The 38th edition of the European Chess Club Cup and the 27th European Women’s Club Cup concluded yesterday in Durres, Albania.
The intense last round determined the Winners and the medalists of the event, as both section had two co-leaders heading into the final round. Offerspill Sjakklub (Norway) and Superchess (Romania) were in a tie for the top of the Open section, and Garuda Ajka BSK (Hungary) and Superchess (Romania) tied for the top of the Women’s event after six played rounds.
Led by Magnus Carlsen, Offerspill Sjakklubb triumphed at the 2023 European Club Cup after scoring a decisive last-round victory against Asnieres – Le Grand Echiquier (France). GM Aryan Tari and GM Pranav V scored points for the Norwegian team, while GM Cornette Matthieu won his game to bring a point to the French team. With draws on the other three boards, the match ended with a narrow 3.5-2.5 points victory for Offerspill and brought them the overall victory in the tournament since Superchess (Romania) lost their match to 2022 European Club Cup Winners Novy Bor (Czech Republic).
With the final score of 13 match points, Offerspill Sjakklub emerged as the sole Winner of the event, while three teams tied for silver medal scoring 12 match points each.
Having the best tiebreak criteria, Novy Bor (Czech Republic) won silver medal.
Gokturk Chess Sport Club (Turkey) claimed bronze and Sentimento Ajka BSK (Hungary) finished the event in the fourth place.
Final results and rankings can be found here.
The last round of the Women’s competition was marked with a direct encounter for the first place between Superchess (Romania) and Garuda Ajka BSK (Hungary). WGM Dinara Wagner and IM Marsel Efroimski won their games against IM Nurgyul Salimova and WIM Zsoka Gaal (respectively) to score the points for the Romanian team. IM Teodora Injac defeated IM Irina Bulmaga to score a point for the Hungarian team, but a draw on the first round in the all-Georgian game between GM Nino Batsiashvili and GM Bella Khotenashvili was enough for Superchess to score the overall narrow 2.5-1.5 victory in the match and to win the event.
With the final score of 12 match points, Superchess (Romania) emerged as the sole Winner of the event and clinched gold in the 27th European Women’s Club Cup.
Scoring 10 match points each, Garuda Ajka BSK (Hungary), SK Crvena zvezda Data Driven Lab (Serbia) and TAJFUN SK Ljubljana (Slovenia) tied for the second place.
Garuda Ajka BSK (Hungary) had the best tiebreak criteria to claim the silver medal.
SK Crvena zvezda Data Driven Lab won bronze, while TAJFUN SK Ljubljana finished the event in the fourth place.
Final rankings can be found here.
The best individual players per boards – Open section:
- Board 1: GM Magnus Carlsen (Offerspill Sjakklub Norway)
- Board 2: GM Haik Martirosyan (Asnieres – Le Grand Echiquier France)
- Board 3: IM Sylvan Jacob (Skakklubben Nordkalotten Denmark)
- Board 4: IM Piceu Tom (Koninklijke Brugse Schaakkring Belgium)
- Board 5: Anton Guijarro David (Novy Bor Czech Republic)
- Board 6: IM Gurel Ediz (Turkish Airlines Sports Club)
The best individual players per boards – Women’s section:
- Board 1: GM Bella Khotenashvili (Garuda Ajka BSK Hungary)
- Board 2: GM Anna Muzychuk (Monte Carlo Monaco)
- Board 3: IM Nataliya Buksa (TAJFUN SK Ljubljana Slovenia)
- Board 4: WIM Vidic Teja (Offerspill Sjakklubb)
The Gala Closing ceremony of the event hosted by the Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj yesterday evening in Tirana. The ceremony was attended by the ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili, ECU Deputy President and FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola, ECU Secretary General, Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, ECU Vice Presidents Alozjije, Jankovic and Gunnar Bjornsson, the President of the Albanian Chess Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the European Chess Union Erald Dervishi, Honorary President of the Albanian Chess Federation Eduard Shalsi, and other distinguished guests.
After the Awarding ceremony, the ECU President thanked the teams and the Albanian Chess Federation for great tournament and declared the event closed.
Official website of the event
Photos by Niki Riga
Special thanks to the Arbiters team led by the Chief Arbiter Marco Biagioli.
