The 39th European Chess Club Cup and the 28th European Women’s Chess Club Cup have passed the midpoint. After the top-table clashes, four teams jointly lead the Open tournament with 8/8 points, while TAJFUN SK Ljubljana has emerged as the sole leader in the Women’s competition.
Top-seeded SuperChess in the Open tournament suffered an upset, losing to fifth-seeded Turkish Airlines. Dmitry Andreikin (2729, Turkish Airlines) defeated GM Gukesh D (2794, SuperChess), and Amin Tabatabaei (2702, Turkish Airlines) emerged victorious against GM Praggnanandhaa (2746, SuperChess). Additionally, Volodar Murzin (2648, Turkish Airlines) beat Jorden Van Foreest (2697, SuperChess). The only player to score a win for SuperChess was Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2783, SuperChess), who got lucky in a completely lost position against GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2719, Turkish Airlines). Maghsoodloo was just a few moves away from victory but tragically opted for an unsound queen sacrifice, leading to a loss.
Alkaloid pulled off a narrow 3.5-2.5 victory over TAJFUN SK Ljubljana. Chithambaram Aravindh (2698, Alkaloid) and Narayanan S.L. (2640, Alkaloid) defeated Ivan Saric (2673, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) and Ante Brkic (2626, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana), respectively, while Nodirbek Yakubboev (2654, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) scored for the Slovenian team. The other games, including Arjun Erigaisi’s encounter with Alexandr Predke, ended in draws.
Novy Bor Chess Club won their match against Sentimento Ajka BSK thanks to Vincent Keymer’s (2721, Novy Bor Chess Club) victory over Alexey Sarana (2717, Sentimento Ajka BSK), as the other five games were drawn.
Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub triumphed over Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club, despite having a lower average rating. Pavel Eljanov (2672, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub) prevailed over Bu Xiangzhi (2690, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club), Benjamin Gledura bested Anton Korobov, and Ihor Samunenkov (2533, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub) defeated Nijat Abasov (2619, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club). Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2733, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club) bounced back with a win against Maksim Chigaev (2624, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub), but with the other games ending in draws, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub secured a 4-2 victory.
In the Women’s section, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana emerged as the sole leader following an overwhelming 3.5-0.5 victory over Garuda Ajka BSK. Nana Dzagnidze (2513, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) beat Bibisara Assaubayeva (2487, Garuda Ajka BSK), Zhu Jiner (2499, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) defeated Divya Deshmukh (2501, Garuda Ajka BSK), and Olga Badelka (2430, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) prevailed over Bella Khotenashvili (2423, Garuda Ajka BSK). The game on the fourth board between WIM Zsoka Gaal (2398, Garuda Ajka BSK) and IM Laura Unuk (2304, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) ended in a draw.
SuperChess Club toppled top seed Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo thanks to Dinara Wagner’s (2436, SuperChess) victory over Vaishali Rameshbabu (2487, Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo), while the other three games ended in draws.
Four teams are tied for second place in the Women’s event with 6 match points each: SuperChess Club, Garuda Ajka BSK, Crvena zvezda – Data Driven Lab, and Napredak Zenica.
Round 5 starts on October 24 at 15:00 and live broadcast can be followed through the ECU TV platform. Live video broadcast is also available on the ECU YouTube channel with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and Dragana Nikolovska.
Photos: European Chess Union
Official website: clubcup2024.com/
