Hidden highlights from the Olympiad: Alexei Sarana takes his king for a walk

by ChessBase
9/26/2026 – In the endgame, the king is considered a powerful piece and often joins the action to support his side. In the opening and middlegame, however, it rarely moves unless under attack. In a nice game from round 9 of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, GM Alexei Sarana, European Champion 2025, showed that there is an exception to every rule and went walkabout with his king. | Picture: Alexei Sarana (left, with White) shares ideas with Bahne Fuhrmann (right)
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Alexei Sarana, born in 2000, learned to play chess at the age of five and soon became one of Russia's strongest juniors. In 2008, he won the Russian U8 Championship, and in 2017 he became a grandmaster. In 2018, he won the Higher League, the qualifying tournament for the Russian Championship, and was selected for the Russian national team for the first time. At the 2021 European Championship, he finished third.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sarana left the Russian Chess Federation in 2022 and initially played under the FIDE flag. In 2023, he won the European Championship and subsequently switched to the Serbian Chess Federation. In the German Bundesliga, he has played for Schachfreunde Berlin and Münchener SC; since 2024, he has represented SC Viernheim, winning the German team championship with the club in 2026.

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