Two rounds have been played at the European Chess Club Cups 2024 in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia.
Most of the favourites in the Open section kept the winning streak, including the top seeded SuperChess, Alkaloid, Novy Bor Chess Club, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club, Turkish Airlines, who scored convincing victories.
Majority of 2700+ rated players were victorious yesterday including Gukesh D, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Vincent Keymer etc. Praggnandhaa struggled again, and after the loss in the first round, yesterday drew his game against IM Yotam Shohat (2415, Etude Ramat Gan Dov Porat Memorial).
More: European Chess Club Cup 2024 participants list / European Women Chess Club Cup participants
Live: Open section / Women section / Video
The World Chess Championship Challenger Gukesh D scored his second win in the tournament and joined ECU TV studio to analyze the game with GM Alojzije Jankovic.
Countdown: World Chess Championship 2024 – Gukesh vs Ding Liren / World Chess Championship 2024 – 32 days remaining
In a few matches, the underdogs came to a score 3-3 against better rated players: 33th seeded Andreu Paterna drew against 12th seeds Rishon Le Zion A, 40th seeded Breidablik Chess Club played 3-3 against 19th seeds SV Werder Bremen, and the 42nd seeded Rishon Le Zion B upset 21st seeds Riehen with the same result.
The top seeded team of the Women’s Championship, Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo played against Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica yesterday and the match finished in a tie. IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2478, Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo) suffered a loss against IM Leya Garifullina (2438, Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica), GM Vaishali Rameshbabu scored a win for the top seeds, but the other two games finished in a draw.
Other rating favourites were victorious, except for the 11th seeded Rudar Kostolac who drew against the 15th seed Rishon Le Zion.
The third round starts today at 15:00 CEST, and live games and broadcast can be followed through the ECU TV platform. Live video broadcast with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and Dragana Nikolovska is also available on the ECU YouTube channel.
European Club Cup – opening and round 1
The 39th European Chess Club Cup and the 28th European Women’s Chess Club Cup officially commenced on Sunday in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia with the first round.
The first round was inaugurated with the ceremonial moves made by the ECU Vice President Mr. Gunnar Bjornsson and the President of the Serbian Chess Federation Mr. Dragan Lazic. Mr. Dragan Lazic played the first move for Dommaraju Gukesh in the match between Superchess and Gambit Bonnevoie I, while the ECU Vice President Mr. Gunnar Bjornsson played the first move for Aleksandra Goryachkina in the match between Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo and SK Javes Modra.
The first round went smoothly for top seeded teams in both Open and Women’s sections. All the favourites won their matches, but a few individual upsets marked the round.
The biggest upset in the Open section happened in the game between IM Francois Godart (2377, Gambit Bonnevoie I) and GM Praggnanandhaa (2746, SuperChess), as Francois Godart prevailed in the game. Another major upset was seen in the match between Turkish Airlines and SV Erkenschwick, as 16-year-old Max Lutze (2148, SV Erkenschwick) defeated GM Vahap Sanal (2570, Turkish Airlines). Apart from surprising losses of renowned grandmasters, some of the lower rated players managed to take half a point in the games against much stronger opponents.
In the Women’s section, WIM Trisha Kanyamarala (2160, She Plays To Win Lionesses) delivered an upset after defeating IM Yuliia Osmak (2465, Gambit Bonnevoie). WIM Drljevic Ljija (2102, Napredak Zenica) drew against IM Dinara Wagner (2436, SuperChess), while 13-year-old Alannah Ashton (1876, She Plays to Win Lionesses) drew with WGM Elvira Berend (2244, Gambit Bonnevoie).
