England joins Germany in the lead of the Open section; France emerges on the top of the Women’s event

After six played rounds at the European Team Chess Championship 2023 in Budva, Montenegro, France emerged as the sole leader of the Women’s section, while Germany and England co-lead in the Open tournament.

Yesterday’s top board match in the Open section between Germany and Romania finished in a tie after intense fights. GM Vincent Keymer (GER, 2721) prevailed against GM Richard Rapport (ROU, 2748) on the first board, but GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROU, 2591) scored against GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER, 2642) to keep the result in balance. With draws on the second and the third board, the match finished with the final score of 2-2, and Germany maintained the lead in the tournament.

The team of England overwhelmed Netherlands scoring a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory to join Germany in the lead. GM Nikita Vitiugov (ENG, 2712) defeated GM Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 2700), GM David Howell (ENG, 2676) was victorious against GM Max Warmerdam (NED, 2638), and GM Luke McShane (ENG, 2626) won against GM Liam Vrolijk (NED, 2569). GM Benjamik Bok (NED, 2621) was the only one to earn points for the Dutch team, drawing against GM Michael Adams (ENG, 2670) who celebrated his birthday yesterday in Budva.

Playing against lower rated Switzerland, Norway won two match points yesterday, winning the match with the score of 3-1. GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2829) scored his fourth victory in the tournament after beating GM Nico Georgiadis (SUI, 2556) with whites. GM Aryan Tari (NOR, 2620) took a full point against GM Sebastian Bogner (SUI, 2536) while the games on the other two boards finished in draws.

The 6th round of the European Women’s Team Chess Championship 2023 finished with some surprising results as the favourites didn’t manage to live up to the expectations.

France defeated the top-seeded Georgia with narrow 2.5-1.5 score. GM Bella Khotenashvili (GEO, 2498) suffered her fourth loss in the tournament playing with black against IM Deimante Daulyte-Cornette (FRA, 2369). IM Meri Arabidze (GEO, 2458) scored a point for Georgia, winning against WGM Mitra Hejazipour (FRA, 2323), but IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO, 2440) lost on the last board against IM Pauline Guichard (FRA, 2347). With earlier draw between IM Sophie Milliet (FRA, 2375) and GM Nino Batsiashvili (GEO, 2487), the match ended in favor of France who emerged as the sole leader of the event with the score of 11 match points.

The 5th-seeded Bulgaria scored a narrow 2.5-1.5 victory against the 2nd-seeded Azerbaijan thanks to IM Nurgyul Salimova’s (BUL, 2412) win against IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE, 2395). The other three games finished in a peaceful manner after long battles and many twists. IM Gunay Mammadzada (AZE, 2441) missed her chances to realize the decisive advantage against former Women’s World Chess Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL, 2417) and the game eventually finished in a draw. WGM Viktoria Radeva (BUL, 2332) and IM Khanim Blajayeva (AZE, 2328) played a very balanced game, and FM Gergana Peycheva (BUL, 2287) defended well against IM Gulnar Mammadova (AZE, 2350).

Scoring 10 match points, Bulgaria is in clear second place, while Germany and Azerbaijan follow with the score of 9 match points, each.

Only three rounds left to be played before the announcement of the European Team Champions 2023, and the 7th round starts today at 15:00 CET.

Round 6 video recap:

The top board pairings – Open section:

1. England (Rtg average 2671) vs Germany (Rtg average 2676)
2. Denmark (Rtg average 2575) vs Norway* (Rtg average 2633)
3. Montenegro* (Rtg average 2536) vs Austria (Rtg average 2567)
4. Romania (Rtg average 2676) vs Serbia (Rtg average 2628)
5. Hungary (Rtg average 2609) vs Armenia (Rtg average 2667)

The top board pairings – Women’s section:

1. France (Rtg average 2357) vs Bulgaria (Rtg average 2362)
2. England (Rtg average 2301) vs Azerbaijan (Rtg average 2392)
3. Germany (Rtg average 2385) vs Poland (Rtg average 2347)
4. Hungary (Rtg average 2312) vs Greece (Rtg average 2239)
5. Georgia (Rtg average 2471) vs Romania (Rtg average 2296)

Live broadcast of the games with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and Dragana Nikolovska can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel.

Useful links:
Official website of the event
Photo gallery
Results, pairings & rankings

Photos by Mark Livshitz