GM David Navara came out as a winner of the Czech Championship 2022. It is the eleventh national title in his distinguished career.
The Czech Championship, a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from May 14-22, 2022, in Ústí nad Labem. The event brought together 48 best Czech players, including the rating favourite David Navara (pictured below) and the defending champion Vojtech Plat.
Photo: Milan Nemec
The tournament turned into a very close race, with several players battling for the title to the very end. Suffice it to say that after Round 7, the eventual champion was only second, a half-point behind IM Vojtech Zwadron, who led the field with an excellent score of 6/7.
However, in Round 8, the leader suffered a defeat at the hands of Vlasitimil Babula (pictured below), while Navara beat Plat and shot ahead, coming into the final round a half-point ahead of Babula and Zwadron.
Photo: Lenka Kusova
In Round 9, Navara drew his game with Jiri Stocek and clinched the title, netting 7/9 as his main rivals did not manage to win – Babula drew with Tomas Kraus, while Jan Krejci took down Zwadron and tied for the second place. Vlastimil Babula claimed silver thanks to better Buchholz; Jan Krejci had to settle for bronze.
FM Richard Stalmach (pictured below) won a special prize for the best junior player, scoring 5½/9 and finishing 12th.
Photo: Milan Nemec
Final standings:
|
1 |
GM |
Navara, David |
2682 |
7 |
|
2 |
GM |
Babula, Vlastimil |
2576 |
6½ |
|
3 |
GM |
Krejčí, Jan |
2520 |
6½ |
|
4 |
IM |
Zwardoň, Vojtěch |
2482 |
6 |
|
5 |
GM |
Štoček, Jiří |
2533 |
6 |
|
6 |
GM |
Plát, Vojtěch |
2547 |
6 |
|
7 |
IM |
Kraus, Tomáš |
2472 |
6 |
|
8 |
GM |
Rašík, Vítězslav |
2433 |
6 |
|
9 |
GM |
Hráček, Zbyněk |
2570 |
5½ |
|
10 |
IM |
Černoušek, Lukáš |
2440 |
5½ |
Photo: Lenka Kusova and Milan Nemec
Official website: sachyusti.cz/
