#CzechRepublic – International Chess Federation

David Navara and Joanna Worek crowned Czech Republic Champions

editor_d — Sat, 16 May 2026 21:35:38 +0000

GM David Navara and WGM Joanna Worek emerged victorious at the 2026 Czech National Championship. David claimed his 14th (!) title – a remarkable achievement – edging out rising star Václav Finěk, while Joanna captured her second national crown.

The 2026 Czech Championship, held in open and women’s sections, took place at the Bowling Brno area from May 7–16, 2026, and attracted most of the country’s top players. The open event was a 10-player round-robin, while the women’s competition followed an elimination system, comprising a preliminary round followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.

The open event evolved into a gripping duel between the two top seeds: Navara and Czech chess’s brightest young talent, Václav Finěk. Navara seized an early lead, but Finěk caught up with him after Round 5. The direct clash in Round 7 ended in a draw leaving them tied for the top position.

Both finished strongly, winning their last two games and totaling 7.5/9 points, but the superior Sonneborn–Berger tiebreaker awarded the title to Navara. Both the champion and the runner-up completed the competition unbeaten.

The bronze medal went to the experienced grandmaster Štěpán Žilka, who secured a draw against Richard Stalmach in the last round. The entire tournament was marked by uncompromising battles, with only 16 games out of 45 ending in a draw.

Final standings – Open

The women’s competition was arguably even more dramatic, with all medals matches decided in Armageddon tiebreak games. In the end, Joanna Worek won the gold medal, defeating WGM Kristýna Petrova. In the match for third place, WGM Tereza Rodshtein claimed bronze after overcoming WGM Olga Sikorová.

Final standings – Women

The PR manager of the Czech Chess Association and tournament director, Josef Bednařík, gave his thoughts on the Czech Championship during the closing ceremony: “I am thrilled with the course of this year’s Czech Championship. I would like to thank all the players for their fighting spirit and fair-play approach. The spectators certainly enjoyed the exciting games and the course of the tournaments, and I did too.”

The 2026 Czech Championship was supported by the statutory city of Brno, the South Moravian Region, the Bowling Brno area, and the Hotel Velká Klajdovka. Special thanks go to the Mayor of the statutory city of Brno, JUDr. Markéta Vaňková, and the 1st Deputy Governor of the South Moravian Region, Jiří Crh, who served as personal patrons of the tournament.

Photos: Czech Chess Federation (Facebook)

Official website: https://www.chess.cz/

Štěpán Hrbek and Tereza Rodshtein crowned Czech Champions

editor_d — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 13:20:47 +0000

The thrilling final round decided this year’s chess champions of the Czech Republic. In the women’s category, Tereza Rodshtein clinched the title, defeating Julia Movsesian in the final of the elimination tournament. In the open round-robin event, seventh seed Štěpán Hrbek emerged as a surprise winner, while Jan Vykouk and Tadeáš Kriebel claimed silver and bronze, respectively.

The Czech Championship returned to Plzeň after a five-year break. While David Navara dominated the 2020 open tournament, this year he did not take part due to a scheduling conflict. Nevertheless, he attended the final two rounds at the Plzeň Congress Center Parkhotel as a commentator—much to the delight of the spectators.

The games certainly lived up to expectations: only 22 out of 45 ended in draws. With two rounds remaining, eight of the ten players were still in contention for gold, underscoring the tournament’s competitiveness.

Jáchym Němec and Jan Vykouk traded the lead for much of the tournament, but neither managed to convert their chances in the decisive final round. Vykouk drew his game, while Němec lost—to none other than 19-year-old Štěpán Hrbek, who thereby secured his unexpected national title. His final score of 5.5/9 reflected the remarkable balance of the event. The pre-tournament favorites struggled: Václav Finěk finished fifth, and Štěpán Žilka placed eighth.

Final standings Open

The women’s championship, held for the third consecutive year in a knockout format, began with a preliminary round followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final. Each round featured two classical games, two rapid games, blitz, and, if necessary, an Armageddon decider. Several junior players also participated but were unable to match the experience of their older opponents.

Tereza Rodshtein overcame all challengers on her way to the title, defeating Karolína Pilsová, Anna Lhotská, and finally two-time defending champion Julia Movsesian. In the bronze medal match, Kristýna Petrová outplayed Anna Lhotská.

Tournament director and Chairman of the Czech Chess Association Martin Petr reflected positively on the event:

“I am thrilled with the course of this year’s Czech Championship. I would like to thank all the players for their fighting spirit and fair-play approach. The spectators certainly enjoyed the exciting games and the tournaments—and I did too.”

The organizer, Chess Club 64 Plzeň, expressed gratitude to all who supported the 2025 Czech Championship: the City of Plzeň, the Czech Chess Association, Plzeňská teplárenská, Parkhotel Plzeň, Ubytování U Foltýnů, PROdiamant, Calliditas Edutainment, NODAK, and the 64 Foundation.

This article is based on a report by the Czech Chess Federation

Official website: chess.cz/

Max Warmerdam wins Teplice Open 2024

KN — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 16:44:45 +0000

Grandmaster Max Warmerdam emerged victorious in the 2024 Teplice Open, a chess tournament with a rich history dating back to 1922 and held annually since 2006.

The competition, supported by the FIDE Aid Package initiative (launched in 2021), took place from June 15th to 23rd at the Sports Hall in Teplice, Czech Republic. The event attracted 240 players from 33 countries, including 16 Grandmasters.

It was a tightly contested event, with several players sharing the top position most of the way. Going into the final round, a remarkable six participants jointly lead with 6.5 points each. Max Warmerdam, Alexander Donchenko, and Tin Jingyao secured crucial victories in the final round, resulting in a three-way tie for first place.

Warmerdam came out on top thanks to a superior rating average of the opponents, while Doncheko and Jingyao took second and third place respectively, based on the Buchholz tiebreaker.

Women’s honors went to WGM Ravi Rakshitta, who scored 6.5 points out of 9. Local hopeful IM Vaclav Finek (pictured below) also impressed, netting 7 points and tying for third place overall while simultaneously winning the U18 category.

Final standings:

1	GM	Warmerdam, Max	NED	2654	7½
2	GM	Tin, Jingyao	SGP	2570	7½
3	GM	Donchenko, Alexander	GER	2639	7½
4	GM	Stocek, Jiri	CZE	2524	7
5	IM	Akbas, Umut Ata	TUR	2437	7
6	IM	Finek, Vaclav	CZE	2450	7
7	GM	Svane, Frederik	GER	2638	6½
8	IM	Martin, Julian	GER	2402	6½
9	IM	Kaasen, Tor Fredrik	NOR	2465	6½
10	GM	Babula, Vlastimil	CZE	2521	6½

Complete final standings

Official website: tepliceopen.com

Photos: Teplice Chess Club

Ray Robson wins 2023 Prague Chess Festival Masters

KN — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 01:46:12 +0000

The fifth edition of the Prague Chess Festival is in the books. The event, held in several sections, took place from June 21-30, 2023 in the capital of the Czech Republic.

All tournaments this year saw tense, exciting battles until the very end. In the Masters, a round robin with ten top GMs participating, Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) and Ray Robson (USA) tied for first place scoring 5.5/9 each after all final games were drawn. To determine the champion the two played a tiebreaker. The American GM won the first game with Black then drew the second one with White and became the winner of the main event. The bronze went to the last-year champion Pentala Harikrishna.

Final standings Masters:

1	GM	Robson, Ray	ROU	2693	5½
2	GM	Deac, Bogdan-Daniel	USA	2689	5½
3	GM	Harikrishna, Pentala	IND	2704	5
4	GM	Navara, David	CZE	2689	4½
5	GM	Shankland, Sam	USA	2711	4½
6	GM	Martirosyan, Haik	ARM	2685	4½
7	GM	Keymer, Vincent	GER	2690	4½
8	GM	Wang, Hao	CHN	2722	4
9	GM	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2668	3½
10	GM	Nguyen Thai Dai	CZE	2653	3½

Tiebreaker in the Masters

In the Challengers competition, both main contenders for the title, Mateusz Bartel (Poland) and Alexander Motylev (Romania) scored last-round victories. As a result, the Polish GM retained his half-point lead over his rival, finished clear first and punched his ticket to the 2024 Masters.

Motylev is second while as many as three players tied for third position with Paulius Pultinevicius (Lithuania) taking bronze thanks the best score in their direct encounters.

Always smiling Mateusz Bartel

Final standings Challengers:

1	GM	Bartel, Mateusz	POL	2609	6½
2	GM	Motylev, Alexander	ROU	2597	6
3	GM	Pultinevicius, Paulius	LTU	2530	5
4	GM	Gledura, Benjamin	HUN	2645	5
5	IM	Vykouk, Jan	CZE	2467	5
6	GM	L’Ami, Erwin	NED	2645	4½
7	GM	Pechac, Jergus	SVK	2611	4
8	FM	Finek, Vaclav	CZE	2409	3½
9	IM	Stalmach, Richard	CZE	2436	3
10	GM	Akash G	IND	2483	2½

Patryk Cieslak (Poland) pulled off a crucial last-round victory win the Futures, while the rating favorite Vojtech Plat tied for first place in the Open and became the champion by dint of better Buchholz.

The Futures tournament podium

Detailed results of all tournaments can be found here.

Masters

Robson, Ray	18,80
Deac, Bogdan-Daniel	16,82
Harikrishna, Pentala	13,85
Navara, David	5,44
Shankland Sam	5,44
Martirosyan, Haik	5,44
Keymer, Vincent	5,44

Challengers

Bartel Mateusz	7,34
Motylev Alexander	5,87
Pultinevicius Paulius	4,40
Gledura Benjamin	4,40
Vykouk Jan	4,40

Photos: official website

Official website: praguechessfestival.com/

Frederik Svane wins Teplice Open 2023

KN — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 01:17:23 +0000

GM Frederik Svane emerged as the winner of the Teplice Open, the event dating back to 1922 that has been held yearly since 2006.

The 2023 edition, a 9-round Swiss tournament supported by the FIDE Aid Package, took place from June 10-18, 2023, in the second-largest Czech spa town Teplice. The event brought together 218 players from 33 federations.

The seventh seed Frederik Svane got off to a flying start winning five straight games, but his main rivals – the rating favourite Shant Sargsyan, Evgeny Romanov and his older brother Rasmus Svane – trailed by just a half-point.

Romanov caught up with Svane soon, and the leaders clashed in Round 7. Frederik pulled off a crucial victory with the white pieces, regained the lead and kept it to the end.

Frederik Svane (pictured below) finished with two draws and came clear first with 7.5/9, while as many as five players tied for the second on 7/9. Thanks to superior Buchholz, Shant Sargsyan and Evgeny Romanov took second and third places, respectively.

Final standings:

1	GM	Svane Frederik	GER	2603	7½
2	GM	Sargsyan Shant	ARM	2640	7
3	GM	Romanov Evgeny	NOR	2555	7
4	GM	Svane Rasmus	GER	2616	7
5	IM	Ioannidis Evgenios	GRE	2471	7
6	IM	Sokolovsky Yahli	ISR	2464	7
7	GM	Krysa Leandro	ARG	2541	6½
8	IM	Teclaf Pawel	POL	2576	6½
9	GM	Safarli Eltaj	AZE	2609	6½
10	IM	Sorensen Hampus	SWE	2453	6½

Complete results

WFM Deodhar Vrushali Umesh, WIM Fiona Sieber and Valentina Verbin (pictured below from left to right) became the best female players of the Teplice Open 2023.

Photos: official website

Official website: tepliceopen.com/

Czech Championship 2023: David Navara and Julia Movsesian win titles

KN — Thu, 18 May 2023 13:19:15 +0000

David Navara and Julia Movsesian are the new chess champions of the Czech Republic.

The Open and Women’s Czech championships organized by the Světlá nad Sázavou Chess Club and Šachový svaz České republiky (Czech Chess Federation) took place from May 9-17 in the conference hall of the Skalský Dvůr hotel in Lísk. The events were held concurrently but in different formats. The open competition was a 10-player round-robin, while the women’s championship was a knock-out tournament with a single preliminary round followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

GM David Navara turned in a dominant performance in the open event and claimed his twelfth national title with a round to spare. The current Czech number one scored an impressive 7.5/9 and became the only unbeaten player in the competition.

The fight for the silver was much closer, with the second-youngest participant, IM Tomáš Kraus and GM Vlastimil Babula, coming into the final round tied for the second position. Kraus pulled out a crucial victory over the 2021 champion Vojtěch Plát and secured second place, as Babula managed only a draw against Navara with the black pieces and had to settle for bronze.

Final standings Open:

1	GM	Navara, David	2678	7½
2	IM	Kraus, Tomáš	2473	6
3	GM	Babula, Vlastimil	2533	5½
4	GM	Krejčí, Jan	2517	5
5	GM	Štoček, Jiří	2525	5
6	GM	Šimáček, Pavel	2466	3½
7	IM	Zwardoń, Vojtěch	2494	3½
8	GM	Petr, Martin	2478	3½
9	FM	Finěk, Václav	2410	3
10	GM	Plát, Vojtěch	2535	2½

In the women’s championship, the rating favourites, WGMs Julia Movsesian (pictured below) and Karolína Pilsová, made it all the way to the final, which the former convincingly won by a score of 2-0. The last-year champion WIM Nataša Richterová prevailed over WGM Olga Sikorová in the match for bronze.

The complete results of the open and women’s championships can be found here.

Official website: chess.cz/

Photos: Official website

European Women’s Championship 2022: Monika Socko clinches title

KN — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 02:15:53 +0000

GM Monika Socko (Poland) emerged as the winner of the European Women’s Championship 2022. It is probably the most significant achievement in the professional career of 8-time Polish Women’s Champion.

The European Women’s Championship, an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from August 20-31, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic. The event, with a prize pool of €60,000 (€10,000 reserved for the champion), brought together 123 players from 28 countries.

Monika Socko grabbed the sole lead in Round 5 and never looked back. Coming into the final round on 8/10, a half-point ahead of Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (Poland) and Lilit Mkrtchain (Armenia), Monika took a practical decision. Socko made a quick draw with Mkrtchain to secure the title as she had better tiebreaks over her main competitors.

Mammadzada and Maltsevskaya played a topsy-turvy game which eventually ended in a draw. As a result, Gunay took silver, but Alexandra and Lilit missed the podium as Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Azerbaijan) scored a crucial last-round victory over her compatriot Gulnar Mammadova and claimed bronze by dint of better Buchholz.

Final standings:

1	GM	Socko, Monika	POL	2423	8½
2	IM	Mammadzada, Gunay	AZE	2466	8
3	WGM	Fataliyeva, Ulviyya	AZE	2413	8
4	IM	Mkrtchian, Lilit	ARM	2362	8
5	IM	Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra	POL	2360	8
6	IM	Bulmaga, Irina	ROU	2403	8
7	GM	Ushenina, Anna	UKR	2423	7½
8	IM	Sargsyan, Anna	ARM	2378	7½
9	IM	Brunello, Marina	ITA	2341	7½
10	IM	Salimova, Nurgyul	BUL	2404	7½

The 2022 European Individual Women Chess Championship served as a qualification event for the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023. According to the FIDE regulations and the ECU Board decision, 9 best players qualified for FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023.

Photo: Official website

Official website: ewcc2022.net/

Winners crowned at Prague Chess Festival 2022

KN — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 15:23:57 +0000

The fourth edition of the Prague Chess Festival is in the books. The event, held in several sections and financially supported by FIDE Aid Package, took place from 8–17 June 2022 in the capital of the Czech Republic.

The Prague Chess Festival offered a dramatic spectacle, and the winners were again decided on the last day.

In the Masters, a 10-player round-robin with classical time control, Le Quang Liem and Pentala Harikrishna entered the final round a full point ahead of David Navara, Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Sam Shankland. Ironically, the co-leaders were facing Spanish opponents. Liem managed only a draw facing Vallejo Pons with black, while Harikrishna took full advantage of his white pieces to beat David Anton, clinching the title with a solid score of 6½/9. Liem finished second; Thai Dai Van Nguyen took third place thanks to slightly better Sonneborn-Berger over Shankland and Navara. The top 3 finishers completed the event undefeated.

Final standings Masters:

1	Harikrishna Pentala	IND	2701	6½
2	Le Quang Liem	VIE	2709	6
3	Nguyen Thai Dai Van	CZE	2610	5
4	Shankland Sam	USA	2718	5
5	Navara David	CZE	2681	5
6	Vallejo Pons Francisco	ESP	2703	4½
7	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2723	4
8	Maghsoodloo Parham	IRI	2716	4
9	Salem A.R. Saleh	UAE	2679	3
10	Anton Guijarro David	ESP	2692	2

The Czech players did not fare well in the previous three editions of the Masters. This year, however, the home fans are happy. Not only will the trophy for the winner remain in Prague (Pentala Harikrishna has been living in the capital for a long time), but the two Czech players performed well and shared third place.

The Challengers Tournament saw predators battle it out for a place among the elite and the prospect of advancing to the Masters. Indeed, only nineteen games out of forty-five ended in a split of points. As the tournament progressed, there was an increasingly clear trio of players – Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Hans Moke Niemann – who had the biggest chance to win. By the last round, everything was still open.

In the final round, Abdusattorov got into trouble against Slovakian youngster Jergus Pechac who outplayed him with black pieces. It was clear that the World Rapid Champion would fight for a draw in the game. In the end, Nodirbek held the draw, but it was not enough. Hans Moke Niemann and Vincent Keymer had black pieces in their games, but both won, scored 6½/9 each and proceeded into a tiebreaker.

The German player achieved an overwhelming position in the first game, and just when it looked like Niemann could save himself in the rook ending, he made a crucial mistake, and black-playing Keymer celebrated his first win. Keymer left nothing to chance in the rematch and ended the game with a symbolic checkmate. After winning 2-0, he is happy with the overall victory and, above all, the ticket to next year’s Masters.

Final standings Challengers:

1	Keymer Vincent	GER	2675	6½
2	Niemann Hans Moke	USA	2678	6½
3	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	UZB	2661	6
4	Sasikiran Krishnan	IND	2635	5
5	Pechac Jergus	SVK	2598	4
6	Warmerdam Max	NED	2613	4
7	Krzyzanowski Marcin	POL	2535	3½
8	Stocek Jiri	CZE	2541	3½
9	Hracek Zbynek	CZE	2564	3
10	Michalik Peter	CZE	2577	3

A hallmark of the Prague festival is the Futures Tournament. This year, the organizers once again managed to put together a very interesting lineup of young hopefuls from seven countries. This tournament came down to the wire as well. Kamil Warchol, the overall winner, challenged Atilla Kura in the last round and took the overall victory to Poland with a draw. Pawel Sowinski, also from Poland, joined them on the podium. The best Czech player Jiri Bouška finished just below the podium.

Final standings Futures:

1	Warchol Kamil	POL	1991	7
2	Kuru Atilla	TUR	1949	6½
3	Sowinski Pawel	POL	2066	6½
4	Bouska Jiri	CZE	2191	5½
5	Bokhnak Timofey	CZE	2112	5
6	Kovalskyi Roman	UKR	2065	4½
7	Tolmacevs Artjoms	LAT	2032	4
8	Balint Peter	AUT	2097	4
9	Zelbova Lada	CZE	1980	1½
10	Peglau Charis	GER	2008	½

Over 300 players took part in the Open tournament with an invitation to the Challengers tournament 2023 at stake. The top seed Alexander Motylev conceded his opponents only two draws and, with a total of eight points, finished a full point ahead of a large group of players tying for the second place.

Final standings Open:

1	GM	Motylev Alexander	FID	2619	8
2	GM	Stremavicius Titas	LTU	2495	7
3		Kozak Antoni	POL	2459	7
4	GM	Santiago Yago De Moura	BRA	2509	7
5	IM	Garriga Cazorla Pere	ESP	2495	7
6	GM	Petr Martin	CZE	2488	7
7	GM	Sankalp Gupta	IND	2505	7
8	GM	Popovic Dusan	SRB	2484	7
9	GM	Iniyan P	IND	2518	7
10	GM	Alsina Leal Daniel	ESP	2514	7

Official website: praguechessfestival.com

Text: Official website

Photo: Petr Vrabec and Vladimir Jagr

Czech Women’s Championship: Nataša Richterova clinches title

KN — Sun, 29 May 2022 23:39:21 +0000

WIM Nataša Richterova emerged as the Czech Women’s Championship winner, taking her maiden national title and picking up 34 rating points.

The Czech Women’s Championship, a 10-player round-robin, took place from May 21–29, 2022, at the OPERA Hotel in Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou.

The event was an exciting race among several players taking turns on the top. As the tournament fate would have it, the two leaders, WGM Karolina Pilsova and Nataša Richterova, sitting on 6 points each, clashed in the final ninth round.

Nataša came through an inferior position, turned the tables, and scored a much-needed victory, probably the most important in her career, to clinch the title. Karolina had to settle for silver. Olga Sikorova and Anna Lhotska (who lead the field after Round 7) netted 5½ points each and tied for third place. The bronze goes to Olga Sikorova as the winner of their direct encounter.

Final standings:

1	WIM	Richterová, Nataša	2181	7
2	WGM	Pilsová, Karolína	2229	6
3	WGM	Sikorová, Olga	2173	5½
4		Lhotská, Anna	2029	5½
5	WGM	Petrová, Kristýna	2264	5
6		Koubová, Anna Marie	2115	4½
7	WIM	Novosadová, Kristýna	2147	4½
8		Němcová, Karin	2181	3
9		Zelbová, Lada	1967	3
10		Třasáková, Adéla	1842	1

Official website: chess.cz

Photo: official website and Šachový Svaz České Republiky Facebook page

Czech Championship: David Navara clinches 11th title

KN — Mon, 23 May 2022 03:29:24 +0000

GM David Navara came out as a winner of the Czech Championship 2022. It is the eleventh national title in his distinguished career.

The Czech Championship, a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from May 14-22, 2022, in Ústí nad Labem. The event brought together 48 best Czech players, including the rating favourite David Navara (pictured below) and the defending champion Vojtech Plat.

Photo: Milan Nemec

The tournament turned into a very close race, with several players battling for the title to the very end. Suffice it to say that after Round 7, the eventual champion was only second, a half-point behind IM Vojtech Zwadron, who led the field with an excellent score of 6/7.

However, in Round 8, the leader suffered a defeat at the hands of Vlasitimil Babula (pictured below), while Navara beat Plat and shot ahead, coming into the final round a half-point ahead of Babula and Zwadron.

Photo: Lenka Kusova

In Round 9, Navara drew his game with Jiri Stocek and clinched the title, netting 7/9 as his main rivals did not manage to win – Babula drew with Tomas Kraus, while Jan Krejci took down Zwadron and tied for the second place. Vlastimil Babula claimed silver thanks to better Buchholz; Jan Krejci had to settle for bronze.

FM Richard Stalmach (pictured below) won a special prize for the best junior player, scoring 5½/9 and finishing 12th.

Photo: Milan Nemec

Final standings:

1	GM	Navara, David	2682	7
2	GM	Babula, Vlastimil	2576	6½
3	GM	Krejčí, Jan	2520	6½
4	IM	Zwardoň, Vojtěch	2482	6
5	GM	Štoček, Jiří	2533	6
6	GM	Plát, Vojtěch	2547	6
7	IM	Kraus, Tomáš	2472	6
8	GM	Rašík, Vítězslav	2433	6
9	GM	Hráček, Zbyněk	2570	5½
10	IM	Černoušek, Lukáš	2440	5½

Photo: Lenka Kusova and Milan Nemec

Official website: sachyusti.cz/