The European Individual Chess Championship, one of the most competitive events in European chess, is currently underway in Petrovac, Montenegro. Taking place from 8-19 November, this high-stakes tournament features 388 players from across the continent, each vying for the title and 20 coveted places in the next FIDE World Cup.
The event follows an 11-round Swiss format, with players given 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by an additional 30 minutes to complete the game, plus a 30-second increment from the first move.
The tournament's top-rated player is Vladimir Fedoseev, a Russian-born grandmaster now representing Slovenia, and the only participant rated above 2700. Alongside him, 44 other players rated over 2600 create an exceptionally competitive field, which includes four former European champions: Matthias Bluebaum (2022), Anton Demchenko (2021), Ivan Saric (2018) and Alexander Motylev (2014). Absent from this year's edition is the reigning champion, Alexey Sarana, who is competing in the Chennai Grand Swiss in India.
Ivan Saric, the 2018 European champion, was held to a draw by Szymon Gumularz in the third round | Photo: Mark Livshitz
Following three rounds of intense games, ten players have emerged with a perfect score of 3/3, tying for the lead. Among these are Bogdan-Daniel Deac, Matthias Bluebaum and Frederik Svane, all highly rated and showing strong early performances. The lowest rated of the group, Yahli Sokolovsky from Israel, is rated 2516 and benefited from a win by forfeit in round 3, as his opponent, Anton Demchenko, was unable to attend due to health reasons.
One of the standout co-leaders is 13-year-old Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who will face the seasoned Bulgarian Grandmaster Ivan Cheparinov in round 4. Erdogmus is part of a promising group of under-18 players vying for World Cup spots, including the aforementioned Sokolovsky, Ediz Gurel from Turkey, Marc'Andria Maurizzi from France and Ihor Samunenkov from Ukraine.
With three more rounds scheduled from Monday to Wednesday, the players are bracing for a gruelling stretch before enjoying a well-deserved rest day on Thursday.
The playing hall in Petrovac | Photo: Mark Livshitz
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Deac, Bogdan-Daniel | 2687 | 3 | 0 | |
| GM | Bluebaum, Matthias | 2654 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Svane, Frederik | 2654 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | 2632 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Hovhannisyan, Robert | 2613 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Theodorou, Nikolas | 2612 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Dardha, Daniel | 2606 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Chigaev, Maksim | 2605 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan | 2604 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GM | Sokolovsky, Yahli | 2516 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 11 | GM | Fedoseev, Vladimir | 2712 | 2,5 | 0 | |
| GM | Saric, Ivan | 2668 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Vitiugov, Nikita | 2668 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Bjerre, Jonas Buhl | 2654 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Mamedov, Rauf | 2651 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Sjugirov, Sanan | 2649 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Grandelius, Nils | 2645 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Kollars, Dmitrij | 2641 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Korobov, Anton | 2636 | 2,5 | 0 | ||
| GM | Gurel, Ediz | 2635 | 2,5 | 0 |
Replay games from all rounds on Live.ChessBase.com
