Aleksandar Indjic and Irina Chelushkina emerged victorious at the 2024 Serbian Championship. Aleksandar successfully defended his title and won his fifth overall, while Irina lifted the trophy for the second time.
The 18th Serbian Championship 2024 took place from June 17–25 in the Fantastico Exclusive Hotel in Senta. The open and women's tournaments ran concurrently. Both competitions were 10-player round robins with classical time control.
In the open competition, Aleksandar Indjic seized the lead after Round 4 and maintained his top position to the very end. Facing top seed Alexey Sarana with black pieces in the final round, he displayed exceptional defensive skills, securing a draw and the championship title with an excellent 7/9 score.
Robert Markus and Alexey Sarana finished on 6/9 and tied for second place. Just like a year ago, Robert Markus took silver (this time, thanks to a better tiebreak). The rating-favorite Alexey Sarana had to settle for bronze.
The champion and the runner-up became the only unbeaten players in the tournament.
Final standings Open:
|
1 |
GM |
Indjic, Aleksandar |
2602 |
7 |
|
2 |
GM |
Markus, Robert |
2587 |
6 |
|
3 |
GM |
Sarana, Alexey |
2712 |
6 |
|
4 |
GM |
Popovic, Dusan |
2486 |
5 |
|
5 |
GM |
Ivanisevic, Ivan |
2536 |
5 |
|
6 |
GM |
Perunovic, Milos |
2531 |
4½ |
|
7 |
GM |
Atalik, Suat |
2450 |
4 |
|
8 |
GM |
Kovacevic, Aleksandar |
2482 |
3½ |
|
9 |
IM |
Radovanovic, Nikola |
2441 |
3 |
|
10 |
GM |
Muratovic, Alija |
2513 |
1 |
The women's section witnessed Irina Chelushkina's dominance. Conceding only two draws, she finished a clear 1.5 points ahead of the runner-up, WIM Adela Velikic. WIM Jovana Srdanovic earned the bronze medal with 6/9 points.
Final standings Women:
|
1 |
WGM |
Chelushkina, Irina |
2134 |
8 |
|
2 |
WIM |
Velikic, Adela |
2290 |
6½ |
|
3 |
WIM |
Srdanovic, Jovana |
2134 |
6 |
|
4 |
WGM |
Mandura, Tijana |
2224 |
5 |
|
5 |
WIM |
Djukic, Sandra |
2118 |
5 |
|
6 |
WGM |
Eric, Jovana |
2184 |
5 |
|
7 |
WFM |
Vujovic, Vera |
2154 |
4½ |
|
8 |
WFM |
Bukhteeva, Viktoria |
2070 |
3 |
|
9 |
Stankovic, Andrea |
1990 |
2 |
|
|
10 |
Radenkovic, Mila |
1870 |
0 |
The chief arbiter IA Vladica Andrejic and the deputy chief arbiter, Zoltan Helenji, officiated the competition, while IO, IA Nebojša Baralić, acted as the championship director.
At the closing ceremony, the president of the Chess Federation of Serbia, Dragan Lazić, and the owner of the "Fantastico Exclusive" hotel, Šandor Lerinc, presented cups and medals to the top finishers. All the participants received gifts from the host and the Serbian Chess Federation (ŠSS).
Official website: serbiachess.org/
Photos: Šahovski savez Srbije
