Indjic remains in the sole lead, Chigaev and Cheparinov get closer to the top of EICC2024

Eight rounds have been played at the European Individual Chess Championship 2024 and there are only three rounds to go before the announcement of the new European Champion.

GM Aleksandar Indjic (SRB, 2623) remains in the sole lead of the event after today’s draw against the second-seeded player in the event GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU, 2687). Indjic opted for a very solid opening with whites, and the position quickly transformed into a drawish endgame.

Playing on the fourth board, GM Ivan Cheparinov (BUL, 2632) defeated GM Ihor Samunenkov (UKR, 2523) with black pieces. Cheparinov gained a clear advantage from the early stage of the game and step by step improved his position to score the win in the end.

Playing with black pieces against GM Alexander Donchenko (GER, 2617), GM Maksim Chigaev (ESP, 2605) reached a very sharp position with a slight edge in his favour. Donchenko was forced to go for a march with the King through the center of the board, and Chigaev gained significant material advantage forcing his opponent on resignation.

Maksim Chigaev and Ivan Cheparinov now score 6.5 points, just half a point less than the leader – Aleksandar Indjic. As many as 19 players tie 4th-22nd place, while the event has just 20 qualification places for the next FIDE World Chess Cup!

The 9th round starts tomorrow at 15:00 CET and live games with video broadcast can be followed through the ECU TV page.