GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) is the new European Individual Chess Champion 2023.
The thrilling last round of the European Championship determined the medalists. GM Alexey Sarana (FIDE, 2668) and GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2668) clashed in the direct last-round encounter for the title. The game ended in a draw after just one hour of play, and the two youngsters who finished on 8.5/11 had to wait for the results on other boards and tiebreak criteria to see the final standings.
GM Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2610) defeated GM Anton Korobov (UKR, 2658) to score 8.5 points and joined Sarana and Shevchenko on the top. Dardha held equality with the black pieces for most of the game, but Korobov pushed too hard for a win and eventually fell under a mating attack.
With the best Buchholz GM Alexey Sarana clinched the title of the European Individual Chess Champion 2023, GM Kirill Shevchenko came second, while GM Daniel Dardha (pictured below) won the bronze medal. The champion and the runner-up scored enough points in FIDE Cicruit Race to break into the top 10 of the leaderboard.
Final standings:
|
1 |
GM |
Sarana, Alexey |
FID |
2668 |
8½ |
|
2 |
GM |
Shevchenko, Kirill |
ROU |
2668 |
8½ |
|
3 |
GM |
Dardha, Daniel |
BEL |
2610 |
8½ |
|
4 |
IM |
Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis |
GRE |
2520 |
8 |
|
5 |
GM |
Bacrot, Etienne |
FRA |
2659 |
8 |
|
6 |
GM |
Nguyen Thai Dai Van |
CZE |
2651 |
8 |
|
7 |
GM |
Santos Latasa, Jaime |
ESP |
2655 |
8 |
|
8 |
GM |
Esipenko, Andrey |
FID |
2680 |
8 |
|
9 |
GM |
Kuzubov, Yuriy |
UKR |
2616 |
8 |
|
10 |
GM |
Dragnev, Valentin |
AUT |
2561 |
8 |
The closing ceremony took place in the playing venue right after the final round. The programme started with presenting two special awards.
The Vice President of the European Chess Union, Alojzije Jankovic, and the legendary grandmaster GM Adrian Mikhalchishin joined the awarding ceremony presenting the trophies to the best Junior and Senior (50+) players.
The best junior players are:
GM Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2610) – 8½/11
IM Ediz Gurel (TUR, 2454) – 8/11
GM Volodar Murzin (FIDE, 2554) – 7/11
The best senior players are:
GM Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2674) – 7½/11
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR, 2664) – 7½/11
GM Michele Godena (ITA, 2446) – 6½/11
This year, the special prize fund for the best-ranked female players was doubled, and six players received the prizes.
The best female players in the EICC2023 are:
WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (POL, 2391) – 6½/11
IM Irina Bulmaga (ROU, 2438) – 6½/11
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2576) – 6/11
IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (POL, 2388) – 6/11
WIM Adela Velikic (SRB, 2329) – 6/11
IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2362) – 6/11
Before the chief arbiter of the event, Tomasz Delega, announced the final standings and the winners of the regular prizes, the President of the Serbian Chess Federation, Dragan Lazic and the President of the European Chess Union addressed the players and distinguished guests.
Dragan Lazic thanked everyone for coming and congratulated the Winners. He also wished the participants a nice trip home and invited them to the European Club Cup 2024, to be held in the same venue.
Zurab Azmaiparashvili thanked the Serbian Chess Federation for the great organisation of the Championship, giving special thanks to the arbiters team that ensured everything went well in the playing venue. Mr Azmaiparshvili noted that the participation of 482 players from 40 federations is a record-breaking number that shows great potential for chess in Europe. Inviting the players to take participation in European Individual Chess Championship 2024 in the same number, the ECU President revealed that the event would be held in Israel.
The President of the Serbian Chess Federation, Dragan Lazic, and the President of the European Chess Union, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, then presented the trophies and medals to the winners.
After the awarding ceremony of the medalists, the ECU President officially declared the event closed, and the intonation of the ECU Anthem marked the end of the ceremony.
Text and photos: official website
Official website: eicc2023.com/
