Open: Eleven teams remain on perfect scores
After three rounds, eleven teams share first place in the open section of the European Club Cup, all with 6/6 match points. The leading group includes all the teams seeded first through twelfth, with one exception: tenth seeds Beer Sheva Chess Club from Israel, who dropped a match point on Monday.
The Israeli team were held to a 3–3 draw by Slovakia's SK Dunajska Streda, the 27th seeds. Interestingly, Dunajska Streda had a rating advantage on the top board, where 16-year-old Czech grandmaster Vaclav Finek was rated more than 100 Elo points above his opponent, Viktor Mikhalevski. Finek scored a win with the white pieces.
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
The Slovakian representatives were outrated on all five remaining boards, but Hungarian international master Aron Pasti also produced an upset by defeating Israeli grandmaster Eytan Rosen on board two. Beer Sheva secured victories on boards four and six, while the remaining two encounters ended in draws, leaving the teams with three points apiece.
SK Dunajska Streda v. Beer Sheva Chess Club | Photo: Gerd Densing
The other teams among the top ten seeds all registered comfortable victories, winning their matches by margins of at least 4–2. Top seeds Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club, representing Turkey, fielded their two highest-rated players for the first time in the competition. Both Anish Giri and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus contributed victories to their team's third consecutive match win.
Defending champions SuperChess Romania, the third seeds, also introduced their strongest player into the lineup. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the highest-rated participant in the entire tournament, made a winning debut as the Romanian club maintained their perfect record.
Ediz Gürel (left) has scored three wins in as many games for top seeds Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club | Photo: Gerd Densing
Despite the favourable results for the leading teams, a few individual upsets occurred in the top matches. Richard Pert (2409), representing Cheddleton Savills Caterling, defeated Jorden van Foreest (2716) of SuperChess, overcoming a rating deficit of more than 300 points. Spain's Alvar Alonso (2560), playing for Silla Integrant Col-lectius, beat Nodirbek Yakubboev (2712) of Novy Bor Chess Club, while France's Pierre Laurent-Paoli (2550), representing Marseille Echecs, defeated Pavel Eljanov (2664) of Ashdod Chess Club.
The fourth round on Tuesday will feature direct encounters between some of the tournament's strongest teams. One of the most anticipated matches is the meeting between Bayegan Pendik and SuperChess, which could see Giri facing Abdusattorov on the top board. The individual board pairings had not yet been published at the time of writing.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
Max Euwe became the fifth World Chess Champion after beating Alexander Alekhine in the 1935 World Championship match. A maths teacher by profession, Euwe remained an amateur throughout his life, but was still the best chess player in the Netherlands, and one of the world's best players. Euwe holds the record for the most Dutch national championships, with twelve. After winning the World Championship, Euwe was also the world's best player for a while. He lost the title again in 1937 in the rematch against Alexander Alekhine.
Free video sample: Openings
Nodirbek Yakubboev suffered an upset defeat against Alvar Alonso | Photo: Gerd Densing
Standings after round 3
| 1 |
8 |
|
Vugar Gashimov |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
44 |
17 |
24,5 |
56 |
| 2 |
1 |
|
Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
42 |
16,5 |
28 |
54 |
|
2 |
|
Alkaloid |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
42 |
16,5 |
28 |
54 |
| 4 |
5 |
|
Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
40 |
16 |
28,5 |
58 |
| 5 |
3 |
|
SuperChess Romania |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
38 |
16,5 |
25,5 |
54,5 |
| 6 |
11 |
|
Aix-en-Provence |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
38 |
14,5 |
31 |
48 |
| 7 |
9 |
|
Rishon LeZion A |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
36 |
14,5 |
28 |
47 |
| 8 |
7 |
|
Ashdod chess club |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
36 |
14 |
32 |
51 |
| 9 |
4 |
|
Novy Bor Chess Club |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
36 |
14 |
28 |
46 |
| 10 |
12 |
|
SK K CERO INVEST Nitra |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
32 |
14,5 |
25,5 |
40 |
| 11 |
6 |
|
Elektroprivreda |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
30 |
15,5 |
23 |
40 |
| 12 |
10 |
|
Beer Sheva Chess Club |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
39 |
14 |
30,5 |
59 |
| 13 |
13 |
|
Riehen |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
34,5 |
13 |
24,5 |
43,5 |
| 14 |
24 |
|
Rishon LeZion B |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
30 |
13,5 |
25 |
41 |
| 15 |
27 |
|
SK Dunajska Streda |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
23 |
11 |
31 |
31 |
| 16 |
52 |
|
UKEB Okulları Goztepe Spor Kulubu |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
22 |
12,5 |
29,5 |
22 |
| 17 |
18 |
|
C.A Silla Integrant Col-lectius |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
36 |
13,5 |
30 |
47 |
| 18 |
19 |
|
SK Rockaden team 1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
32 |
11,5 |
36 |
50 |
| 19 |
21 |
|
Marseille Echecs |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
29 |
12 |
30 |
40 |
| 20 |
15 |
|
Schachfreunde Berlin 1903 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
27 |
12 |
30 |
27 |
| 21 |
16 |
|
Cheddleton Savills Caterling |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
26 |
11 |
33,5 |
31 |
| 22 |
20 |
|
MTK Budapest 1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
25 |
10 |
38,5 |
34 |
| 23 |
28 |
|
Pausa Chess Club |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
24 |
13,5 |
25,5 |
29,5 |
| 24 |
23 |
|
Buducnost |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
24 |
11 |
35,5 |
35 |
| 25 |
37 |
|
Dardania |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
23 |
12 |
24,5 |
32 |
...108 teams
All available games
Women: Monte-Carlo and Gambit Bonnevoie still perfect
With only 22 teams participating in the women's competition, compared with 108 in the open section, the leading contenders have already begun facing each other. Following Monday's third round, two teams remain on perfect scores of 6/6 match points: top seeds Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo and fourth seeds CE Gambit Bonnevoie.
Defending champions Monte-Carlo secured a narrow 2½–1½ victory over second seeds Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica. Aleksandra Goryachkina and Elisabeth Paehtz provided the decisive victories for the Monaco-based club, while Stavroula Tsolakidou lost to Bulgarian international master Nurgyul Salimova, who participated in the 2024 Women's Candidates Tournament. The remaining game ended in a draw, allowing Monte-Carlo to maintain their perfect record.
Besides in-depth theory and exciting tactical exercises in the Scotch Game, this video course also includes a bonus section on the Scotch Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Bc4), a lively variation often leading to very dynamic positions.
Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Gerd Densing
CE Gambit Bonnevoie, meanwhile, defeated third seeds SuperChess Romania by a 3–1 score. All four games were decisive, with Klaudia Kulon, Elina Danielian and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya scoring victories for the Luxembourg-based team. Nino Batsiashvili collected SuperChess' only point by winning her game on the top board.
The two co-leaders will meet in Tuesday's fourth round, with one of them potentially taking sole possession of first place.
SuperChess Romania v. CE Gambit Bonnevoie, with Nino Batsiashvili and Anna Ushenina on the top board | Photo: Gerd Densing
An eight-team group follows the leaders on 4/6 match points, with no teams currently on 5/6 match points. Among the chasing sides, the lowest-rated squad is Bulgaria's Velikova Chess Club, seeded 18th. The Bulgarian representatives held higher-rated opposition to draws in each of the first two rounds before defeating Klaipeda on Monday.
Another notable result came from 11-year-old English prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan, who recorded her second consecutive individual victory in the event's third round. Representing She Plays To Win Lionesses A, Sivanandan defeated Olga Badelka of Gambit ASEE with the black pieces. The match finished in a 2–2 draw, leaving both teams on 3/6 match points.
Sivanandan is likely to face another considerably higher-rated opponent in Tuesday's fourth round, when the Lionesses take on SuperChess. The Romanian team's leading player is Georgian grandmaster Nino Batsiashvili, rated 2454.
Learn to master the right exchange! Let the German WGM Elisabeth Pähtz show you how to gain a strategic winning position by exchanging pieces of equal value or to safely convert material advantage into a win.
Olga Badelka was defeated by the sensational Bodhana Sivanandan | Photo: Gerd Densing
Standings after round 3
| 1 |
4 |
|
CE Gambit Bonnevoie |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
23 |
10 |
21 |
30 |
| 2 |
1 |
|
Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
22 |
9 |
22 |
32,5 |
| 3 |
2 |
|
Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
25 |
8 |
21,5 |
32,5 |
| 4 |
7 |
|
Crvena Zvezda |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
22 |
7,5 |
22 |
30 |
| 5 |
5 |
|
Odlar Yurdu |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
15 |
8 |
18,5 |
19 |
| 6 |
8 |
|
Club Ajedrez Linares |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
7,5 |
18,5 |
17,5 |
| 7 |
18 |
|
Velikova Chess Club |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
7,5 |
17 |
17,5 |
| 8 |
10 |
|
GASCO Pardubice |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
12 |
7 |
| 9 |
15 |
|
Davit Jojua's chess club |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
6,5 |
8 |
13 |
6,5 |
| 10 |
13 |
|
Klub Kolner Schachfreunde |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
18 |
7,5 |
| 11 |
3 |
|
SuperChess Romania |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
14 |
7 |
21,5 |
22 |
| 12 |
6 |
|
Gambit ASEE |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
7,5 |
18 |
20 |
| 13 |
11 |
|
Zenski sahovski klub NAPREDAK Zenica |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
7 |
18 |
16 |
| 14 |
12 |
|
She Plays To Win Lionesses A |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
6 |
20,5 |
16 |
| 15 |
9 |
|
SG 1871 Loeberitz |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
6 |
18,5 |
13 |
| 16 |
14 |
|
Gostivar |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
17,5 |
8,5 |
| 17 |
17 |
|
SK Radnicki |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1,5 |
4 |
14 |
1,5 |
| 18 |
19 |
|
Oslo Schakselskap |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
16 |
10 |
| 19 |
20 |
|
She Plays To Win Lionesses B |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3,5 |
14 |
5 |
| 20 |
16 |
|
Wasa SK |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2,5 |
18,5 |
4 |
| 21 |
22 |
|
Klaipeda |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2,5 |
17 |
4 |
| 22 |
21 |
|
Accademia Scacchistica Romana |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0,5 |
19 |
1 |
All available games
Links
.jpeg)
