A Longstanding Tradition in Echternach

The tradition of the Echternach Chess Open began in 1994 in the abbey town in northeastern Luxembourg. After a brief pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament resumed in 2023 and was held this year for the 29th time. The event took place over the weekend of June 14–15 and was once again organized by the multiple-time Luxembourg national champion.

The format of the 9-round rapid tournament, organized by the local club De Sprenger Echternach, remained unchanged from the previous year: numerous volunteers from the club, two days of play, nine rounds, excellent catering—including fresh food from the grill—and the familiar venue in the Old Abbey, featuring the Mirror Hall, cloisters, and adjoining rooms.

The time control, changed last year to 40 minutes per game plus a 5-second increment, once again proved effective. There were no frantic time scrambles or flying pieces at the top boards in the Mirror Hall.

The tournament, registered for FIDE rapid rating, was smoothly officiated by chief arbiter Olivier Jeitz and proceeded without any noteworthy incidents.

As in the previous year, pairings and results were published on Chess-Results, and a newly introduced WhatsApp channel kept participants informed in real time—such as when new pairings were posted.

Also continuing the initiative started in 2024, this year’s event was once again held as a Green Event. The international open incorporated various small sustainability measures, such as using reusable dishes and recycled paper for posting pairings—for those who preferred not to check them on their smartphones via Chess-Results.

As has been the case since the tournament’s inception in 1994, the field of participants in Luxembourg’s oldest city was once again a colorful and familiar mix of players from near and far. Many came from the Benelux countries and nearby regions such as the Rhineland and the Ruhr area—among them GM Daniel Fridman, one of several former winners returning to the event.

The inner courtyard of the Old Abbey

The Hall of Mirrors

The lower boards

With 320 participants, this year’s tournament saw slightly lower attendance than the average of the past 10 to 15 years, when the event often attracted over 350 players. However, the field at the top was stronger than in 2024.

Among the 35 titled players were 9 grandmasters and 12 international masters. In addition to former top player GM Loek van Wely and chess legend GM Ulf Andersson, GM Georg Meier—former German national team member and this year’s top seed—made a welcome return to the event.

Loek van Wely

Ulf Andersson

Georg Meier

Georg Meier’s last appearance in Echternach had been many years ago—back in 2007, when he was still an International Master, he played his most recent game in the Mirror Hall of the Old Abbey.

Joining him were several other strong contenders for the title, including GM Daniel Fridman, GM Andrey Sumets, GM Christian Bauer, GM Anthony Wirig, and GM Thorsten-Michael Haub.

Andrey Sumets

Daniel Fridman

The tournament

As expected, the first round brought no upsets on the top boards.

In round two, IM Dieter Morawietz conceded his first half-point on board 13, while on the neighboring board 14, Benjamin Smits scored an impressive win against IM Sergey Shevchenko.

Round three saw strong international masters Michael Wiedenkeller and Georg Seul each draw their games on boards 10 and 12. FM Benoit Taddei lost on board 18 to Michael Yankelevich, while one of the strongest women in the field, IM Anastasia Avramidou, was defeated on board 20 by rising youth player Nicolas Bourg from the Differdange club. IM Mietek Bakalarz also suffered a loss, and IM Christian Maier had to settle for a draw. The second top female competitor, WGM Narmin Khalafova of Azerbaijan—who works for KPMG Luxembourg—was upset by a lower-rated opponent.

In round four, the top boards saw the first head-to-head clashes between titled players, with all eleven top boards going in favor of the rating favorites. The tournament’s strongest senior, GM Ulf Andersson, opted to take a break due to fatigue, according to FM Serge Brittner of the organizing club, and accepted a forfeit loss.

Round five featured the first GM-versus-GM encounters. On board one, top seed GM Georg Meier, playing White, was held to a draw by GM Leonid Milov. GM Christian Bauer, with Black, also drew against GM Thorsten-Michael Haub.

Christian Bauer

Strike first with the Scandinavian

The Scandinavian is a rarely employed opening on the hightest level und guides your opponent on much less familiar terrain than for example the Sicilian, French or any 1.e4 e5 system. After 1.e4 d5 Black fights for the initiative from move one.

The evergreen Philidor

This video course deals with the different move-orders leading to the main positions of the Philidor defence, as well as White’s relevant deviations.

Grandmasters Loek van Wely, Daniel Fridman, and Andrey Sumets each won their games, pushing to the top of the leaderboard—mindful of the importance of tie-breaks (progressive score/sum of opponents' scores). In strong form, IM Michael Hammes (SV Koblenz / De Sprenger Echternach) held GM Anthony Wirig to a draw.

The second day of the tournament began with round six, which saw three draws on the top boards, while GM Anthony Wirig scored a win on board four, joining the leaders. GM Ulf Andersson also won his game (from round five), bringing his total to 5 out of 6 points from the games he actually played—placing him in the chasing pack.

In round seven, GM Loek van Wely suffered a painful loss on board one to a well-prepared GM Anthony Wirig. In a position with two bishops and two rooks each and equal pawns, van Wely applied considerable pressure. However, Wirig defended stubbornly, eventually winning first one pawn, then a second. The game transitioned into a pure rook endgame, and after a forced exchange of one pair of rooks, the Dutch grandmaster blundered a rook in a hopeless position—down to just seconds on the clock.

Loek van Wely and Anthony Wirig

On board two, GM Daniel Fridman needed great precision to defend against a strong attacking effort by IM Tim Grütter and eventually convert the full point. Things were a bit more straightforward on board three for GM Andrey Sumets, the 2015 Echternach Open winner, who won an exchange against Luxembourg’s Stefan Maltezeanu and then secured the game shortly after.

On the neighboring board four, GM Georg Meier defeated Ukrainian player Aleksei Aliferenko in a double-rook endgame with an extra pawn, sealed by a sharp final combination. GM Christian Bauer overcame IM Michael Hammes in a long battle with chances for both sides, ultimately breaking through thanks to structural advantages and sustained pressure. GM Ulf Andersson also continued his strong showing, defeating FM Benoit Taddei to stay in the hunt at the top of the table.

Meanwhile, the strongest female player up to that point, IM Inna Agrest—daughter of 2023 Echternach winner GM Evgeny Agrest—lost on board seven to GM Leonid Milov.

The penultimate round eight saw a short, uneventful GM draw between Fridman and Sumets on board one. On board two, GM Georg Meier, with Black, tried everything to win against GM Anthony Wirig. As time trouble approached, Wirig blundered several pawns in quick succession. After the queens and several minor and major pieces were exchanged, a win for Meier looked certain. However, Wirig managed to simplify into an opposite-colored bishop endgame, creating a blockade in which Meier’s extra pawns were meaningless. Under the watchful eye of the arbiter and after dozens of moves, Meier abandoned his winning attempts and accepted the draw.

A less dramatic draw occurred on board three between GM Christian Bauer and GM Leonid Milov. On board four, the Echternach club saw an internal showdown between IM Christopher Noe—who is set to receive the long-awaited GM title after achieving his final norm in the Polish league—and the experienced Swedish IM Michael Wiedenkeller. Noe missed the chance to join the leaders, and the game ended in a draw. GM Loek van Wely, however, bounced back with a win over IM Tim Grütter, rejoining the group at the top.

In the final round, board one again produced a short grandmaster draw. GM Andrey Sumets, playing White against GM Anthony Wirig, clearly didn’t want to take unnecessary risks, and Wirig appeared content as well—despite knowing his tiebreaks (progressive score) wouldn't be enough for first place.

On board two, GM Christian Bauer and GM Daniel Fridman played a French Defense with 2.Qe2. The game remained closed for a long time, until Fridman picked up a queenside pawn after a small combination and offered a risk-free draw. Bauer, half a point behind, accepted. Fridman knew by then that, with Sumets having taken a quick draw, he had both the better progressive score and a slightly higher third tiebreak (average rating of opponents), securing overall victory in the 2025 Echternach Open—adding to his previous title from 2012.

On board three, GM Georg Meier had White against IM Christopher Noe. The game remained balanced for a long time, with White holding a slight initiative while Black had the bishop pair. After the queens, minor pieces, and one rook were traded, Meier found a subtle tactic involving an intermediate check. His knights coordinated well: one sacrificed itself for a pawn, the rook delivered an in-between check, and the second knight recaptured the material. After a forced rook exchange, a knight endgame emerged with Meier holding a healthy extra pawn and a slightly more active king. A few moves later, Noe blundered again, leading to an inevitable second pawn loss, at which point he resigned in frustration—allowing Meier to join the top scorers.

Due to a significantly lower progressive score, Georg Meier had no chance of winning the tournament outright despite joining the leaders. On board four, GM Thorsten-Michael Haub held GM Loek van Wely to a draw. The fifth player to reach 7.5 points out of 9 was Cologne-based IM Dieter Morawietz, who defeated GM Leonid Milov in the final round to join the shared lead. In addition to the prize for fifth place, the ever-cheerful Morawietz received a special prize and recognition for his 15th appearance at the Echternach Open.

The tournament was once again excellently organized. Although the weather was somewhat changeable, unlike in 2024, the closing ceremony could once again take place outdoors—on the steps near the beer pavilion.

The top five

In addition to the main prizes, numerous rating prizes were awarded, as well as material prizes for clubs that brought the largest number of participants. A handful of players also had their entry fees refunded through a raffle.

The women’s prize went to WIM Inna Agrest, who was in excellent form and finished with 7 points, placing 12th overall. She was followed by IM Anastasia Savina in 15th place.

Inna Agrest won the women's prize

The top senior prize went to IM Michael Wiedenkeller, who finished 11th with 7 points. He was followed by IM Georg Seul of Kölner Schachfreunde in 20th place with 6.5 points, and IM Christian Maier, also on 6.5 points, in 23rd place.

Among the best-performing youth players were several talents from Luxembourgish clubs: Nicolas Bourg (Differdange) placed 24th with 6.5 points, just ahead of Noa Zaccaria (Echternach), who also scored 6.5 and finished 30th. Matthieu Zeihen impressed throughout much of the tournament with strong play on the top boards in the Mirror Hall, but suffered an unfortunate loss in the final round against IM Anastasia Savina.

Below is a table showing the top 25 finishers (full rankings and additional statistics are available on the tournament website and Chess-Results):

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Links

• Tournament page: https://www.open-echternach.lu/index.php/de/
• Website of the Echternach Chess Club: https://www.desprenger-echternach.lu/home
• Chess-Results: Echternach Open 2025
• Information about Echternach: Echternach – Wikipedia