The second round of the European Team Chess Championship 2025 was played today in Batumi, Georgia, and only five teams remained with the perfect score in the Open section, while there are eight teams scoring the maximum of 4/4 match points in the Women’s section.
The second round brought interesting games, matches, and a few surprising results. Most of the top board matches finished with the draw, leaving only Romania, Greece, Slovenia, Serbia and France with the score of 4/4 match points.
Playing on the top board, the Netherlands drew against Poland with all four games finishing in a draw. Azerbaijan played draw against Czech Republic on the second board, with to decisive results in the match. GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2741) defeated GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE, 2664) with attractive tactical engagement, while GM David Navara (CZE, 2656) scored for Czech Republic against GM Rauf Mamedov (AZE, 2655). With the last two games finishing in a draw, the final result in the match was 2-2.
The 6th-seeded Armenia played a draw against the 16th-seeded Croatia, with four games finishing in draw after great fights. GM Haik Martirosyan (ARM, 2626) was in trouble in his game against GM Leon Livaic (CRO, 2551) after blundering a tactical motive which was spotted by Croatian Grandmaster. Livaic gained the decisive advantage, but misplayed the endgame and didn’t manage to prevail.
The 9th-seeded Ukraine played a draw against 18th-seeded Turkey, with four games finishing in draws. The games on the first three boards were very solid, and the evaluation bar was always showing equal position. The game of the match was seen on the fourth board between GM Isik Can (TUR, 2514) and GM Ihor Samunenkov (UKR, 2568). Isik Can gained a clear advantage in the opening, despite having the black pieces. But Samunenkov managed to equalize after exchanges, and then gradually improved the position to have a small edge in the rooks endgame which was theoretically drawn.
Romania convincingly defeated England to leap on the top after two played rounds. The match finished with the result of 3-1, as GM Constantin Lupulescu (ROU, 2577) scored against GM Luke McShane (ENG, 2614), and GM David Gavrilescu (ROU, 2535) defeated GM Shreyas Royal (ENG, 2501). Playing on the first two boards, GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU, 2655) drew against GM Michael Adams (ENG, 2646), and GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROU, 2577) played a draw against GM Gawain Jones Maroroa (ENG, 2643).
The defending European Team Chess Champions – Serbia, won against Austria with a narrow 2.5-1.5 victory. GM Aleksandar Indjic (SRB, 2618) scored a win against GM Dominik Horvath (AUT, 2558), while the other three games of the match finished with draws.
Greece narrowly won the match against Israel with the final score of 2.5-1.5, France defeated Italy, and Slovenia won against Denmark with the same 2.5-1.5 score.
In the Women’s section as many as eight teams scored the second consecutive win in the tournament to tie for the early lead in the Championship: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Georgia 1, Armenia, and France.
The top-seeded Georgia 1 defeated Serbia with the score of 2.5-1.5. IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO, 2423) and GM Bella Khotenashvili (GEO, 2416) scored for Georgia against WIM Sofia Pogorelskikh (SRB, 2289) and WIM Adela Velikic (SRB, 2261), while IM Meri Arabidze (GEO, 2417) lost to WGM Elif Mehmed (SRB, 2295). The game on the top board between IM Teodora Injac (SRB, 2436) and GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO, 2496) finished in a draw.
Poland defeated England, thanks to the win on the first board between IM Alina Kashlinskaya (POL, 2450) and IM Jovanka Houska (ENG, 2342), and the other three games ended in draws despite difficult positions for Polish players. During the match, England had better positions on the last three boards, but Poland defended well and hold all three games to draws.
Azerbaijan scored a narrow 2.5-1.5 win over Hungary, with IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE, 2410) defeating WGM Zsoka Gaal (HUN, 2395), and WIM Ayan Allahverdiyeva (AZE, 2220) heroically scored against WIM Julianna Terbe (HUN, 2206) in a very drawish endgame. With draw on the third board, and loss of IM Khanim Blajayeva (AZE, 2351) to IM Davaademberel Nomin-Erdene (HUN, 2306), Azerbaijan scored an important win.
The defending European Women’s Team Chess Champions – Bulgaria, defeated the Netherlands. IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2385) defeated FM Machteld Van Foreest (NED, 2314), and WGM Viktoria Radeva (BUL, 2292) won her game against WIM Marlies Bensdorp-De Labaca (NED, 2215). WGM Beloslava Krasteva (BUL, 2316) lost to FM Anna-Maja Kazarian (NED, 2244), but the game on the first board between IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2383) and GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL, 2393) finished with draw.
To take the early lead in the competition, Germany defeated Turkey with 2.5-1.5 score, Armenia won against Romania with 2.5-1.5, Switzerland scored 3-1 victory over Slovakia, and France defeated Romania with 2.5-1.5
All results, rankings and pairings can be found here.
The third round brings interesting encounters between the leaders, and the live video broadcast with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili can be followed through the ECU TV platform or ECU YouTube channel.