New regulations
The top Czech league, the Extraliga, features twelve teams competing for the Czech team championship from November 2025 to March 2026. The season is played across five dates, with double rounds and one triple-round weekend. A new feature is that reserve teams of clubs are now also allowed to compete in the same division. As a result, the clubs Moravská Slavia Brno and SK Zikuda Turnov have each entered a second team.
For many years, the Czech league has been dominated by the team from the Nový Bor chess club. Nový Bor also regularly features near the top at the European Club Cup and has already won the trophy three times. Since being promoted to the Extraliga in 2006, Nový Bor has claimed the Czech team championship almost every year, with only a few exceptions.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
In the current season, Radosław Wojtaszek and Pentala Harikrishna occupy the top two boards, ahead of the two highest-rated Czech players David Navara and Thai Dai Van Nguyen. Several other clubs have recruited prominent and strong GMs for their leading boards.
Thus, Frýdek-Místek fields Vasyl Ivanchuk and Anton Korobov, while Nysa nad Labem has two further Ukrainian top players in Ruslan Ponomariov and Pavel Eljanov.
Brno's first team is also a serious contender in the battle for the title. Dutch stars Jorden van Foreest and Erwin L'Ami, along with Croatia's top player Ivan Šarić, are hunting for points on the top boards.
After the rounds played on the second weekend of December, Moravská Slavia Brno's A team actually leads the standings ahead of Nový Bor, but it has played one match more and therefore collected more board points than the Nový Bor team, which is level on match points. The encounters between the A and B teams of the same club were brought forward to the start of the season.
On the first double-round weekend, Moravská Slavia Brno's A team had to face the defending champions and title favourites Nový Bor, and were clearly beaten by a 5½–2½ score. Nový Bor have won all their other matches so far, and are back on course for another championship.
In addition to the strong lineups at the boards, Brno's team captain Michal Vávra always ensures an attractive presence alongside the boards at home matches, with chess ambassadors wearing the club's colours.
Before the round: IA Dominika Šmajzrová, Michal Vávra and GM Pavel Šimáček from Turnov
Karolína Sirotňuková plays the first move at Jorden van Foreest's board
EXPAND YOUR CHESS HORIZONS
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Host Romana looks on
Michal Vávra, Karolína Sirotňuková and IM Jakub Kůsa
Team Moravská Slavia
Current standings
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