Five rounds have been already played at the European Youth Chess Championship 2025 in Budva, Montenegro, and only four rounds left before the announcement of the Winners!
Out of nearly 1200 young talents, only a handful have managed to keep a perfect 5/5 score. Tomorrow serves as a well-deserved rest day, before the battles resume on Tuesday, November 4, with Round 6.
Heading to tomorrow’s free day, Bilge Arslan (TUR) stands alone atop the Girls U8 section with a flawless 5/5, while Deniz Irtes (TUR) and Myron Netrebka (UKR) share the lead in the Open U8 with the same perfect score.
In the Girls U10 section, Daria Kravchuk (UKR) has emerged as the sole leader with 5 points. Meanwhile, Tomas Andre (SVK) and Luca Protopopescu (FRA) continue their winning streaks to jointly top the Open U10 standings.
Melis Duru Kaygun (TUR) leads in Girls U12 section with 5 points, while a quartet of players share first place in the Open U12 on 4.5: Ali Aras Yildiz (TUR), Boris Kolodziejczyk (FRA), Kerem Sarp Yekeler (TUR), and Poyraz Uzdemir Ali (TUR).
Vera Vujovic (SRB) and Blanka Ejsymont (POL) continued their perfect run and share the lead in the Girls U14 category, scoring 5/5 points each, while no player in Open U14 section kept the perfect score and three players tie for first with 4.5 points each: IM Khagan Ahmad (AZE), FM Tyhran Ambartsumian (ARM), and FM Ferragut Pau Marin (ESP).
The competition remains fierce in the U16 categories. Ayan Huseynli (AZE) and Lucia Stoll (FRA) co-lead the Girls U16 with 4.5 points, while four players: FM Rhys Arnold (NED), FM Mykola Korchynskyi (GER), FM Jernej Kozlovic (SLO), and FM Anastasios Georgiadis (GRE) share the top of the Open U16 with the same score.
In the oldest age group, FM Dana Kochavi (ISR) leads the Girls U18 with a perfect 5/5, and IM Edvin Trost (SWE) sits atop the Open U18 standings with 4.5 points.
As the players enjoy their free day, anticipation builds for the decisive final rounds that will determine Europe’s next generation of chess champions! Live games and broadcast from the event can be followed through the ECU TV platform.
Detailed information about the event can be found on the Official website.
All results, rankings and pairings can be found here.
Photos by Mark Livshitz and complete photo gallery is available here.