadcast of the games can be followed with commentaries by IM Miodrag Perunovic on the ECU YouTube channel.

Text and photos: official website

Official website: eicc2023.com/