The 41st European Chess Club Cup and the 30th edition of the European Women’s Chess Club Cup concluded yesterday in Budva, Montenegro.
Bayegan Pendik Sports Chess Club (Turkey) emerged as the winner of the Open section, while Cercle d’Échecs de Monte-Carlo successfully defended its title in the Women’s event.
The competition took place at the Hotel Slovenska Plaza from October 17 to 23. Both the European Chess Club Cup and the European Women’s Chess Club Cup were 7-round Swiss tournaments. The time control was 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one. With 130 registered teams – 108 in the Open section and 22 in the Women’s section – the event broke the participation record previously set in Rhodes in 2025, where 122 teams competed.
Heading into the final round of the Open section, three teams shared the top position: Bayegan Pendik Sports Chess Club (Turkey), SuperChess (Romania), and Novy Bor Chess Club (Czech Republic). The final round featured a top-board clash between Bayegan Pendik and SuperChess, while Novy Bor Chess Club faced Elektroprivreda (Montenegro).
After long and intense games, Bayegan Pendik Sports Chess Club prevailed over SuperChess by a narrow score of 3.5–2.5, with victories by GM Anish Giri and GM Amin Tabatabaei against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov and GM Haik Martirosyan, respectively. GM Jorden van Foreest scored for SuperChess after defeating GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, but the other three games were drawn, securing the match win for the Turkish club.
Novy Bor Chess Club defeated Elektroprivreda thanks to victories by GMs Nihal Sarin, Pentala Harikrishna, and David Navara, while the other three games were drawn.
Scoring 13 match points each, Bayegan Pendik Sports Chess Club and Novy Bor Chess Club tied at the top. However, Bayegan Pendik won on tiebreaks to clinch the title, while Novy Bor Chess Club settled for silver.
Rishon LeZion A (Israel) won the bronze medal with 12 match points. Six teams scored 11 match points each, tying for fourth place – a crucial position that guarantees a qualification spot for the inaugural European Super League. Thanks to the best tiebreaks, SuperChess (Romania) finished fourth.
Ahead of the final round of the Women’s event, three teams were tied for the top: Cercle d’Echecs de Mone-Carlo (Monaco), CE Gambit Bonnevoie (Luxembourg), and Odlar Yurdu (Azerbaijan).
Cercle d’Échecs de Monte-Carlo swept the Georgian team to conclude the event with 12 match points.
CE Gambit Bonnevoie scored a narrow 2.5–1.5 win over Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) as GM Anna Ushenina and IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya won their games, while GM Elina Danielian lost to WIM Adela Velikic. The game on board two ended in a draw, bringing CE Gambit Bonnevoie’s final score to 12 match points and a tie for first place.
Odlar Yurdu suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica (Serbia) as the Serbian team scored a convincing 3.5–0.5 victory, with their only draw coming on board three.
Following the results, Cercle d’Échecs de Monte-Carlo and CE Gambit Bonnevoie tied for first place, but Cercle d’Échecs de Monte-Carlo won on tiebreaks to defend its title and claim the gold medal.
Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica and Odlar Yurdu tied for the bronze medal after scoring 10 match points each. With superior tiebreaks, Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica completed the podium.
The best individual players in both sections were awarded according to their tournament performances on each board.
Best players by boards (Open Section):
- Board 1: 1. GM Marc-Andria Maurizzi; 2. GM Vaclav Finek; 3. GM Aydin Suleymanli (pictured below)
- Board 2: 1. GM Nihal Sarin; 2. GM Wei Yi; 3. GM Murali Karthikeyan
- Board 3: 1. FM Lennert Lenaerts; 2. GM Pentala Harikrishna; 3. GM Mahel Boyer
- Board 4: 1. GM Benjamin Gledura; 2. GM Alexey Sarana; 3. GM Richard Rapport
- Board 5: 1. GM Ihor Samunenkov; 2. GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac; 3. GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
- Board 6: 1. GM Volodar Murzin; 2. GM Ediz Gurel; 3. GM Velimir Ivic
Best players by boards (Women’s Section):
- Board 1: 1. GM Aleksandra Goryachkina; 2. GM Nino Batsiashvili; 3. IM Polina Shuvalova
- Board 2: 1. GM Humpy Koneru; 2. IM Leya Garifullina; 3. IM Klaudia Kulon (pictured below)
- Board 3: 1. IM Nurgyul Salimova; 2. GM Elina Danielian; 3. IM Stavroula Tsolakidou
- Board 4: 1. IM Gulnar Mammadova; 2. GM Elisabeth Paehtz; 3. IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya
The closing ceremony was held last night at the Hotel Slovenska Plaza complex, attended by ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Montenegro Chess Federation President Jovan Milovic, ECU Vice Presidents Lasse Ostebø Lovik, Ingrid Lauterbach, Jean-Michel Rapaire, Sarkhan Gashimov, and Roman Muzik, ECU Treasurer Prabitha Urwyler, ECU Honorary Vice Presidents Veselin Draskovic, Malcolm Pein, Moshe Slav, and Volodymyr Kovalchuk, ECU Secretary General Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, and other distinguished guests.
After the awards ceremony, ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili addressed the guests, players, and captains and officially declared the event closed.
Text: European Chess Union