After three played rounds at the European Individual Chess Championship 2025 in Eforie Nord, Romania, only six players remained with the perfect 3/3 score and tie for the top.
Today’s round was opened with a moment of silence to pay tribute to the victims of the tragic fire in Kocani, North Macedonia.
Before the start of the clocks, the Vice Ambassador of Austria in Romania Mr. Rudolf Schatz and Secretary General of the Romanian Chess Federation Mr. Gabriel Grecescu addressed the players and played the first ceremonial move in the game between GM Dominik Horvath (AUT, 2538) and GM Daniil Yuffa (ESP, 2654).
As the tournament goes forward, we get to see clashes between the top-seeds and solid games, and only six players emerged on the top with maximum 3/3 points: GM Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 2676), GM David Navara (CZE, 2663), GM Daniil Yuffa (ESP, 2654), GM Baadur Jobava (GEO, 2578), GM Lorenzo Lodici (ITA, 2559), and GM Misratdin Iskandarov (AZE, 2524).
GM Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 2676) defeated GM Roven Vogel (GER, 2552) with Black pieces, using a Slav Defense and Qc7-Qb6 maneuver that left our commentators in mystery which was resolved by GM Ivan Sokolov who revealed the idea behind this motive. Van Foreest was gradually improving his position in the middlegame to finally transpose it into a winning pawns endgame.
GM David Navara (CZE, 2663) was victorious with Black pieces against GM Giga Quparadze (GEO, 2543). Navara opened with Najdorf Sicilain and got a stable position out of the opening, but his opponent played too fast which led to a pawn down endgame. Navara was in a time trouble but he managed to keep things under control and won the game.
GM Daniil Yuffa (ESP, 2654) prevailed with Black pieces against GM Dominik Horvath (AUT, 2538). The game was very solid and in ranges of equality until the time troubles when both players played a couple of inaccurate moves, but Horvath was the last one to make crucial mistakes and Yuffa scored a win.
GM Baadur Jobava (GEO, 2578) won against FM Patryk Cieslak (POL, 2411) showing a perfect endgame technique in the demanding position with Rook and two pawns for two minor pieces. Jobava played almost perfectly to score an important win for an early lead in the competition.
GM Misratdin Iskandarov (AZE, 2524) defeated higher-rated GM Marc’Andira Maurizzi (FRA, 2622). It seemed that Iskandarov surprised his opponent with the opening, and gained a slightly better position which later transposed into a highly dynamical middlegame. Misratdin Iskandarov used his opponent’s mistakes to create a mating net around Blacks King and forced Maurizzi on resignation.
GM Lorenzo Lodici (ITA, 2559) played against FM Roman Dehtiarov (UKR, 2376) and won the game after taking the advantage from the early part of the game. Lodici made a few mistakes and allowed his opponent to equalize, but Dehtiarov couldn’t follow the pace and once again entered into a worse position. This time, Lorenzo Lodici didn’t let go and he entered the endgame, successfully bringing it the end.
The games were live broadcasted with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and WIM Lena Miladinovic who today hosted GM Alexey Sarana and GM Jorden Van Foreest who analyzed their games in the studio. All video materials can be found through the ECU YouTube channel.
The fourth round starts tomorrow at 15:00 (local time), and all results, rankings and pairings can be found here.