Euro Club Cup: Magnus plays 1...a6, wins

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
10/4/2023 – Nine teams still have a perfect score after three rounds in the open section of the European Club Cup in Albania. Offerspill, led by Magnus Carlsen, is one of these nine teams. The former world champion won his second consecutive game after replying to 1.e4 by 1...a6 against IM Bojan Maksimovic. In the women’s section, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana and Garuda Ajka BSK are sharing the lead with 6/6 match points each. | Photo: Niki Riga

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Nine teams still perfect

The nine teams with the highest rating averages in the open section of the European Club Cup all have collected 6/6 match points in the first three rounds of the event. Superchess, the top seeds, were the ones that had the toughest time in round 3, though, as they signed five draws against Azerbaijan’s Vugar Gashimov — Bogdan-Daniel Deac was the hero of the day for the Romanian squad, as he got the only win of the match.

All the remaining eight co-leaders scored at least 4 points on Tuesday. Offerspill, for example, beat SK Zmaj by a 5½-½ score. Magnus Carlsen, on the top board, played 1...a6 and still defeated Bojan Maksimovic. IM Robert Ris analysed the game on his YouTube channel.



Richard Rapport, Vishy Anand

Richard Rapport and Vishy Anand made their debuts for Superchess in this year’s edition — both super-GMs signed draws | Photo: Niki Riga

Standings - Round 3

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 Superchess 6
2 Offerspill Sjakklubb 6
3 Asnieres - Le Grand Echiquier 6
4 TAJFUN SK Ljubljana 6
5 Schachclub Viernheim 1934 e.V. 6
6 Turkish Airlines Sports Club 6
7 Novy Bor 6
8 C' Chartres Echecs 6
9 Sentimento Ajka BSK 6
10 Rishon Lezion A 5
11 Lunds ASK 5
12 Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova 5
13 Vugar Gashimov 4
14 Gokturk Chess Sport Club 4
15 Beer Sheva Chess Club 4

...84 teams

All available games - Round 3

Replay all games at Live.ChessBase.com

Women’s: TAJFUN SK Ljubljana and Garuda Ajka BSK co-leaders

The results in the women’s section have not been as predictable, as only two teams still have a perfect score after three rounds: TAJFUN SK Ljubljana (5th seeds) and Garuda Ajka BSK (3rd). Ljubljana beat Superchess thanks to wins by Nataliya Buksa and Zala Uhr, while Garuda Ajka got the better of Teuta, with Zsoka Gaal scoring the sole victory for the Hungarian squad.

The co-leaders will face each other in round 4, while the top seeds, Monte Carlo, will try to remain in the fight for first place by beating SP Gaz Ukraine.

European Chess Club Cup 2023

Teuta vs. Garuda Ajka BSK, with Antoaneta Stefanova facing Bella Khotenashvili on the first board | Photo: Niki Riga

Standings - Round 3

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 TAJFUN SK Ljubljana 6
2 Garuda Ajka BSK 6
3 Monte Carlo 5
4 SP Gaz Ukraine 5
5 Superchess 4
6 MSK Centar Asseco See 4
7 SK Crvena zvezda Data Driven Lab 4
8 Wood Green 4
9 Teuta 4
10 Panevezys 4
11 Gokturk Chess Sport Club 3
12 Schachgesellschaft Solingen 3
13 Asnieres - Le Grand Echiquier 3
14 Gostivar 3
15 Rishon Lezion 3

...26 teams

All available games - Round 3

Replay all games at Live.ChessBase.com

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.