GM Eduardo Iturrizaga and IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh emerged as the winners of the Spanish Championship 2023. A Caracas native, Iturrizaga claimed his third straight title while Khademalsharieh scored her first victory in the Spanish Women's Championship.

The competition, a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from October 12-21 in Marbella. Both men and women competed in one event but were ranked separately, with the highest-scoring female player claiming the Spanish Women's Champion title.

The tournament turned into a very close race, with several players tying for the top position most of the time. Eduardo Iturrizaga, Alan Pichot and Maksim Chigaev came to the final ninth round as join leaders, with Eduardo and Alan facing off against each other and Maxim playing with Daniil Yuffa trailing by a half-point.

All three games on the top boards were drawn, meaning the leaders finished on 7/9, but Eduardo Iturrizaga won the title thanks to a better Buchholz.

The same criteria decided the fate of the women's crown as Sarasadat Khademsharieh and the defending champion Marta Garcia Martin both netted 6/9, with the former ending up one position higher in the final standings.

Final standings:

Complete results

Photos: Patricia Claros Aguilar and FEDA Facebook page

Official website: feda.org/feda2k16/