The European Women’s Chess Championship 2023 kicked off in Petrovac, Montenegro, with participation of 134 players coming from 34 European federations.
The Opening ceremony of the event took place on Friday evening with the attendance of the ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, the ECU Honorary Vice President and the Vice President of Montenegro Chess Federation Mr. Veselin Draskovic, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Montenegro Mr. Vasilije Lalosevic, and other distinguished guests.
Mr. Veselin Draskovic addressed the attendees emphasizing the long and rich chess history of Montenegro. “The organisation of the European Women’s Chess Championship 2023 is just the crown for the committed and responsible work of the Montenegro Chess Federation”, concluded Draskovic.
The ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmiaparshvili thanked the Montenegro Chess Federation for their work to promote chess and organisation of the high-level European events.
Mr. Vasilije Lalosevic, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Montenegro, welcomed all the players and distinguished guests, wishing them a nice stay and a successful tournament in Petrovac.
The first round of the event started yesterday at 15:00 CEST, after the first ceremonial move was made by the ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili in the game between the top-seeded GM Bela Khotenashvili (GEO, 2491) and WIM Miruna-Daria Lehaci (ROU, 2202).
After almost 6 hours of fights, the first round concluded with 14 draws and several major upsets among the 53 decisive results.
GM Bela Khotenashvili (GEO, 2491) drew against WIM Miruna-Daria Lehaci (ROU, 2202) after a very intense game where both players had their chances for the better score. On the second board, GM Valentina Gunina (FIDE, 2478) missed the winning move in the endgame and eventually signed a draw with 17-year-old FM Nadya Toncheva (BUL, 2192).
WIM Salomeja Zaksaite (LTU, 2185) defeated the fourth-seeded IM Marsel Efroimski (ISR, 2451), while WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (POL, 2391) suffered a loss against WIM Irina Petrova (UKR, 2123).
The second round starts today at 15:00 CEST with interesting encounters on the top boards. The top 10 pairings are:
All the results, pairings, and standings can be found here.
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