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The 33rd FIDE World Senior Championships were held at the Grand Hotel Costa Brada in Gallipoli, Italy, and concluded after 11 rounds of Swiss-system play with classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move. The event featured four sections: Open 50+, Women 50+, Open 65+, and Women 65+.
A record 467 players from 67 countries took part, with 55 competing in the women's categories and the largest field comprising 247 entrants in the 65+ Open.
The closing ceremony was held in Gallipoli's historic Schipa Theatre. It included a minute’s silence in memory of GM Daniel Naroditsky and an operatic performance by chess-player-turned-singer Nathan Resika. Trophies, medals and symbolic checks were awarded to the prize-winners.
In the Open 50+ section, Victor Mikhalevski (Israel) clinched the title. He entered the final round tied for the lead with Mikheil Kekelidze (Georgia) on 8½/10 and secured first place by winning his last game, while his rival drew. Kekelidze took silver on 9/11, and Michele Godena (Italy) earned bronze on tiebreaks - he tied for third place on 8½/11 with Murtas Kazhgaleyev, but had won their direct encounter.
Both the champion and the runner-up completed the tournament without a loss.
In the Open 65+ section, four players shared the lead on 8/10 going into the final round: Alexander Reprintsev (Ukraine), Christian Maier (Germany), Zurab Sturua (Georgia) and Evgenij Kalegin (FIDE). All four drew in the final round, allowing Mark Ginsburg (USA) and GM Nikolay Legky (France) to catch up with victories.
According to the first tiebreak criterion (Buchholz Cut-1), Reprintsev secured gold, with Sturua taking silver and Maier bronze.
In the Women's 50+ section, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (Scotland) delivered a strong performance, scoring 8½/11. She seized the lead in round five and never relinquished it. Top seed Pia Cramling (Sweden) and Maritza Arribas Robaina (Cuba) finished a full point behind, tied for second, with the Swede claiming silver by virtue of their head-to-head result.
In the Women's 65+ section, Galina Strutinskaia (FIDE) dominated with an impressive 10½/11. She secured the title a round early. Marina Makropoulou claimed silver with 7½/11, while the legendary Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia) and Larisa Khropova (FIDE) tied on the same score, with Gaprindashvili grabbing bronze on tiebreaks.
