On March 13, Russian Alexei Sarana became the European chess champion. Competitions were held in Serbia.
In 11 rounds, the Russian chess player scored 8.5 points.
The second place was taken by Kirill Shevchenko from Romania. The third was the Belgian chess player Daniel Darda. They also have 8.5 points each. However, they lost to the Russians in additional indicators.
As a result of the tournament, 23 best chess players received the right to play in the World Cup. Among the Russian athletes, David Paravyan, Andrey Esipenko and Sergey Azarov also got into the top 23. The prize fund of the European Championship amounted to €100,000, and a prize of €20,000 is provided for winning the tournament.
Among the Russian chess players at the European Championship, Anton Demchenko (2021), Vladislav Artemiev (2019), Maxim Matlakov (2017), Ernesto Inarkiev (2016), Evgeny Nayer (2015), Alexander Motylev (2014), Dmitry Yakovenko (2012), Vladimir Potkin (2011), Ian Nepomniachtchi (2010), Evgeny Tomashevsky (2009) and Pavel Tregubov (2000).
Aleksey Sarana, 23, is ranked 71st in the International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating. His highest position in the world rankings was 45th. In 2021, at the European Championships, Sarana took third place.
Earlier, on February 28, the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) moved to the Asian Chess Federation ACF. On that day, the delegates of the ACF General Assembly by a majority of votes supported the inclusion of the FSR in the organization.
On March 7, CFR Executive Director Alexander Tkachev stated that the CFR’s transition to the Asian Chess Federation is primarily related to protecting the interests of Russian athletes. Speaking about the motives for moving to Asia, he noted the high competition in Asian chess, as well as more convenient logistics.
