European School Chess Championship 2024 concluded yesterday in Limerick, Ireland. The event gathered nearly 200 players coming from 18 European federations, who competed in 6 age categories: U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17, open and girls sections separately.
Turkish players achieved a historical result, winning all 12 golds in all categories, and a total of 28 medals (12 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze)!
Omer Taha Dede (TUR) triumphed in the U7 section scoring perfect 7/7 points. David-Christian Talaba (ROU) clinched silver with 6 points, and Amandeep Singh (ENG) won bronze scoring 5 points.
Miray Akinci (TUR) and Kumsal Islek (TUR) tied for the top in the GU7 category, scoring 7/9 points each. Miray Akinci had better tiebreaks to win gold, Kumsal Islek won silver medal, while Goksu Yildiz (TUR) won bronze with the score of 6 points.
Scoring 7/9 points, each, Ata Peray (TUR,1623) and Efe Aynaoglu (TUR, 1516) tied for gold in the U9 category. Ata Peray had better tiebreaks to finish first, Efe Aynaoglu came second, and Aaron-Mathias Dragoi (ROU, 1493) clinched bronze with 6.5 points.
Elem Tolan (TUR, 1424) emerged as the sole winner of the GU9 section with the score of 7.5 points. Irmak Keser (TUR, 1545) followed with 6.5 points, and Anne-Sophie Constantin-Ciuntu (ROU, 1761) finished third with 6 points.
Turkish players conquered the top of the U11 section as well, winning all three medals. Ali Poyraz Uzdemir (TUR, 1896) won gold medal thanks to better tiebreaks than Ege Oz (TUR, 1754) who had the same score of 8 points, and Murat Kutay Gokturk (TUR, 1861) claimed bronze scoring 6.5 points.
Zeynep Sonmez (TUR, 1561) secured gold in the GU11 section with a round to spare. With a win in the final round, Sonmez Zeynep finished the event with impressive 8.5/9 points, 2.5 points ahead of Shelley Potikha (ISR, 1497) and Elif Deniz (TUR, 1491) who tied for second with 6 points each. Shelley Potikha had better tiebreaks to win silver medal, and Elif Deniz came third.
The top-seeded player of the U13 section, CM Ali Alper Celik (TUR, 2102) won the championship scoring 7/9 points. He finished half a point ahead of three players who tied for second, and the tiebreak criteria determined the medalists. Dragos Stefan Leu (ROU, 1997) had the best additional criteria and came second, Umut Anil Dogan (TUR, 1957) was third, and Gorkem Unsal (TUR, 1969) finished fourth.
Three medals from GU13 section went to Turkey, as Zumral Yazici (TUR, 1651) won the event thanks to better tiebreaks than Cagla Yudum Sahin (TUR, 1725) who had the same score of 6/7 points, and Arya Aydogan (TUR, 1756) won bronze with 4.5 points.
Similarly, in the U15 section, Egehan Yildiz (TUR, 1984) won the tournament with 7 points, and Efe Yalcinkaya (TUR, 2026) and Alper Demirtas (TUR, 2060) tied for second place with 6.5 points each. Having better tiebreaks, Efe Yalcinkaya won silver and Alper Demirtas finished third.
Pelin Seyhan (TUR, 1719) triumphed in the GU15 section with the score of 4.5/7 points, while Maryna Petrenko (UKR, 1991) and Eylul Ceren Gedik (TUR, 1792) tied for silver scoring 4 points each. Maryna Petrenko had better tiebreaks to win silver medal, and Eylul Ceren Gedik came third.
IM Adar Tarhan (TUR, 2457) convincingly won the U17 championship with the score of 8.5/9 points, folloed by IM Eray Kilic (TUR, 2433) who won silver with 8 points, and Kerem Tuna Yilmaz (TUR, 2039) who finished third with 7 points.
In the GU17 section, WCM Ecrin Efsa Buyuk (TUR, 1891) and Hatice Asli Mustu (TUR, 1925) tied for the top scoring 8 points each. Ecrin Efsa Buyuk won gold thanks to better tiebreaks and Hatice Asli Mustu finished second. Lara Putar (IRL, 1983) won bronze medal scoring 6.5 points.
Final rankings of all sections can be found here.
The Closing ceremony of the event took place in the evening with attendance of the President of the Irish Chess Union Mr. Desmond Beatty and the Chairman of the ECU Events Commission Mr. Paris Klerides.
The event was organised by the Irish Chess Union, under the auspices of the European Chess Union.