GM Nikita Petrov wins Montenegro Chess Championship 2024

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The Montenegro Chess Championship 2024 took place from 6-15 February in Podgorica, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Montenegro Chess Federation. The event was played in 11 rounds, swiss system, with a historical prize fund of 15.000 euros.

The Winner of the event was determined in the thrilling final round of the event. GM Nikola Djukic and GM Nikita Petrov headed into the last round co-leading the tournament with 8 points, each. The stakes were high and both players pressed for victories in the final game. It looked like Nikola Djukic would score a quick win against GM Bozidar Ivanovic, but he dropped a huge advantage by entering a drawish endgame. 11-time Montenegro’s Chess Champion Nikola Djukic tried to use the Bishop pair and his opponent eventually cracked, letting Djukic to score an important victory.

In the meantime, a similar scenario could have been seen on the first board in the game between GM Milan Drasko and Nikita Petrov. Petrov earned a big advantage in the early part of the game, but Drasko managed to escape and entered a complicated endgame with a piece down. The engine bar showed the equal position, but Milan Drasko made a crucial mistake in the 6th hour of play and resigned immediately after 76.Nd6??. (All games can be replayed here)

Scoring 9/11 points, GM Nikita Petrov and GM Nikola Djukic tied for the first place, but tiebreak criteria favored GM Nikita Petrov who clinched the title. GM Nikola Djukic claimed silver medal, while GM Denis Kadric won bronze thanks to the best tiebreaks in a group of three players who scored 7.5 points. Final rankings can be found below.

Montenegro Chess Championship 2024 – Final rankings:

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	GM	Petrov, Nikita	MNE	2563	9	0.5	69.5
2	GM	Djukic, Nikola	MNE	2521	9	0.5	69
3	GM	Kadric, Denis	MNE	2586	7.5	1	73
4	GM	Draskovic, Luka	MNE	2485	7.5	1	72.5
5	IM	Smirnov, Artem	MNE	2406	7.5	1	70
6	FM	Vukcevic, Nemanja	MNE	2275	7	0	69
7	IM	Kalezic, Blazo	MNE	2407	7	0	63
8		Vujovic, Savo	MNE	2137	7	0	58
9	GM	Nikcevic, Nebojsa	MNE	2338	6.5	0	67
10	FM	Sukovic, Andrej	MNE	2339	6.5	0	66.5
11		Nenezic, Danilo	MNE	2086	6.5	0	65
12	IM	Tomic, Aleksandar	MNE	2398	6.5	0	64.5
13	FM	Milovic, Jovan	MNE	2266	6.5	0	64.5
14	GM	Drasko, Milan	MNE	2339	6.5	0	64
15	GM	Ivanovic, Bozidar	MNE	2403	6.5	0	61.5
16		Djurovic, Peko	MNE	2332	6.5	0	60.5
17		Scekic, Veljko	MNE	2206	6.5	0	52
18	WFM	Skvortsova, Alena	MNE	2085	6	0	65.5
19	CM	Skvortsov, Andrei	MNE	2309	6	0	63.5
20	IM	Podlesnik, Bogdan	MNE	2284	6	0	63.5
21		Draganic, Veljko	MNE	2323	6	0	61.5
22	WFM	Zherebtsova, Alexandra	MNE	2270	6	0	60.5
23	FM	Musovic, Armin	MNE	2268	6	0	59.5
24	IM	Vujosevic, Vladimir	MNE	2335	6	0	58.5
25	FM	Pobor, Milo	MNE	2201	5.5	0	59
26		Popovic, Mateja	MNE	1880	5.5	0	57
27	WFM	Koljevic, Nikolina	MNE	1974	5.5	0	54
28		Milovic, Ilija	MNE	1877	5.5	0	52
29		Sekulic, Nikola	MNE	0	5.5	0	48
30		Miletic, Vuk	MNE	2213	5	0	59
31		Krstonijevic, Stjepan	MNE	2108	5	0	58.5
32		Kandic, Milojko	MNE	2045	5	0	58
33	IM	Nikac, Predrag	MNE	2304	5	0	55.5
34		Abramovic, Dragoljub	MNE	2018	5	0	55.5
35		Grbovic, Dino	MNE	1946	5	0	55
36		Loncar, Milenko	MNE	2026	5	0	51
37		Kadic, Branislav	MNE	1970	5	0	49
38		Doderovic, Aleksa	MNE	1639	5	0	44
39		Ratkovic, Milorad	MNE	2063	4.5	0	60.5
40	FM	Djukanovic, Sreten	MNE	2068	4.5	0	60
41		Zivkovic, Slaven	MNE	1899	4.5	0	47.5
42		Cadjenovic, Dragan	MNE	1809	4.5	0	46
43		Milovic, Sofija	MNE	1348	4.5	0	41.5
44		Petrovic, Slavko	MNE	1836	4	0	55.5
45		Lakusic, Zoran	MNE	1652	4	0	47.5
46		Popovic, Nikola	MNE	1433	4	0	47
47		Khramko, Lev	MNE	1458	4	0	44
48		Lekic, Pavle	MNE	1661	4	0	42.5
49		Vukovic, Krsto	MNE	1904	3	1	50
50		Mosurovic, Milena	MNE	1545	3	0	49
51		Janketic, Milos	MNE	1401	2	0	41.5
52		Maras, Marija Mia	MNE	1127	0	0	33.5