Euro Teams: Serbia and Greece on 3 out of 3

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
10/8/2025 – After three rounds at the European Team Chess Championship in Batumi, clear leaders have begun to emerge in both sections. Serbia and Greece share the lead in the open event, while Poland, Bulgaria and Germany top the standings in the women's tournament, with Germany scoring an upset victory over top seeds Georgia in Tuesday's third round. | Photos: European Chess Union
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Open: Two co-leaders, three chasers

Serbia and Greece, seeded seventh and eleventh respectively, have made the most consistent starts, both scoring narrow 2½–1½ victories in Tuesday's third round to maintain perfect records of 6 match points. Serbia defeated France thanks to a crucial win by Aleksandar Indjic, while the remaining three games ended in draws. Greece achieved the same score against Slovenia, with Antonios Pavlidis providing the decisive victory on board four.

Just behind the leaders are three teams with 5 match points - the Netherlands, Azerbaijan and Ukraine - all considered among the pre-tournament favourites. Each of them has shown steady form so far, combining solid preparation with depth across all boards.

Fourteen teams are tied on 4 match points, including top seeds Germany and third seeds Hungary, both of whom recovered well after suffering first-round defeats. Vincent Keymer, Germany's top board, contributed to his team's resurgence with consecutive wins in rounds two and three, reaffirming his excellent form.

Among the surprises of the day, Montenegro continued their impressive campaign by upsetting Israel. With this victory, the Balkan team joined the large group on 4 match points, underlining the competitive balance of this year's event.

European Chess Team Championship 2025

Lortkipanidze 1-0 Sousa

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Standings after round 3

Rk. Team TB1
1 Serbia 6
2 Greece 6
3 Netherlands 5
4 Azerbaijan 5
5 Ukraine 5
6 Romania 4
7 France 4
8 Turkiye 4
9 Czech Republic 4
10 Slovenia 4
11 England 4
12 Spain 4
13 Montenegro 4
14 Armenia 4
15 Germany 4

...40 teams

All games

Women's: Germany among co-leaders after upsetting Georgia

In the women's competition, three teams lead with perfect scores after three rounds: Poland, Bulgaria and Germany. While Poland and Bulgaria have so far faced lower-rated opponents and recorded comfortable wins, Germany achieved a major success in round three by defeating top seeds and hosts Georgia by 2½–1½. Hanna Marie Klek delivered the decisive point with a determined victory over Nino Batsiashvili, while her teammates held firm on the remaining boards.

Close behind the leaders are Ukraine, Azerbaijan and France, all with 5 match points.

European Chess Team Championship 2025

Standings after round 3

Rk. Team TB1
1 Poland 6
2 Bulgaria 6
3 Germany 6
4 Azerbaijan 5
5 France 5
6 Ukraine 5
7 Switzerland 4
8 Georgia 1 4
9 Armenia 4
10 Estonia 4
11 England 4
12 Israel 4
13 Hungary 4
14 Romania 4
15 Netherlands 3

...36 teams

All games

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Topics: European Team Championship 2025
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.
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Euro Teams: Denmark stun Germany

10/6/2025 – The European Team Championships began in Batumi with a number of early surprises. Denmark upset top seeds Germany in the open section thanks to Mads Andersen's win over Dmitrij Kollars, while Georgia edged Hungary and Switzerland held Spain to a draw. In the women's event, Georgia and Poland started strongly, though Ukraine were held by Austria and Slovakia defeated Spain to produce the day's biggest shock. | Photos: European Chess Union
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European Team Championship: Germany and Georgia head strong fields in Batumi

10/4/2025 – The 2025 European Team Chess Championship takes place from 4 to 15 October in Batumi, Georgia, featuring 40 national teams in the open and 36 teams in the women's section. The German team leads the starting list ahead of the Netherlands and Hungary in the open, while host nation Georgia tops the women's field. Notably, Hungary will include both Richard Rapport and Peter Leko in their lineup. | Image: European Chess Union
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Video

60m English Anti-Bayonet

King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.