Open: Co-leaders set for direct encounter in Thursday's penultimate round
With two rounds to go at the European Club Cup in Budva, only two teams remain on perfect scores of 10/10 match points in the open section. Fourth seeds Novy Bor Chess Club defeated second seeds Alkaloid 4–2 in Wednesday's fifth round, while defending champions SuperChess Romania secured a convincing 5½–½ victory over SK K CERO INVEST Nitra.
The two leaders will face each other in Thursday's penultimate round, with three teams following just one match point behind.
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
Novy Bor's victory over Alkaloid was the most significant result of the day, as the Czech club handed the North Macedonian representatives their first defeat of the tournament. The match featured two decisive games, with David Anton defeating Aravindh Chithambaram and Pentala Harikrishna overcoming Yu Yangyi. The latter victory came after 103 moves and secured the match win for Novy Bor.
On the top two boards, Nodirbek Yakubboev drew with Arjun Erigaisi, while Nihal Sarin split the point with Wei Yi. Wei had previously won all four of his games in Budva, but on this occasion he faced considerable difficulties against his Indian opponent. Nihal eventually agreed to a draw despite having a winning position, with his teammates already on course to secure the match victory. Nils Grandelius and Jonas Buhl Bjerre also drew their games, completing Novy Bor's 4–2 win.
Novy Bor obtained a crucial victory over Alkaloid | Photo: Gerd Densing
SuperChess Romania, meanwhile, ended the perfect run of twelfth seeds SK K CERO INVEST Nitra. The Romanian club collected five victories, with Jorden van Foreest, Haik Martirosyan, Alexey Sarana, Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Daniel Dardha all scoring full points. Sarana maintained his individual perfect score, reaching 5/5.
The only player to avoid defeat for Nitra was Vasyl Ivanchuk, who drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov on the top board. The Ukrainian veteran, who has enjoyed a strong tournament so far, held the highest-rated participant in the competition to a draw with the black pieces.
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
Alexey Sarana (left) has a perfect 5/5 score for SuperChess | Photo: Gerd Densing
Three teams follow the co-leaders on 9/10 match points: top seeds Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club, fifth seeds Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai and sixth seeds Elektroprivreda.
Bayegan Pendik recovered from their fourth-round draw against Elektroprivreda by defeating Aix-en-Provence 4½–1½. Anish Giri and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who had both suffered defeats on Tuesday, drew their games this time, while victories on the bottom three boards gave the Turkish club a comfortable match win.
Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai defeated Riehen 5½–½, while Elektroprivreda secured a 4½–1½ victory over SK Dunajska Streda. The latter match included a notable individual upset, as 16-year-old Czech grandmaster Vaclav Finek defeated Pranav Venkatesh, who had beaten Giri in the previous round. Despite Finek's victory, the remaining boards went decisively in Elektroprivreda's favour.
Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club defeated Aix-en-Provence on Wednesday - Volodar Murzin beat Maxime Roganova with black | Photo: Gerd Densing
TJ Slavia CAISSA Cadca (seeded 25th, right) obtained an upset 3½-2½ victory over Vugar Gashimov (seeded 8th, left) | Photo: Gerd Densing
The sixth round will feature the direct encounter between SuperChess Romania and Novy Bor, while Alkaloid will attempt to recover from their defeat against Elektroprivreda. With the two leaders only one match point ahead of the chasing trio, the results of Thursday's matches will be particularly important in determining the contenders for the title.
Standings after round 5
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.
| 1 |
3 |
|
SuperChess Romania |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
144 |
26 |
91,5 |
171,5 |
| 2 |
4 |
|
Novy Bor Chess Club |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
130 |
22,5 |
92 |
150 |
| 3 |
1 |
|
Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
131,5 |
24 |
92 |
155,5 |
| 4 |
5 |
|
Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
127,5 |
24,5 |
84,5 |
151,5 |
| 5 |
6 |
|
Elektroprivreda |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
120 |
23 |
83,5 |
144 |
| 6 |
2 |
|
Alkaloid |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
116,5 |
22 |
91 |
140,5 |
| 7 |
18 |
|
C.A Silla Integrant Col-lectius |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
108 |
22,5 |
80 |
124 |
| 8 |
9 |
|
Rishon LeZion A |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
106 |
20,5 |
90 |
122,5 |
| 9 |
16 |
|
Cheddleton Savills Caterling |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
103 |
21,5 |
83,5 |
113 |
| 10 |
21 |
|
Marseille Echecs |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
94,5 |
21 |
76,5 |
116,5 |
| 11 |
19 |
|
SK Rockaden team 1 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
93 |
19,5 |
89 |
118 |
| 12 |
12 |
|
SK K CERO INVEST Nitra |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
90 |
19 |
95,5 |
110 |
| 13 |
15 |
|
Schachfreunde Berlin 1903 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
84 |
19,5 |
82,5 |
96 |
| 14 |
25 |
|
TJ Slavia CAISSA Cadca |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
80 |
18 |
91,5 |
100 |
| 15 |
29 |
|
Crvena Zvezda |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
74 |
20,5 |
79,5 |
98 |
| 16 |
7 |
|
Ashdod chess club |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
108,5 |
19,5 |
91,5 |
123,5 |
| 17 |
11 |
|
Aix-en-Provence |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
97,5 |
19 |
97,5 |
117,5 |
| 18 |
10 |
|
Beer Sheva Chess Club |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
89,5 |
20,5 |
81,5 |
113,5 |
| 19 |
22 |
|
Oslo Schakselskap (OSS) |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
79,5 |
19,5 |
75,5 |
97,5 |
| 20 |
13 |
|
Riehen |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
79,5 |
18,5 |
80,5 |
91,5 |
...108 teams
All available games
Women's: Gambit Bonnevoie win again, lead
CE Gambit Bonnevoie maintained their perfect record in the women's competition by defeating second seeds Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica 2½–1½. The Luxembourg-based club, seeded fourth, have now beaten each of the three highest-rated teams and lead the standings with 10/10 match points, two ahead of Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo and Odlar Yurdu.
Following their fourth-round victory over defending champions Monte-Carlo, Gambit Bonnevoie secured another important win thanks to Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, who defeated Teodora Injac on the fourth board. The remaining three games ended in draws, with Anna Ushenina splitting the point with Polina Shuvalova, Klaudia Kulon drawing with Leya Garifullina and Elina Danielian sharing the point with Nurgyul Salimova.
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.
The victory leaves Gambit Bonnevoie as the only team with five wins from five matches. Having already defeated the top three seeds, the Luxembourg representatives will face fifth seeds Odlar Yurdu in Thursday's sixth round.
CE Gambit Bonnevoie: Anna Ushenina, Klaudia Kulon, Elina Danielian and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya | Photo: Gerd Densing
Monte-Carlo recovered from their fourth-round defeat with a 4–0 victory over Velikova Chess Club, the 18th seeds. Humpy Koneru, Stavroula Tsolakidou, Elisabeth Paehtz and Pia Cramling all won their games against the Bulgarian team, who had exceeded expectations in the first four rounds. The result lifted Monte-Carlo to second place in the standings on tiebreaks.
Odlar Yurdu also reached 8/10 match points by defeating Crvena Zvezda 3–1. The Azerbaijani club conceded a point on the top board, where Ulviyya Fataliyeva lost to Alina Bivol, but Gunay Mammadzada, Khanim Balajayeva and Gulnar Mammadova all secured victories.
Third seeds SuperChess Romania moved into fourth place with 7/10 match points after beating Gambit ASEE 3½–½. Nino Batsiashvili, Deimante Daulyte-Cornette and Irina Bulmaga won their games, while Dinara Wagner drew with Beloslava Krasteva.
Pia Cramling and Elisabeth Paehtz helped Monte-Carlo recover from the loss in round four | Photo: Gerd Densing
SuperChess Romania (right) defeated Gambit ASEE | Photo: Gerd Densing
Another individual result of note came from 11-year-old English player Bodhana Sivanandan, who defeated Ena Cvitan with the black pieces. It was Sivanandan's third victory in Budva, following wins in rounds two and three and a draw against Batsiashvili in round four.
Despite Sivanandan's victory, her team, She Plays To Win Lionesses A, suffered a 2½–1½ defeat against Zenski Sahovski Klub Napredak Zenica. The English representatives remain on 3/10 match points, while Sivanandan has continued to gain rating points against generally higher-rated opposition. Her live rating has risen above 2400 during the event.
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Ena Cvitan obtained a clearly winning position against Bodhana Sivanandan, but faltered in time trouble, allowing the 11-year-old prodigy to turn the tables | Photo: Gerd Densing
Standings after round 5
| 1 |
4 |
|
CE Gambit Bonnevoie |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
83 |
15 |
66 |
98 |
| 2 |
1 |
|
Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
78 |
14,5 |
60 |
88,5 |
| 3 |
5 |
|
Odlar Yurdu |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
51 |
13,5 |
50 |
63 |
| 4 |
3 |
|
SuperChess Romania |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
55,5 |
13,5 |
55 |
64,5 |
| 5 |
2 |
|
Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
55,5 |
13 |
56 |
69,5 |
| 6 |
7 |
|
Crvena Zvezda |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
50 |
11,5 |
56 |
64 |
| 7 |
8 |
|
Club Ajedrez Linares |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
47 |
12 |
50,5 |
57,5 |
| 8 |
15 |
|
Davit Jojua's chess club |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
37,5 |
13 |
44 |
37,5 |
| 9 |
18 |
|
Velikova Chess Club |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
37 |
10 |
54,5 |
47,5 |
| 10 |
9 |
|
SG 1871 Loeberitz |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
35 |
12 |
45 |
47 |
| 11 |
6 |
|
Gambit ASEE |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
46 |
11,5 |
52,5 |
52 |
| 12 |
11 |
|
Zenski sahovski klub NAPREDAK Zenica |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
34,5 |
10 |
50 |
42 |
| 13 |
13 |
|
Klub Kolner Schachfreunde |
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
33 |
7,5 |
58,5 |
40,5 |
| 14 |
14 |
|
Gostivar |
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
21 |
8 |
46,5 |
28,5 |
| 15 |
10 |
|
GASCO Pardubice |
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
16 |
7,5 |
49 |
16 |
| 16 |
17 |
|
SK Radnicki |
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
15 |
7,5 |
43,5 |
15 |
| 17 |
12 |
|
She Plays To Win Lionesses A |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
28,5 |
8,5 |
57 |
42,5 |
| 18 |
19 |
|
Oslo Schakselskap |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
21 |
8 |
37,5 |
21 |
| 19 |
20 |
|
She Plays To Win Lionesses B |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
19,5 |
7 |
41 |
22,5 |
| 20 |
16 |
|
Wasa SK |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
16 |
6,5 |
48 |
22 |
| 21 |
22 |
|
Klaipeda |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
13,5 |
6,5 |
37 |
13,5 |
| 22 |
21 |
|
Accademia Scacchistica Romana |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
6,5 |
3,5 |
42,5 |
11 |
All available games
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